FIXES

In an expensive back street off Aoyama Dori in Shibuya resides this lush and intense pot plant collage. Piece by piece, plants in pots have been added to the structure, and secured with a variety of spur-of-the-moment wire and string fixes.

I love the sense of time and process present in these types of garden collages – unplanned and hectic but built up slowly over many years. Temporary in form and materials but not in presence. A type of green urban archeology.

Materials: Wire, String, Pots
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

(Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening)

The top of a wall in a residential back street of Shibuya acts as the scene for a precarious pot plant construction held in place with various pieces of string.

Even in one of the more expensive places to live in Tokyo there’s no shame in tying a few pots up on your wall with a bit of old rope!

Materials: String
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

(Originally posted on Tokyo DIY Gardening)

From the inspiring and learned Jan Lindenberg comes 3 different ways of covering/protecting basins – with netting, a plastic grill, and an elastic net (usually used to prevent the shopping falling out of the bicycle basket). We are not exactly why these containers are being protected, and what function the seemingly flimsy nets play – any ideas?

Materials: Netting, Plastic Grill, Elastic Net
Location: Yanaka, Tokyo

I am delighted to announce a new collaboration with Jared Braiterman from Tokyo Green Space – Tokyo-DIY-gardening (and I have appropriated parts of his announcement post below).

Tokyo-DIY-Gardening celebrates ordinary and extraordinary efforts to bring nature into the world’s largest city. In a space more known for concrete and commerce, growing plants for ornament and food is fun, social, and magical.

Tokyo-DIY-Gardening is an open sourcebook and resource for urban gardening on a personal level – “hands-on gardening for a crowded city”. It includes ‘how-to’ examples/instructions, photo essays, observations, interviews, articles and more with the aim of knowledge sharing and creation around low-cost, agile gardening in dense cities (with a focus on Tokyo).

The DIY element invites everyone to experiment, share, and create a garden regardless of how little soil, space, budget, or experience you have. Gardening is fun for seniors, children, cooks, bird-watchers, and all of us who spend most of our time in the city.

We invite active collaboration/participation. Send in your photos and stories about cool neighborhood gardens that you think are special or inspiring. We have a soft spot for recycled materials, volunteer plants, and urban wildlife [contribute/participate]

You can follow our Twitter hash tag #tokyoDIYgardening.

And, if you are in Tokyo, please come to our interactive workshop at the new 3331 Arts Chiyoda space where we introduce the project and invite a collaborative mapping and re-imagining of Tokyo as the greenest city full of gardens, plants, and trees. The workshop will be held in Japanese and English.

We are excited to participate in the Grand Opening series of events at 3331 Arts Chiyoda, and look forward to opening our project to many voices.

Sidewalk gardening space marked out in bamboo stakes and plastic twine.


Materials: Bamboo Stake, Plastic Twine
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Another example of how to train a tree to create a traditional and elegant entranceway. Wire twisted around the fence post creates a robust, yet temporary, easily adjustable and non-marking tethering system.



Materials: Wire
Location: Hachioji, Tokyo

Extra curbside space eked out for a planter between the end of a retail entrance landing and the pavement. Constructed from length of plastic edging and a few bags of soil this garden probably wouldn’t survive even a weak typhoon – but a pretty addition nonetheless.

Materials: Plastic Edging, Soil
Location: Hachioji, Tokyo

Tree trained over entrance gate with a sturdy wooden pole and rope.



Materials: Wooden Pole, Rope
Location: Hachioji, Tokyo

Breeze blocks and wire planters bridge the stormwater drain, providing extra space for a curbside garden.




Materials: Breeze Blocks, Planters, Wire
Location: Hachioji, Tokyo

A coffee can and plastic bag protect buds from late frosts.



Materials: Coffee Can, Plastic Bag
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

A wall is transformed into a green wall through strategic placement of pot plants.



Materials: Pot Plants
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Handle for hose reel fashioned out of duct tape and metal strip.



Materials: Metal Strip, Duct Tape
Location: Harajuku, Tokyo

Planters supported by wood, bricks and curb.




Materials: Wood, Bricks
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

(1) A place to store brooms and the bicycle pump. (2) An umbrella stand. (3) Garden rubbish bin and garden implement storage.

Materials: Gas Meter
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

A stable shelf for potplants created by placing a plank on top of a breeze block residential wall. Notice the way that it is converted into a more stable/practical construction by threading wire through the plank twisting it around protrusions (nails) in the wall.

Materials: Wood, Wire
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

A clever solution for creating a hanging garden along a breeze block wall without damaging/affecting the structure in any permanent way.

Wire is threaded through the gaps in the ornamental blocks, and wound around from top to bottom. The ends are then twisted and bent up to form a robust hook for supporting a planter. The result is a (potential) wall of green which is easily removed/altered.

Materials: Wire
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Garden space is created on the curb in front of a residential wall on a narrow street. The owner of the property did not want to encroach on the already scarce road space so she constructed a planter from rocks and concrete right on top of the curb. The limited volume of the created space necessitated hardy succulents (the owner noted that she had tried to grow other flowers but they didn’t work out). She was so confident of their hardiness that she picked a few off and offered them to me to take home. Fantastic!
When quizzed about the origins of the design, she confessed that she hadn’t seen the idea anywhere else – it just ‘popped’ into her head as a suitable solution.

Materials: Concrete, Rocks
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Scarce curbside space is increased just enough to accomodate pot plants along a residential wall.

Materials: Wood
Location: Akishima, Tokyo.

A tree is trained over an entrance way by being tied to a plastic pole.

Materials: Plastic Twine, Plastic Pole
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Plastic twine zig-zagged between a plastic pole and nails over a street-front window forms a base for a creeper to climb. Potplants hung off the bottom provide extra garden space. Spare, a little dirty, but functional.

Materials: Plastic Twine, Plastic Pole
Location: Akishima, Tokyo