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The Kazahana company, headed by Kazuyuki Ishihara, one of Japan's most accomplished garden designers, won the ¡ÆGold Medal in Chic Garden' and the ¡ÆBest Chic Garden' award at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show 2006. Ishihara is the first Japanese designer to have triumphed in these categories at this world-famous event.
Over the years Kazahana has gained a number of prestigious garden awards, including the Silver Gilt Medal for Chic Gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show two years ago. This year, designer Ishihara wanted to surpass that achievement by aiming for the top award with his quintessentially Japanese style. ¡ÈI am delighted to win the ¡ÆGold Medal' and the ¡ÆBest Chic Garden' award¡É, he said. ¡ÈI sincerely thank our sponsors and staff for helping make my dream come true.¡É
Ishihara's career as a successful garden designer began when he was running a flower shop in his twenties. Through his gardening projects, he celebrates life in an atmosphere resplendent with flowers and trees. He urges us all to create our own gardens, declaring: ¡ÈIt will change your life.¡É
His winning creation at Chelsea 2006, reflecting his love of Japanese scenery, is called ¡ÆAo Arashi' (Blue Storm). Ishihara describes the inspiration behind his garden: ¡ÈI stand up and pleasant sensations flood my mind: the smell of moist earth, the softness and sheen of wet rocks, the irregular flow of water. Thus I experienced the ¡ÆBlue Storm' while passing through the grass, trees and fields.¡É To Ishihara, ¡ÆAo Arashi' evokes childhood memories of rural Japan.
Kazahana takes great pride in its involvement in the Chelsea Flower Show. For the thousands of visitors to this showpiece event this year, the masterpiece presented by the company's top designer has added an extra dimension to their concept of Japanese gardens.
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