Shichiku Garden
Grandma Shichiku’s Little Green Eden
Shichiku Garden is known both for its wild and colorful environment and the woman who created it, Shichiku Akiyo. Known as “Grandma Shichiku,” she started the garden when she was 63 years old, determined to do something useful in her “second life” after the devastating loss of her husband.
She bought an abandoned farm and slowly transformed the place into the flowering oasis it is today. Shichiku Garden uses no chemicals or fertilizers and depends on groundwater alone for moisture. Almost 2500 varieties of plants bloom in a constant parade of seasonal color. The divisions of the garden are roughly defined sections, merging into each other like the colors of an Impressionist painting.
Although well into her nineties, Grandma Shichiku continues to run the garden. She has tilled the soil and planted almost everything in it with her own hands. Her pockets are always full of seeds and she is constantly on the lookout for a spot to add to her living canvas. Grandma Shichiku is often found in the garden or restaurant café, where she chats with visitors and poses for photos.
The breakfast buffet at the café is known for the spread that covers several tables with home-cooked dishes. These are made using farm-fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, meats, poultry, fish, rice, pasta and baked goods. As dishes are finished, new ones are brought out.
Shichiku Garden is open every day from morning to evening between mid-April and the beginning of November.