‘THE SAKURA OBSESSION’ , the American version of ‘Cherry’ Ingram, The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms, has been given the CBHL’s ‘Award of Excellence in History’ as part of its 2020 annual literature awards.        https://www.cbhl.net/award-winners  The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) is an international  professional organization in the field of botanical and horticultural information services. The literature award is given to the author and publisher of a work that makes ‘a significant contribution to the literature of botany or horticulture’. —-Other awards and citations given to the ‘Cherry’ Ingram (The Sakura Obsession) book —  The Nihon Essayist Club Award  2016  (for the original Japanese version) BBC Radio4: ‘Book of the Week’, […]

Naoko Abe will be giving a Zoom talk about ‘Cherry’ Ingram on Saturday 13 June 2020 at 4pm (London time).  The talk is part of the Alde Valley Spring Festival in Suffolk, UK. It is free of charge but please sign up by emailing :  enquiries@aldevalleyspringfestival.co.uk

Naoko participated in a cherry planting ceremony at the Earl of Cranbrook’s estate in Great Glemham, Suffolk The cherry planting ceremony was held at the White House Farm, the residence of Jason Gathorne-Hardy, eldest son of the 5th Earl of Cranbrook, on 6 March 2020. The 1st Earl of Cranbrook built The Grange, the former home of  Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram, in Benenden, Kent, in the late 19th century.  Ingram was fascinated by the two mature cherry trees in the garden, which ignited his passion for cherry blossoms. He later named the trees ‘Hokusai’ after the famous Japanese wood print artist. Jason Gathorne-Hardy, who had already planted 50 cherry trees in

Naoko’s article ‘A BLOSSOMING OBSESSION’ was published in the Kew Magazine’s spring 2020 edition. It explores the history of Kew Gardens’ cherry trees and reveals the 60-year relationship that Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram had with the Gardens.  click here to read the article 　　　　 The Dutch edition of ‘Cherry’ Ingram ‘SAKURA’, was published in March 2020 by Thomas Rap. ‘Sakura’ was in the Netherland’s top 10 best-seller list for several weeks in the spring. It became a “sales success” after a “substantial 5-star review in NRC Handelsblad,” the nation’s newspaper of record, according to de Volkskrant. ★The Italian edition of ‘Cherry’ Ingram, ‘PASSIONE SAKURA’, was published in March 2020 by Bollati Boringhieri.