Giant Leek
If this scene speaks to you, prints and downloads are available:・Order prints, digital downloads, or commercial licenses・Explore gifts and merchandiseSpring Spheres: Capturing a Giant Leek Amid Yokohama’s Garden Necklace
春のガーデンネックレス横浜：アリウム・ギガンチウムの球状の花の風景
The giant leek (Allium giganteum), a member of the onion family (Alliaceae), is native to central and southwestern Asia but has been cultivated widely around the world as a striking ornamental plant.
In the eastern section of Yokohama’s Yamashita Park, within the “Rose Garden of the Future” (未来のバラ園・Mirai-no-Baraen), these giant leeks are planted among a vast assortment of rose cultivars. Their spherical purple blooms provide a beautiful contrast to the softer, often layered textures and warmer hues of the surrounding roses, which offers variety in both color and form.
In this shot, I aimed to frame one of the leeks with the historic ocean liner Hikawa Maru, which is permanently docked nearby, in the background. However, I opened the aperture too wide, resulting in the ship becoming almost invisible in the bokeh. A smaller aperture somewhere between ƒ/4 and ƒ/8 would have provided better depth of field making the ship more recognizable while keeping the leek as the main focal point.
Every year from mid-March to mid-June, the city of Yokohama hosts Garden Necklace Yokohama, an annual event that celebrates the beauty of spring. A wide variety of flowers including tulips, roses, cherry blossoms, and more that bloom in succession across parks and flower beds throughout the city, connecting Yokohama’s 18 wards, its people, and the unfolding rhythm of spring.
Location: Yamashita Park, Yokohama, Japan
Timestamp: 2025/05/28・12:17
Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter
ISO 160 for 1/240 sec. at ƒ/2
Astia/Soft film simulation
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