The Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, was a co-operative project between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and Kyoto Chamber of Trade in Japan. It was designed and built by an eminent Japanese Garden Designer and his team to celebrate the Japan Festival in London in 1992.

Although the Kyoto Garden is a fine example of Japanese Style "strolling garden" in the West, the plantings and their maintenance fell short of truly representing the differences in the pruning and training techniques unique to Japanese gardens.

I was privileged to study some of these techniques in Japan, with the guidance of the Designer, Tanaka-san; and his skilled team of designers and "gardeners".

In the spring of 2003, I was commissioned to oversee the initial phase of returning the Kyoto Garden to a more authentic Japanese "feel".  Many of the tired and inappropriate plantings were removed, which will be replaced with more authentic cultivars; others were thinned and/or pruned to be more in keeping evocative of the Japanese style.

I look forward to further involvement with this important link between two garden loving cultures.