Bottle Gourd Arbor

This is one of the curiosities at the Kyoto Botanical Garden called the bottle gourd arbor. It houses many kinds of gourds that have been grown in a large metal lattice "hut," and as the gourds mature they hang down over the heads of the garden visitors. This is the Lagenaria siceraria, called hyoutan in Japanese. The Kyoto Botanical Garden has more then just Kouyou and sakura, it features more then 2,000 species of plants and trees, and is well organized into specific gardens including: bamboo, bonsai, camellia, european, hydrangea, iris, Japanese native plants, lotus, useful plants, and an uma grove.