Cheerful colors

I've been feeling a little down lately, but today walking along Sawtelle Boulevard in West L.A., the sight of this brilliantly colored rose cheered me up.

Sawtelle Boulevard is an interesting part of Los Angeles - it was once a separately governed city, until 1922, when voters agreed to join L.A. - after a turbulent few years when a previous vote for incorporation was challenged in court.

The neighborhood is known as a Japanese-American community - first settled by Issei in the 1920s, and then later by post-war immigrants and those returning from incarceration in camps. It's home to several established plant nurseries, groceries specializing in Japanese foods, and sushi and ramen restaurants. It was known for a while as "Little Osaka." In the 1980s newer immigrants and pop-culture manga-inspired toy stores and fashion outlets came in.

Today, there are several excellent restaurants here. It's worth a visit.

When you walk down the sidewalk on Sawtelle, the air is scented with jasmine because of all the nurseries on the boulevard. This pretty rose is at the Hashimoto Nursery, one of several Japanese nurseries remaining in the 1900 block of Sawtelle.