April Showers, Bring May Flowers

Only it isn't April showers, it is June showers. And the flowers don't come a month later, they are in bloom them. But saying that June Showers, tsuyu, bring June Flowers just doesn't sound as good...

But the flower in question is the hydrangea. In Japanese it is called ajisai. It is kind of a big deal about this time of year. As there are temples that revolve around cherry blossom season and their sakura trees, as there are temples with tons of Japanese maple trees and this beautiful fall foliage, there are a few, temples dedicated to the beautiful blossoming of hydrangea flowers. The temples for hydrangeas are definitely a minority as far as themes go for temples.

Also it is oddly more popular to see in the rain. You would think that all the Japanese ladies in the finery would want to stay inside and do their nails or something, but you will see all sorts umbrella-ed out at these temples on a nice rainy day. They think that the rain is the best natural way to view the hydrangeas and that it brings out their very best colors.
And what is more special than sharing this very wet moment of color with your sweetheart? It is finding the blossom that is heart-shaped. Apparently they are rather rare and considered to be pretty special.
Another thing to look for are snails. I am not sure why, but people will constantly draw pictures of hydrangeas and snails together. Perhaps they are a good combination or they both thrive in the rain. Either way, once a snail is spotted people will crowd it trying to take just the right picture of the spirit of the season.

いらしゃいませ

which is pretty much the standard greeting upon entering any store.

These beauties are out in front of the new  (LCC) Terminal 2 of the Kansai airport. 

However they will greet you especially enthusiastically if you see several pots of these outside. You see these beauties right here signify new stores. And typically I believe they are supposed to be given but more than likely the owner just buys a bunch of them and pretends people love him and really want him to open his enormous ass pachinko parlor right there. They don't. Oh well that is only one scenario. They can actually be in the fore front of any store upon its openings. It just seems that they are exceeding standard and super standard quota when it comes to casinos.

So for those who do no know, these are orchids. They are typically a white variety with an exceedingly large flower and flowering stem. And worse, they pick the most exceedingly common, not even interesting one to display everywhere: a phalaenopsis. Orchids in Japan seems to be a pretty common sort of gift when it comes to flowers. Winning a game? Pretty sure you will have orchids on your doorstep when you come home. Sick in the hospital? Something of the same variety might appear. And for some reason...ok I write that like no one can guess it. I am pretty sure we can all guess by this point why they choose a large white flower to give...purity, good fortune, longevity, take your pick. I am sure that it will mean something of that variety. 

To me orchids are kind of a silly gift. An extremely impractical flower. First of all orchids need a tropical climate to survive. So no, they are no an outdoor plant. Maybe in Okinawa. Also they need a pretty warm environment  so that means a sunroom and maybe constantly running a heater in the winter. And most importantly, those big beautiful stems full of flowers? Yeah, those will wilt and die. Not even the stem remains. You will be left with just the leaves. It looks like this.

jesus my house is full of these...

I know all this because my parents have a nice big sunroom full of orchids that they like to grow as a hobby. And whats more? Orchids need pretty specific conditions to bloom. I mean it is not like I had a house full of flowers as a kid. I didn't. They take a long time and lots of car to grow a whole new stem to bud and bloom. And that process can take years. No really. Some of the orchids in my house I have never seen bloom. Once I saw this really beautiful peach one bloom for about a week. I have no idea which one it is now. 

Now what would be a really fantastic business in Japan, is for someone who really has a green thumb, really good at growing and nurturing orchids (in other words not my parents by the number that I have seen come to flower in my childhood), to rent these out to the sad people who try to inflate themselves by buying them in secret for their own businesses. But renting, not buying, this way, when the stems die and the leaves remain, you can just send back the plant for them to bloom again for some other store front. It is a really  was to gain and regain profits from the same plants. Brilliant if you ask me...I have changed my mind. quite reading this blog. Don't come to Japan. This is my idea!...ok, or at least name your store after me?