3D Courtyard Permaculture garden coming to Asaba Art Square, Yokohama bayside

Kazuko Asaba knows how to make children happy. They have been begging their mums to be taken to Asaba's Art Studio after school for decades.


When I first met her 15 years ago, she got me helping out on a kids camp weekend - 20 children camping in her attic. We made face masks, danced on the nearby beach, and had a Dark Universe Experiance, but more about that later. From Mid 2010, Her visitors will be able to add 'Costumed garden Creation' to their list of Asaba-initated experiences.

We have started planning an Edible Sustainable Water-catching garden, and a Fully Costumed, Fully Catered Fantasy Permablitz to make it all happen.Cecilia Macaulay visiting Asaba studio 2008 November

Edible Blue Flowers: Violas, Borage, chive flower, hanging rosemary, sage, and...?

Edible flowers make food spectacular, and gardening a treasure hunt

Blue bottles at Asaba Studio

For sunny spots, yellow climbing roses, chamomille, more violas, yellow nasturtium, day lilly, Japoica honeysuckle, Lotus in ponds.

Useful Cafe herbs: Lemons, limes and Yuzu citrus (potted to be transported to sun and snow-free wintering) rocket, salad leaf, Mint, corriander, salad burnett, shiso, chives, red lettuce,

purple edible water garden with flowform: illustration by Cecilia Macaulay

Tall and shade-creating plants: rasberries on sunny walls, hops and blue grape vines on trellis, maybe with


Share the surplus: Every 2 years Asaba-san gathers a bunch of art teachers, armfulls of donated art materials, and puts on classes in countries where children are so poor, they have never Seen a pencil, and have no idea that you can draw something you can see. Or cannot see yet, but might one day create. Like our garden!

There will be an Aussie Reln wormfarm for making compost, lots of garden art and stepping stone mosiacs, and of course, goldfish in the ponds, and fluffy bantam chickens to turn scraps to eggs.

Cecilia with Grizelda, Madam Bovery, and Marie Antionnete, Rent-A-Chook Bantams