June 21st- June 25th, 2026 is Summer – Start of GESHI (Summer solstice) – 28th KOU “NATSUKAREKUSA (self-heal) withers.”
The NATSUKAREKUSA literally means “a plant (KUSA) that withers (KARE) in summer (NATAU)” in Japanese. It gets its name from the fact that its flower spikes wither around the summer solstice. Because the withered flower spikes have been used in traditional Chinese medicine, it is also called KAGOSO in herbal medicine.
Today, on the summer solstice, the NATSUKAREKUSA in my garden have finished flowering and are beginning to wither. Only two flowers are managing to bloom.
There’s a mountain nearby where NATSUKAREKUSA grows wild. Until last year, I was always curious to see when it would wither, so I went to check on it several times. However, since there have been reports of bears appearing in the nearby mountains this year, I’m making do by looking at them in my garden.
2026/06/21