戸倉上山田温泉の上の城山の百日紅（猿滑・サルスベリ）の木が綺麗に咲いています。名前通り、百日日間も咲きますかな？まあ、見事の夏の花です。
There is a type of tree here that fascinates me. It's called 'Saru-Suberi', which literally means 'Monkey Slips', a reference to the smooth bark that is so slippery even a monkey couldn't climb it. But the Kanji (Chinese Characters) for it literally mean '100 days red', apparently referring to it's flowers that bloom for a long time (seemingly 100 days). The bark is a beautiful pattern of slipperiness, and the red blooms certainly brighten the dog days of summer.

亀清の最新の坪庭にこの不思議なユリみたいな花が咲き出しました。なんとなく宇宙的な気分な花です。何の花（菜の花）か分かったらまたお知らせいたします。

更新：（ガーデナーの岡田さんから）
「無事咲いてくれたようですね。
この花は白花種の“鹿の子ユリ（Lilium speciosum ）”です。
ピンクの鹿の子ユリが一般的ですが、亀清には清楚な白花が似合うと思い、このユリを3株植栽しました。
囲われた中庭に香しいユリの香りが漂いますよ。」

In Kamesei's newest pocket garden, we spotted this white flower blooming for the first time today. It looks like a lily, but has somewhat of an outer-space feel to it. As soon as we figure out what it's called, we will update this entry.

Update: According to our gardener Okada-san, it's called a "Shika-no-ko (baby deer) lily" (Lilium speciosum).

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan's website

亀清の最近に植えなおした坪庭を良く見たら、この青い花が綺麗に咲いている。ガーデナーの岡田さんによると、日本の夏の花を代表する「桔梗」だそうです。この伝統的な昔ながらの日本旅館に日本の花がやはり一番合うよね！

Our most recently re-done tsubo niwa garden has this showy flower blooming now. According to our gardener, Okada-san, it is a Japanese bellflower, a summer-blooming flower native to Japan. It's a great match for our traditional Japanese inn!

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website

親戚からこの赤いユリを頂きました。そして、違う親戚から頂いた松代焼きの花瓶で飾りました。ユリの元気な色と松代焼きの落ち着いた色の合わせがなかなかいいですね。亀清旅館のあちらこちらに旬の花が飾ってありますので見においでやス。
One of our relatives gave us these red lilies, and we placed them in this Matsushiro-style pottery vase that was given to us by another relative. The vibrant colors of the lilies provide a sweet contrast to the subdued auroraborealis-like colors of the Matsushiro-yaki.
Seasonal cut flowers are displayed here and there throughout Kamesei -- we hope you come and take a look!

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website

ガーデナーの岡田さんが今度、末広という客室の前の庭を植えに来ました。私が気になっていた以前に植えてくれた石楠花の葉っぱをついでに聞いてみました。「この葉っぱは汚れているように見えるけど」と言ったら、「それは汚れではなく、新しい葉っぱの毛だよ」と教えたもらちゃった。その内に真緑になるようです。なるほどね！この新しい庭のお陰で色々と勉強になっています。
Our gardener, Okada-san, came today to start working on the garden in front of the guestroom Suehiro. I took the chance to ask him about a rhododendron he had planted previously. The leaves looked like they were dirty with dust. He told me, "That's not dust, that's the hair that new leaves naturally have." Apparently the hair grows out leaving a rich green color on the top side, but the bottoms of the leaves stay hairy. That's what I like about these new gardens -- I get to learn so many new things!

夕べは梅雨らしい雨でした。今朝は庭を見たら咲き出したアジサイに雫の姿を見てこの写真を撮りました。

Last night it rained cats and dogs. We are definitely in the rainy season. This morning, when I woke up and looked at our naka-niwa garden, the sight of the rain drops on the just-starting-to-open hydrangeas was so pretty, I just had to take this picture.

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website

亀清旅館のそれぞれの庭につつじが沢山咲いています。梅雨のグレーな日につつじの色が明るくて良いけれど、今日みたいな晴れている日につつじの色が特に明るいです。中庭にも、渡り廊下の横の庭にも、あちらこちらにつつじ！
All throughout Kamesei's gardens, azaleas are in bloom. Their flowers' colors are nice and bright during the grey days this time of year (monsoon season). But on a sunny day like this, the azalea flowers are particularly brilliant.

戸倉上山田温泉の上の善光寺別院のお寺さんの池のスイレンが綺麗に咲いています。お坊さんに「なぜお寺にスイレンが多いか」と聞いたら、綺麗な蓮が汚れている水から出る様に、私達の心も日々の世の中の問題から綺麗にすることを表せているそうです。なるほど！
The Buddhist Temple above our town, Togura Kamiyamada Onsen, has a small pond with water lilies that are in bloom now. I asked a monk why so many temples have water lillies. He said that a pure water lily blooming out of the murky pond water is a symbol of how our hearts should be pure despite the doom and gloom of the world around us. That makes me appreciate the beauty of the water lily even more!

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website

亀清旅館の最新のポケット庭に良く見れば白い色があちらこちらにあります。ガーデナーの岡田さんがこれで明るい空間を作ってくれました。
Upon taking a closer look, I realized that our gardener used white coloring as highlights in our most recently completed garden. Okada-san has created a gentle brightness to the small space.

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website

亀清旅館の中庭のつつじも綺麗に咲いてきました。春の花のパレードがまだまだ続いています。

Kamesei's 'nakaniwa' garden's azaleas are in bloom. Spring's parade of flowers goes on!

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan's website