Lunar Raven Hub started in the autumn of 2019 in a rented house in Portland, Oregon, where Keiko Ashford had a back garden that was, by any honest measure, a mess. She had grown up watching her…
From the shop
01Slow first
02Test before listing
03Cite the source
04Seasonal rhythm
05One thing at a time
06Honest materials
07Region-specific
Start with something small
See what we carry ↗Slow life as a concept is easy to agree with and difficult to practice. The difficulty is not philosophical. Most people who are drawn to it already understand why slowing down matters. The difficulty is practical: what do you actually do differently on a Tuesday morning in October when the day is already full before it starts?
Read more →Hojicha is the most forgiving of the Japanese green teas. Because it is roasted, the chlorophyll and most of the compounds that make green tea bitter at high temperatures have already been transformed. You can brew it at 90°C without the astringency that would ruin a sencha at the same temperature. But forgiving is not the same as foolproof, and there are a few things worth getting right.
Read more →Japanese maple bonsai are among the most rewarding trees to keep through autumn because the color change is dramatic and the timing is predictable. They are also among the easiest to damage in autumn if you misread the signals. This guide covers the period from first color change through full dormancy, specific to USDA zones 7 through 9.
Read more →Today Lunar Raven Hub serves readers and gardeners across the United States who are drawn to Japanese aesthetic traditions but do not always have access to specialist knowledge or materials in their area. The articles are written by Keiko and occasionally by two contributing writers she has worked with for several years. The shop carries around forty items at any one time. Consultations are booked a few weeks out. The pace is intentional.
I killed the first juniper. That is where the real learning started.Keiko Ashford grew up in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of a Japanese-American landscape architect and an Oregon-born ceramicist. She studied graphic design at the University of Oregon and spent fifteen years working for a mid-size design studio in Portland before leaving in 2018 to focus on writing and her garden. She has been practicing bonsai since 2019, with a particular interest in Pacific Northwest native species. She reads widely in Japanese gardening literature and translates passages for the site when no English version exists. On most evenings she can be found in the back garden with a cup of hojicha, checking on the maples.
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