Although many homes in Tokyo, Osaka and other Japanese cities are too small to have their own 庭 (niwagarden), that doesn’t mean 園芸 (angelgardening) is an impossible feat.
If you’re hoping for a nice グリーンカーテン (gurīn katen) – which literally means ‘green curtain’, but is perhaps better known as a vertical garden or green wall – for your apartment balcony, or freshly harvested 夏野菜 (natsuyasaisummer vegetables) and ハーブ(habuherbs) in the next few months it’s time to start growing.
Many local municipalities implement a 緑のカーテンプロジェクト (midori no kāten purojekuto, green wall project) around this time of year. They plant つる性植物 (tsuru-sei shokubutsuclimbing plants) such as ゴーヤ (goyabitter melons) and 朝顔 (asagaomorning glory) on the grounds of public buildings as a way to participate in 節電 (seriesenergy saving) and ヒートアイランド現象の対策 (hīto airando genshō no taisakucountermeasures for the heat island phenomenon).
