妻も自分も、ラベンダーが好きです。シアトルに住んでいた時の家にもラベンダーを育っていました。それが懐かしくて、数年前に亀清の玄関の前にも植えてみました。信州の気候に合うかどうか不安でしたが、見事に丈夫にイキイキしてきました。こうやって、綺麗に咲いてくる時に、植えて良かったと思います。ただし、どんなに綺麗でも、洋風な花が和風の旅館とミスマッチになるかな？まあ、このラベンダーぐらいは、許してください。（笑）

My wife and I both really like lavender. We grew some at our house back in Seattle. Kind of as a reminder of that, we planted some in front of Kamesei when we moved here. I wasn't sure if lavender would do well in Nagano's climate. However, the plants have grown up and spread nicely. This time of year, when they are in bloom, it makes me thankful that we did plant them. I'm just worried, though, that no matter how pretty they are, western flowers probably don't match with a traditional Japanese-style ryokan. I hope they're not too much of a mismatch.