This week we were able to visit the Hanashobu (Japanese Iris) Garden at Yamada Ike Park a second time. (The first visit is here.) Many varieties were now in full bloom and we enjoyed the garden at our leisure. (To my surprise, there was hardly a soul around!)

Not too far away is a research garden run by a prefectural university. In front of the office (just a hut, actually), they often have seedlings for sale. This usually consists of one or two small trays of seedlings from the same type of plant. I always buy a few even if I don't know what they are and add them to my garden. Today, this paid off and you can see the results of my efforts below! Ta-da! To be honest, I have no idea what this plant is called. I made a point of noting the name when I bought it, but today my filing system is failing me. Regardless I am so pleased that it is blooming! (If you know what it is, please let me know. Thanks!)

Update: A friend just let me know that this is a passion fruit plant (also called passionflower)! This variety is blue passionflower (passiflora caerulea). It does produce fruit but apparently, it's quite bland.

• How to Grow and Care for Passionflower: gardenerspath.com/plants/flowers/grow-passionflower/
  
• Blue Passionflower: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passiflora_caerulea

For the first time in three years, Yamada Ike Park fully opened its Hanashobu (Japanese iris) garden to the public from May 25 to June 25. You still can't walk around willy-nilly as before but at least you can now walk along all the boardwalks. (Two years ago the garden was closed and last year only about half of the boardwalks could be used.) We went in early June so some of the irises had yet to bloom. Still, it made for a lovely morning out.

The little wooden signs indicate the variety of Japanese iris (small writing) and the name of the iris (larger writing). Some day I will be able to identify Japanese irises by name, but today is not that day...

For more information about the iris garden: yamadaike.osaka-park.or.jp/flower

It's hydrangea season! And iris season! And yesterday the lilies in my garden started to bloom! Whew! I have so many photos to post but I simply cannot keep up. Life is very full at the moment but not to worry - it's all good! We've been going on a few day trips and enjoying various gardens. This is from Yamada Ike Park and, as usual, the hydrangea garden is glorious!

Here are some more photos of roses from my visit to Nakanoshima Rose Garden in mid-May. Each photo caption includes the name of the rose, the type, where the variety was created, and the year of creation. (Previous photos from this visit were posted on May 25 and May 26.)