“I once received this little packet of about 30 sunflower seeds. I grew them in pots, placed them in my garden, and watched them turn into these huge things. It was while watching those sunflowers grow that my interest in gardening really took off.

A hobby, a passion and a lifestyle: Gardening is all these things to me. When I’ve been sitting down for too long or whenever I have a bit of spare time, I garden and play with something natural for a change. It’s my 気分転換 (kibun-tenkan; mood-changer / mental break). Wherever I choose to live in the future, I would like to ensure it has a large backyard or balcony that would allow me to care for a garden.

It can be difficult to make sure the plants are watered enough, since Tokyo gets so hot during the summer and so dry around October and November. However, that’s nothing compared to the reward of watching the growth of a seed that you planted. An additional reward for me is that I get to see students in Gardening For a Cause (Social Service Council committee) develop an interest in gardening.

One thing I wish others knew about gardening is that it’s not as difficult as it seems. A lot of people say “I bought a plant once and it died”, and then they give up on gardening forever. But anybody can garden so long as they’re prepared to look after it and learn a little bit about the plant: Does it like getting watered? Does it prefer light to shade? Does it like growing out in the open? Just like anything else in life, you learn a bit about it you get better at it.” — Mr. Knight