Cheap as you are

It's almost Golden Week. We'll be heading off to Fukuyama for one night, before spending several days in Shikoku. Then back to Osaka for a day, before hitting Mie prefecture for another few days. Obviously looking forward to all of this.

My obsession with container-based gardening continues. We've installed a goya vine on the roof which will hopefully clambour along a crude trellis to provide extra shade in the summer. The citrus trees, aloes, chrysanthemums, aeoniums, rosemary and Italian parsley are doing well up there too.

The red maple in the front yard is in full leaf now and is stunning. Still waiting for the lavender to really take off, and one other tree from the maple family is yet to shoot – a construction worker stepped on it a few months ago and I had to tape it back together, so whether or not it actually survived remains to be seen. The olive and the pelagonium are thriving, as are numerous indoor pot plants.

The living room balcony now features basil, mint and shiso, together with ranunculus and some other gorgeous flowers, and I finally made my first terrarium, which T had asked for as a birthday present. I think it turned out about 70% great, with my main criticism being that the glass of the container is too thick to properly exhibit the contents.