The designer of an iconic garden within Aberdeen’s Duthie Park has returned to help in the upkeep of the tranquil spot.
Landscape architect Takashi Sawano created the peace garden in 1987 to commemorate the thousands of people who died in 1945 from the effects of the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.
He recently returned to garden along with one of his gardeners to spruce it up, and was delighted to see how it is has developed over the years.
Mr Sawano said: “It gave me great pleasure to be invited back to Duthie Park to see the garden I designed and made all those years ago.
“I was delighted to see how healthy all the plants are and how well they have been maintained and I would like to thank the Duthie Park garden team for looking after the garden and plants so well.
“This visit I trimmed the trees in the Japanese style so that visitors to the garden can appreciate the unique way that the Japanese have shaped their trees for centuries.
“Coming back to the garden after so long, I thought about the many, many people who must have walked through the garden and hopefully felt the peace within, and have taken away with them some of the pleasure and feeling that I have tried to create.
“I sincerely hope in the years to come that the garden will continue to give enjoyment and peace to those who walk through its paths. The Japanese garden commemorates the loss of lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, which is important to be remembered in these days of unrest in so many parts of the world.”
The gardening work was funded by the Friends of Duthie Park.
The group’s chairman Alan Amoore said: “The Japanese Garden is one of the most interesting and evocative areas within our wonderful park and being able to assist in bringing Takashi Sawano back to Aberdeen is exactly the type of initiative the friends are in existence for and we were only too delighted to help.”