S4C’s gardening series Garddio a Mwy visits Japan

The trees are known as Sakura in Japan and cherry blossoms are celebrated by the residents for their beauty.

Gardening is considered as an art form in Japan, with many of the concepts seen as necessary elements in international garden design having originated there.

World famous

In the programme, the Garddio a Mwy crew will see the world-famous bonsai in Tokyo, the cherry trees of the ancient city of Kyoto and will also get some work experience at the Himeji gardens to learn the ikebana craft of flower laying.

Garddio a Mwy: Japan will be broadcast on S4C at 20:00 Monday May 20 and the programme will also be available to watch on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer.

The timing of the filming was dependent on the date of blossoming according to one of the programme’s presenters Meinir Gwilym: “The trees blossomed later this year than they had over the previous decade, so our timing in terms of travel was incredibly lucky.

“The programme is a visual treat as we focus on the Sakura, and how these trees came to be planted across the country.

“We will find out how to create ‘Karensansui’, a dry garden or Zen garden that needs special equipment for the work. Within these gardens there are colours, flowers, pines, trees, mountains, lakes, a tea ceremony, and even fish.

“We’ll also see the familiar elements from Japanese gardens and compare Welsh and Japanese gardening.

“As we study the gardens and get to know the people working on them, we hope to lift the curtain on the country’s own culture.”

Art

Co-presenter Helen Scutt said: “Gardening in Japan is treated as an art form, like painting a picture. There are so many elements that are part of it.

“This programme will be perfect for you if you’ve ever thought about going to Japan, if you like gardening, or just like looking at beautiful flowers and learning about a different culture. It was a truly amazing experience”.

A new series of Garddio a Mwy will start on S4C at 20:25 on June 6th.