Date: 11 March, Wednesday
Time: 14:00 to 15:30 JST – Doors open at 13:30
Format: Hybrid – Afternoon coffee & tea and Online via Zoom
Venue: Stellar Works Restaurant and Bar, Aoyama Building 2F
Direct Access from Aoyama itchome Station – Exit 0 (Zero) – Follow signage for Aoyama Building, Stellar Works Restaurant and Bar 2F
https://stellarco.jp/company-data/#access
Speaker: Ms. Kay Yamada, Authority on English-style gardens, Garden Designer, Guest professor at Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University, and Owner of Barakura English Garden
Title: Four Seasons at BARAKURA ＆ 2027GREEN×EXPO
Fee: JPY3,500 for members in person
JPY4,000 for non-members in person
Free via zoom
Registration Link: https://cw3saoj.wildapricot.org/event-6549404
*Note that seating is limited to 50 on a first-come first-serve basis
Profile 
Kay founded her fashion brand “Rosy Life” in 1972 and began to create garments crafted with fine lace and motifs. When traveling to the UK in search of materials for the brand, the Yamada Family were fascinated by the philosophy of creation from gardens inspired by William Morris, leading them to decide to build an English-style garden in Japan. In pursuit of the authentic English gardening culture, they enlisted the support of many experts from the horticultural industry in the UK, including John Brookes (the former chairman of The Society of Garden + Landscape Designers). In 1990, they opened Barakura English Garden in Tateshina, Nagano for the creative pursuit of fashion design and gardening. Kay has exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show, with her award-winning show garden in 2002 “Reflection on a Tateshina Meadow” representing a colony of Hemerocallis in Tateshina to introduce Japanese landscape as a healing garden. She further won recognition in 2003 and 2009. Kay has introduced several garden plants to Japan, such as old roses, golden acacia, dahlias, and garden cyclamen. Since 2010, she has been involved in selecting recommended varieties of garden plants exhibited in the annual flower trade show, Flower Trial Japan. Kay is also well known for her writing and editing of several books and has had regular TV appearances for English style garden shows in Japan. She lectures on English-style container planting and garden design in her gardening schools and nationwide gardening events. For her acting as a bridge between Japan and the UK in horticulture, she was honored with a Japan-British Society award from H.I.H Princess Akiko of Mikasa in 2014. Kay has designed 6 public English-style gardens across Japan, one of which is Mitsuke English Garden (Mitsuke City, Niigata) where she supervises a volunteer group of over 200 members and runs workshops for the local children to teach the joy of gardening. Their contribution to the beautification and development of the local community of Mitsuke City was honored with the Britain-in-Bloom Gold Community Award in 2024, marking the first time the award had been presented outside the UK.
https://en.barakura.co.jp/facilities/
General Meeting Team
Director: Shigeko Nagaoka
Program Coordinator: Monami Mogi
Meeting Managers: Joan Rodgers Doi and Rina Jiang
General Meeting Support Staff: Rina Jiang and Monami Mogi
Contact: generalmeetingmanagers@cwaj.org
