Naoko attended the cherry tree planting ceremony at The Grange, the former residence of Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram, in Benenden, Kent, on 29th November. The planting was part of the SAKURA cherry tree planting project, in which more than 6,000 cherry trees are being given from the Japanese to the British people. The planted trees are: Daikoku, Asano, Hokusai, Okame, Umineko, Collingwood Ingram, Autumn Glory and Shosar.
They are all Ingram-related trees, either cultivated, introduced to the UK or discovered in Japan by Ingram. Hokusai is the tree which first ignited Ingram’s passion for cherry blossoms when he moved into The Grange in 1919.
These trees had once blossomed at The Grange but have been absent since his death in 1981. They finally ‘returned’ home and it was moving to watch them planted.
The trees were prepared by Chris Lane, the UK cherry expert who lives in Kent.
