"In Japanese, we call that shrub an asebi," says botanist and potter Gufudo Watanabe. Without a pause, the sinewy man with the graying goatee tells me the two other common names in Japanese, the Latin name (Pieris japonica) and the English common name (Japanese andromeda).
Watanabe is a walking encyclopedia not only of plant lore, but also of Western and Eastern philosophical terminology, Indian culinary spices, ancient history, art theory and word etymologies. He can also read and write both Hindi and Nepali, and can give you the Japanese for such arcane philosophy terms as "phenomenology" or "existentialism." Usually, however, he's just puttering around in the garden.
"What I really am is a collector," says Watanabe. "Currently I'm focusing on fragrant plants: flowers, herbs and spices. I'm fascinated by all plants -- weeds, cacti, fruit trees -- but I tend to concentrate on things with an aroma."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.