6/21/2023 0 Comments 'Cherry' Ingram by Naoko AbeNaoko will also talk about the symbolism of cherry blossoms in Japan, including the Japanese military’s ideological distortion of cherries during the Second World War. The original ‘Taihaku’, which is almost 100 years old, still blossoms at his former residence. Naoko will tell the amazing story of how Taihaku was returned via the trans-Siberian Railroad, with cuttings stuck in potatoes. Ingram sent cuttings from the tree in his garden, but it took five years for a successful homecoming. ‘Cherry’ Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms by Naoko Abe, Chatto & Windus, £18.99 Follow FTProperty on Twitter or fthouseandhome on Instagram to find out about our latest. In 1932, Ingram returned a beautiful variety called ‘Taihaku’ (the great white cherry) to Japan, which had gone extinct there. He was determined to preserve the diversity of cherries at a time when many varieties were disappearing from Japan because of industrialisation. Ingram spread the beauty of cherry blossoms across the UK and beyond. By the 1940s, he had created the world’s largest cherry tree collection in his garden. He grafted them to an English native tree to plant in his garden in Benenden, Kent, and created new varieties by artificial hybridisation. Ingram, an eccentric Edwardian gentleman, had fallen in love with Japanese cherry blossoms at the beginning of the 20th century and went to Japan three times to bring back cuttings of different species and varieties of cherry trees. In this enlightening talk, Naoko will talk about Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram (1880-1981), the Englishman who saved Japan’s blossoms.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |