Gardeners have long believed talking to plants can help them grow - but don't usually expect them to talk back.

A pot plant in a Japanese cafe has been writing her own blog on a computer to keep customers posted on its thoughts.

Engineer Satoshi Kuribayashi, who has been studying how to communicate with plants, helped Midori-san express herself.

He wired up the hoya kerrii, commonly known as a "sweetheart plant", to a sensor that measures bio-electric signals and translates them into Japanese using a computer algorithm.

A typical blog entry reads: "Today was a sunny day and I was able to sunbathe a lot. I had quite a bit of fun today."

Customers at the Bowls Cafe in Kamakura, near Tokyo, are taking a keen interest in their green friend's musings.

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