Lesser Heat: The Fragrant Garden at Night
I participated in
#MyTwentyFourSolarTerms for the first time, hosted by Hashi | Literary Flea Market Sapporo I-23.
Lesser Heat is the most comfortable season in the northern region where I live.
While there are hot days, it feels more like "early summer" than the height of summer.
The mornings and evenings are cool, making it incredibly pleasant.
Depending on the year, it can be hot, but this year I am enjoying this "early summer" feeling perfectly.
I love my garden and live a life that is more than a hobby but less than a job.
The garden visible from my living room is at its peak right now.
Let me introduce you to my "Lesser Heat" garden.
They have grown into large bushes.
When I opened the living room window on the night of Tanabata, the garden had such a rich, fragrant scent.
It felt as if the plants were whispering to each other in the night garden.
I thought, this is exactly what "fragrant" means.
The garden first thing in the morning is also fragrant.
This scent is young and fresh, like the plants themselves.
If I had to compare it to people, maybe "a middle schooler heading to morning practice" or "a high schooler who just washed their hair in the morning"?
However, the scent of the night garden feels "mellow" or "dense."
But it is not too overwhelming.
If I had to compare it to people, maybe "a high school girl coming home from club activities," "a high schooler fresh out of the bath," or "a college girl who just started living on her own"?
I feel like I am starting to sound like a suspicious middle-aged woman, so I will stop here. 😛
Anyway, anyway.
It was a vivid scent that can only be felt at this time of year—not spring, not midsummer, and not autumn or winter.
I realized that I like the scent of the garden best on a "Lesser Heat night."
#MyTwentyFourSolarTerms
See you.
Shimamy