NOVEMBER - Japanese Flower Calendar
Maple Momij
The Maple is an iconic sight in Japan a fresh lime green in the Spring and brilliant shades of scarlet and yellow in the Autumn. There is a sadness that comes with Autumn, a melancholy enhanced with soft mist but the scarlet of the Maple leaves are sharp and bright in contrast. The Miho museum is a James Bond style building set into the mountain side above lake Bewar, entry is on a train that takes you into the heart of the mountain but at its entrance is the most wonderful planting of mountain maples turn an amazing flaming scarlet in the Autumn. All the way up the mountain the maples had danced in the breeze increasing in depth of colour the higher we climbed until at the top pure scarlet. The seasons are so important in Japanese culture and the Maple along with Japanese pampas ( miscanthus) are the true symbols of Autumn.
Haiku for Maple
The mountain grows darker
Taking the scarlet
From the autumn leaves.
Buson
