tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318033862024-03-23T18:58:17.755+01:00The Balcony GardenFor all would-be gardeners who don't have a garden at hand ...Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.comBlogger324125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-79844892642324507462011-04-17T18:53:00.003+02:002011-04-17T18:59:01.018+02:00April Heatwave<br><div align="justify"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ry8N77u6eg4ilfbCFdNteVze_mpY4LNBCjuh1Opscye4spczMnP0L4h7geJ3KDK1ASpZZhkxS46Ku4UodHgWkXih4Srzfl16ZwJjLhZwLx8hAXnDUfLwGUcim4ZKq7Y8R0G3/s1600/April2011+065.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 287px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596594886738699362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ry8N77u6eg4ilfbCFdNteVze_mpY4LNBCjuh1Opscye4spczMnP0L4h7geJ3KDK1ASpZZhkxS46Ku4UodHgWkXih4Srzfl16ZwJjLhZwLx8hAXnDUfLwGUcim4ZKq7Y8R0G3/s320/April2011+065.jpg" /> </span></a><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We're never satisfied really. A month ago I was moaning about how cold it had been. Although average minimum temperatures are around 6°C in March, they'd dropped to below freezing at night, and I'd had to put the fleece back on some of the tenderest plants. But then it changed and the temperature rose to more normal figures. And kept on rising.... Only a week or so ago, it rose to 32°C - unheard of in April, which usually has average temperatures of around 18°C as a daytime high. I was watering as if it was mid-August rather than spring, and these little daisies just fainted one lunchtime when I hadn't had time to water in the morning. I have to say I knew just how they felt - I was in much the same state as I wandered around town. </span></div><br /><div align="justify"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmwdvuZNEKPtYAkWVH6_bko168T2xdz1hZLBLNafsPtmc57QGyC-bAEz91GRy3JS5bZptnYsPr2j1aXVfsLgcJj1QQqN9NH1P8TVTzLf1KpkiJmWcR6G6Ezhr2zMrp7oeDtim/s1600/April2011+055.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596587565234480306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmwdvuZNEKPtYAkWVH6_bko168T2xdz1hZLBLNafsPtmc57QGyC-bAEz91GRy3JS5bZptnYsPr2j1aXVfsLgcJj1QQqN9NH1P8TVTzLf1KpkiJmWcR6G6Ezhr2zMrp7oeDtim/s320/April2011+055.jpg" /></span></a> <br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The daisies recovered, despite also falling prey to a nasty attack of powdery mildew. I suspect that some of the spring blooms came and went rather quicker than they might otherwise have done, though. A pity, but the heat has pushed on some of the seedlings. The aubergines are now through, and the tomatoes are begging to be transplanted. <br /><br />The best show so far this month has come from the wallflowers though. I planted far too many last year, but was looking forward to seeeing them all in bloom together. I'd planted some yellow ones and some browny ones whose seeds I'd collected from last year's plants, and some red ones from a packet. I wanted them mixed in the containers so had mixed the seeds together too. How would they come out? Well, those in the first container were all yellow. </span></div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSu_UJ-EEFHyYKN_QdlguMtttNRZFyjlo1f1zMxGxG7HJpxxU3UkXJav3EKX23t6BrxSDC95BFr-CXjho4CQvysW97zw99jd2rFuf3ktTJBD44Dj-yH_S9wtQacbEdnD4OguRW/s1600/April2011+072.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 251px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596594881069309442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSu_UJ-EEFHyYKN_QdlguMtttNRZFyjlo1f1zMxGxG7HJpxxU3UkXJav3EKX23t6BrxSDC95BFr-CXjho4CQvysW97zw99jd2rFuf3ktTJBD44Dj-yH_S9wtQacbEdnD4OguRW/s320/April2011+072.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> And so were those in the second container. And the second, and the third... I'll spare you the photos of all six containers. Out of about forty plants, every one that's bloomed so far has been yellow, except two which have shown a few browny streaks. Given that my sedum is also in flower, it's been a very yellow month so far....</span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9fAe-DxpWtM7d7Z6AXAUG760TYd6wlD4NZwxmubskaPAMCHjDMJvlr2rESm5BCrQ66Tpn3GHswYJZUe5_sZLfkBOmexS7oQBjS-15MdEJK08Y8HwhAnrvBW7OwhE55fz8NWM/s1600/April2011+049.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 318px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596594888842528818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9fAe-DxpWtM7d7Z6AXAUG760TYd6wlD4NZwxmubskaPAMCHjDMJvlr2rESm5BCrQ66Tpn3GHswYJZUe5_sZLfkBOmexS7oQBjS-15MdEJK08Y8HwhAnrvBW7OwhE55fz8NWM/s320/April2011+049.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There are some wallflower plants which haven't yet bloomed - nor even put out buds come to that. Are those the red ones and are they simply a later variety than the yellow ones, or have they just decided they can't be bothered? Time will tell... </span></div><br><br>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-26840027824658845112011-04-10T17:40:00.008+02:002011-04-10T19:02:02.679+02:00Oh, so that's what they were...<div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 222px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593977859546004338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7Oxs3cj_aCLqvZ8gSpGUfTDtZ4if1oTNb7kuOATpq2rdhc00-xzlxe62AP6njGhG4ijQ_NWnjo5LB2UZCVy1lD4o8Ucs3VifVQylQSwup71DKenzIZy4ceRiF3PqeGFmMG8V/s320/April2011+003OK.jpg" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05LHQ3U2GdJQfCPDEu4DZ6ZtUbmESaA1jmMViGZFjasJYKOhKG5vW3ju_xQo6wQ49ZihrQOV8TkhZDayi976dAmn7pW9a2ScEZAJv-F6CFT1hM18dy0V6bHTzRL30ucKvV_N3/s1600/15OK.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 115px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593972392948044034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05LHQ3U2GdJQfCPDEu4DZ6ZtUbmESaA1jmMViGZFjasJYKOhKG5vW3ju_xQo6wQ49ZihrQOV8TkhZDayi976dAmn7pW9a2ScEZAJv-F6CFT1hM18dy0V6bHTzRL30ucKvV_N3/s320/15OK.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Last autumn I posted about some mystery plants which had suddenly started coming through in a large container on the front balcony. They were obviously some kind of bulb, but I couldn't for the life of me remember putting anything in there. What were they? </span><a href="http://jamjaragain.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Jan</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> suggested "Those ones with the orange flowers, and I said, pseudo-knowledgeably, "Oh you mean Montbretia" - although I realised later that the picture I had in mind (and I suspect that Jan did too) was Crocosmia. </span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I love Crocosmia, so it was quite likely that I'd planted them. And the long sword-like leaves looked right. So crocosmia they were, I decided. And when the flower buds started to show, I was even more certain - long flower spikes with buds along the stem. They looked as if they were going to bloom around about the same time as the Honesty that was in the same container. Orange and violet - hmm, that would be noticeable. </span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">They're now in bloom - and what have we got? Freesias.</span></div><br /><div align="justify"></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 234px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593969289900113490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLUQqWvV2ayhpMUqV-XcqiVmDAmLkdW00x-pIUbFUz-64SRC38Al11W6rxXv_5eTVu7agiNWbRywLAWeZXsFhOT1CAs3qgCrPcAaCBS-5WkM2VgukPdwAFjUq9uSrWLEYUU3fJ/s320/April2011+022YYes.jpg" /> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><p></span></p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Yellow white and purple ones - which go very nicely with the Honesty. So perhaps I planned it all along. Who knows? I still don't remember planting them. But they're very pretty... </span><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVUbZq_mw8-utBelsd2Zm9IqiFdQjTILeM-QmMKNMgxakHzVUr-o3V4YdNIE_7HyoENlBB_5PwmNPpzP_AxjJLo1ND8cuR1sUwHigRbLJTA7z9h1NGMA1LD68ECwajtSqqUJ-/s1600/April2011+052.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 173px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593978657741925730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVUbZq_mw8-utBelsd2Zm9IqiFdQjTILeM-QmMKNMgxakHzVUr-o3V4YdNIE_7HyoENlBB_5PwmNPpzP_AxjJLo1ND8cuR1sUwHigRbLJTA7z9h1NGMA1LD68ECwajtSqqUJ-/s320/April2011+052.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfo6DueNp0Dpzo06us-WlF6BscImk9u5QAexUGpP704DR4D4UOHmXK9HehfBr5bYRsLAmQNt20P5Rp3vBEIl5e9iarEYJDW1JHdItkbS62sHo2B9eSEk99wIm2QVKt9Vlq9HgF/s1600/April2011+045.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 184px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593980861184056338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfo6DueNp0Dpzo06us-WlF6BscImk9u5QAexUGpP704DR4D4UOHmXK9HehfBr5bYRsLAmQNt20P5Rp3vBEIl5e9iarEYJDW1JHdItkbS62sHo2B9eSEk99wIm2QVKt9Vlq9HgF/s320/April2011+045.jpg" /></a> <br /><p align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XCKKSFtxvBhOj16wfnRRi4fGzirmQUarqYn-XwBgsaudM5VHgj2sTUFmgJdD40COa0-b9imdeiC9Uu5u9ml34WmAAjf3lciCNZRE4x3LQ95ab4M9ZJLCBBI4-5SRKxV65dYr/s1600/April2011+003OK.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a></p><br /><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></p><br /><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></p>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-39051334673615806862011-03-23T18:32:00.002+01:002011-03-23T18:33:29.181+01:00Just when you least expect it...<br><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">At the end of 2009, I planted a couple of Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis) bulbs in one of my larger containers. It was a bit late - they're supposed to go in in the autumn, and it must have been early December. But I thought I might just be inside the time limit.</span></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Spring came and - nothing. Not so much as a sprout. So I thought I'd probably done my usual trick of overwatering (easy in the large containers) and had rotted the bulbs. I found out later that they are supposed to be planted on their sides to stop the water collecting in the tops. Don't you always find out that sort of thing afterwards...</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Anyway, I forgot about them and planted other stuff, summer annuals and so on, in the container. And when winter came, cleared them out and left the container bare except for one little alyssum plant which I had no room for elsewhere. So I popped it in there on its own to overwinter, thinking that I'd move it in spring.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A few days ago, I went out to do just that. And here comes the Crown Imperial...</span></p><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J8qfN8laCLs/TYoqoh7-eVI/AAAAAAAAERQ/zvJZQYcthrE/s1600/FebMarch2011%2B050.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 271px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587325163499583826" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J8qfN8laCLs/TYoqoh7-eVI/AAAAAAAAERQ/zvJZQYcthrE/s320/FebMarch2011%2B050.jpg" /></a><br /><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">It must have just sat there all last year, biding its time.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Needless to say, I can't now remember what colour it is. Did I get the yellow ones? The orangey red ones? I'm going to have to find other stuff to plant in there which will go with either - and so much for my idea of that being my purple and white container this year.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Never mind. Nothing like a few surprises to keep the garden interesting...</span><br /></p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-46033331725286110722011-03-19T19:40:00.001+01:002011-03-19T19:40:38.097+01:00Yo-yo weather<br><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZ_GgiEtDJRGvUg_ZyLRpEh9wXAMQElNLejaajV7M7zVtyL1VCPb-pbjs1OF-_lnibZrlEd9mjR5wcSwQ7r1E1S-h4tQqa882zNbjxPK5OObJm1Nd8sL1rNfU2bv_iNCEywph/s1600/FebMarch2011+063.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585858561482666258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZ_GgiEtDJRGvUg_ZyLRpEh9wXAMQElNLejaajV7M7zVtyL1VCPb-pbjs1OF-_lnibZrlEd9mjR5wcSwQ7r1E1S-h4tQqa882zNbjxPK5OObJm1Nd8sL1rNfU2bv_iNCEywph/s320/FebMarch2011+063.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">March - and the month that, here in Milan at least, we can really get going with the serious stuff. The beginning of the month was very mild - two weeks ago I was out on the balcony in a short-sleeved T-shirt. It was well over 18°C and so, finally, all the last remaining fleece came off the containers.<br /><br />And then, well, all those seeds were just begging to go in. So I spent a happy Sunday afternoon sowing.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0s0CWo9WnBrRk6Ig80VIlcbFadoPsWhHoGmMO3U1V9CrVRlS7A0o45OMhWOPWRFROfJayk31HoBFAjY8yEZXL8n7Jas2677QaNhyV5vifQvU4T7cFwhbDf7duNPD2I4k6m53/s1600/FebMarch2011+040.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585858350679635474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0s0CWo9WnBrRk6Ig80VIlcbFadoPsWhHoGmMO3U1V9CrVRlS7A0o45OMhWOPWRFROfJayk31HoBFAjY8yEZXL8n7Jas2677QaNhyV5vifQvU4T7cFwhbDf7duNPD2I4k6m53/s320/FebMarch2011+040.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />The veg went in first - everything from lettuce and herbs (to stay outside) and tomatoes, aubergines and peppers (to come inside for a few weeks). And then it was the turn of the flowers - antirrhinums, alyssum, calendula, marigolds .. and lots more.<br /><br />When it got dark I came happily in to cook the evening meal, and turned the TV on to watch the news and weather forecast. And they were forecasting snow for Tuesday.<br /><br />Well, it didn't happen. But wow, did the temperature drop. Down to below freezing at nights. So the fleece went back on all the containers, and I covered up the seed pots as best I could. </span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div align="justify"><br /></div></span><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPBMRe53l8Z-uaixLWxYrEnKutCUPLD8Av7neZY_ekSjrssFXoCdAX5sl8Lk13BB2YcVwjDTkv9fuSim0KN6CFxPk9_WzgBSubfVb0leaGk0d8kZe2_k8dMzRzKCRcpUaz7o4/s1600/FebMarch2011+041.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585858361169952786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPBMRe53l8Z-uaixLWxYrEnKutCUPLD8Av7neZY_ekSjrssFXoCdAX5sl8Lk13BB2YcVwjDTkv9fuSim0KN6CFxPk9_WzgBSubfVb0leaGk0d8kZe2_k8dMzRzKCRcpUaz7o4/s320/FebMarch2011+041.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />The cold weather (and some torrential rain) lasted a week or so and then the temperature gradually began to creep up again. We've been back around 18°C yesterday and today.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpH0sQgqycvsN4tDYQBa0ZzDShvAf2PuciAz4xm6d7EO4aUUC6ky8sNQVpMDDMSwd8smQ6Qdz-_ioikDqT24-pbXYZvjrUBkUWdg8hE8o3IbQqp8qBm3Koqw5CAJ-2OQxzLDjb/s1600/FebMarch2011+061.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585858349065479858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpH0sQgqycvsN4tDYQBa0ZzDShvAf2PuciAz4xm6d7EO4aUUC6ky8sNQVpMDDMSwd8smQ6Qdz-_ioikDqT24-pbXYZvjrUBkUWdg8hE8o3IbQqp8qBm3Koqw5CAJ-2OQxzLDjb/s320/FebMarch2011+061.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Until a couple of hours ago that is. Adelio and I went out this afternoon to get some bags of compost. It was bright and sunny, and as we went I took some photos of the plants and trees which we saw on the way. There's Forsythia everywhere, and blossom on the roadside trees. And though I'm not desperately keen on this plant (whose name I know but can never remember - I always think of Pieris, but it's not) it does look wonderful in the spring when the new reddish brown leaves contrast with the rest of the bush.</span></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMnMMK7qBjdZp3VKJwAifkvj4QytdtefTAJCN7nn1nXZHNnJDMLIIKdqry7NGYiDW3X_g-azzuZWLYkPDfyY4qQrbXA9dAhhWrRpgZ4yOvXPudwFP-tWyMet7xLrzu9HmfAbu/s1600/FebMarch2011+064.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585860346636160002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMnMMK7qBjdZp3VKJwAifkvj4QytdtefTAJCN7nn1nXZHNnJDMLIIKdqry7NGYiDW3X_g-azzuZWLYkPDfyY4qQrbXA9dAhhWrRpgZ4yOvXPudwFP-tWyMet7xLrzu9HmfAbu/s320/FebMarch2011+064.jpg" /></span></a><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Spring seemed to have arrived.<br /><br />We were only inside about twenty minutes, but when we came out the sky had turned black and there was clearly a megastorm on the way. We just made it home before it broke... </span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbNwHEPGXRENgEqkRB8GXcSWaCsca-NVSGgJ8r7JSeK6P4ZSpje4bELkV_s6mF3unznx81RZSIbG1qn7NqHUpBBxgCnCk725dBYfKzzmvwrePbQCdW7DBfyAdr_3T7cPJ7sZa/s1600/FebMarch2011+068.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585858356919034706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbNwHEPGXRENgEqkRB8GXcSWaCsca-NVSGgJ8r7JSeK6P4ZSpje4bELkV_s6mF3unznx81RZSIbG1qn7NqHUpBBxgCnCk725dBYfKzzmvwrePbQCdW7DBfyAdr_3T7cPJ7sZa/s320/FebMarch2011+068.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span><br><br><br>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-11258674961228266102011-02-23T20:15:00.005+01:002011-03-23T18:35:29.533+01:00We've overwintered well...<br><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Over the past couple of weeks, the work of uncovering everything on the balcony and cleaning up has gone on. And I've been happily surprised how well everything has overwintered. I've lost one spider plant, and that's all.<br /><br />The weather has stayed much the same since I last posted. With the exception of a few days when we had torrential rain, it's been a matter of warm sunny days but nights well below freezing. Down to -8°C according to Google, though I have to say I've not been out at 4am to check. So the fleece stays on - but the daytime temperatures, which have stayed up between 10°-15°C, have meant that everything is clearly coming back into growth.<br /><br />When I attacked the back balcony, the first job was to sort out the chrysanthemums. I cut back all the dead flowers and shoots from last year...</span><br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></div></span><div align="justify"><br /></div><p align="justify"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 289px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576960481577713746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5I8b1LaQfhGD7cnvSHi-39QFFIhyi4uQ3Tjh_ZvWfnSdjb9OQ-wCdAJntrfwh8Fbp_0PIoNTrzHtJw1PkUOQ9iIDzhks-I5lUoLt-cMsIVsYekUnb9aOQfhfMfSrzNIQgDl4g/s320/Feb2011+037.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">... and there were the new shoots coming through. After last year's chrysanthemum <a href="http://balcony-garden.blogspot.com/search/label/Chrysanthemums">experiment </a>I shall certainly be leaving most of them on the old plants, even if I do take cuttings later on. </span><br /></p><div align="justify"><br /></div><p align="justify"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576960483508763410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7-ZkF7kW7tslfiawWmpEP08LJkxPqi91rcDK8zJ6lW7Yrvmj3PBHfrcHQ28FMn579b_CNPo989HpTcw1nH1VLTezD8aR85kLEX0Y59EJ664-6-l7ArGKb9BkMwDxcIcTJHUy/s320/Feb2011+040.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The sedum has come through well too, and the flower shoots are already forming. Usually it blooms in April, but it seems so far on that I wonder if it will be early this year. </span><br /></p><p align="justify"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576960491237246226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevxTuV0srgYmWDLi8X51N7dowveI6VDixjBF1BKqu2Oyc9c9p6-03dHOa1Plt6MC8UNIk0XJRxfklablLWtcAHsIyJsusXGH9gBTovCwU3sxI-SKSwmxbNN65hWuapxF4M54y/s320/Feb2011+045.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Every other container I uncovered seemed to have wallflowers in it - which won't be a surprise if you were around <a href="http://balcony-garden.blogspot.com/2010/03/around-about-5.html">last year</a> when I rather exaggerated the number of seeds that I put in. They were mixed though - some yellow-brown ones that I'd collected from past plants, and some red ones from a packet. Needless to say I didn't label them or keep them separate. We'll see when they bloom... </span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql1uZbx0lkFVUk876dYIqHR6YTsHbcr77mjvpQObfOKnOi0cK3VNPUbzGPbJ3w9HcRXjeizIOeBSzfr5YpsPzvVUBLfXRfi-PC7CBcSWcoSQt-uVtIS_IfUiTPfnRjw5jE0yo/s1600/Feb2011+063.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576962659605289586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql1uZbx0lkFVUk876dYIqHR6YTsHbcr77mjvpQObfOKnOi0cK3VNPUbzGPbJ3w9HcRXjeizIOeBSzfr5YpsPzvVUBLfXRfi-PC7CBcSWcoSQt-uVtIS_IfUiTPfnRjw5jE0yo/s320/Feb2011+063.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><div align="justify"><em><u><span style="color:#0000ff;"></span></u></em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Then there was the garlic. You may remember that I planted it in January. <em>You</em> may - but I didn't. I'd completely forgotten about it, and when I uncovered it, it had that look on its face that said : W<em>e know you drowned our predecessors last year, and we know that this year you promised not to overwater us - but come on ... we're not camels.</em> Sorry lads.</span></div><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoUWsBjH1mPZm-wBBAaLiXNdU3sEnyvwQSvLj7BahDoL249WLGixs7DxHYGvPzgMxBdqrCGwzln6jtfbhxPbJIguTaJXqi-M7BuX0k5KNviVRmSJU0tQPcS5LvzIyqt2kPuBZ/s1600/Feb2011+051.jpg"><br /></div></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 230px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576960502322479426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoUWsBjH1mPZm-wBBAaLiXNdU3sEnyvwQSvLj7BahDoL249WLGixs7DxHYGvPzgMxBdqrCGwzln6jtfbhxPbJIguTaJXqi-M7BuX0k5KNviVRmSJU0tQPcS5LvzIyqt2kPuBZ/s320/Feb2011+051.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But it was when I started on the office balcony that I got the best surprise : the pelargoniums are already coming into bloom. Not bad for February.<br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyqXHFA_ucp3OGxbEylHAczz3EMlbL4El-IrgvmGCAl35kagLiMGr11b_7eJtov2hYn3F5fAxXclFedSQ0o1OxkSucx4sP2o1UUzI-arc175tokko5eDxDN6vPtc7LtPYuN7Q/s1600/Feb2011+080.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 259px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576960615848472834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyqXHFA_ucp3OGxbEylHAczz3EMlbL4El-IrgvmGCAl35kagLiMGr11b_7eJtov2hYn3F5fAxXclFedSQ0o1OxkSucx4sP2o1UUzI-arc175tokko5eDxDN6vPtc7LtPYuN7Q/s320/Feb2011+080.jpg" /></a><br />Now - I feel a bit guilty posting this pic just after Jan of <a href="http://jamjaragain.blogspot.com/2011/02/from-sublime-to-ridiculous.html">Mud, Gorse and Pines</a> has recently posted about the sorry state of hers... but Jan, I'm not gloating, really... promise... I'm not...</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></span></div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-11278472455165428982011-02-06T19:04:00.003+01:002011-02-06T19:14:39.108+01:00The balcony is back...<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S5k3DwGgQFDARNDwD9OtDqbgqDvP6CfI5vjWFhdaKrQffQ4kNPojlTojG-JfOfMUWIg8ivvu9_CulUbE9CkyvoPzzlARfKvDG4m2B9_AWTTxTyWr1d1NryIo91lQWhWW0SF-/s1600/Feb2011+029.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570634395523930290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S5k3DwGgQFDARNDwD9OtDqbgqDvP6CfI5vjWFhdaKrQffQ4kNPojlTojG-JfOfMUWIg8ivvu9_CulUbE9CkyvoPzzlARfKvDG4m2B9_AWTTxTyWr1d1NryIo91lQWhWW0SF-/s320/Feb2011+029.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In the last few days, temperatures have suddenly shot up. Walking home on Friday afternoon, I suddenly found myself unzipping my jacket and ripping off my woolly scarf because it was so warm. Don't know what the temperature was, but forecasts have been predicting anything up to 14°C (57°C) for Milan this weekend.<br /><br />And on the way to the supermarket yesterday, I noticed that the new grass was coming through, and lawns were looking green again. Didn't even have to pretend to myself this year - it was clearly time time to uncover the balcony... </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570633845200305090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgej-tUQMjxdoklyleXJZ-LPczPjMKrRcbOuBqV9sCY2E-G0Tzuh-tKoqkr-xeZJT7LG1V1c27x13mzksg1y97esa_yfsBgK7vfPFrBR1R2n_Mw6lGSqnmY2uFNmNuYi06EQAAP/s320/Feb2011+010yes.jpg" /><br />So this morning saw several hours of hard work out on the front. The fleece came off the containers huddled against the balcony wall and the dead stuff got thrown away. There was surprisingly little that hadn't made it, I was pleased to see. Most containers seemed more or less unscathed - like this one with the plants that surprised me by coming through last autumn (I'm more and more inclined to believe they're Montbretia), and a couple of Honesty.<br /><br /><div align="justify"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyegS6ofbFV67_IYkjDRsi6BM4DTis-KG1p36mUKPiPn3rLtSRAgh8zWVXw9YjnfCQfi-UURERhs8_FShWAIrpdU_3WcwHMR85e7-T1LclrypiA84eNvlfVOz-tuPxZDsK4QCF/s1600/Feb2011+022.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570634389497923058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyegS6ofbFV67_IYkjDRsi6BM4DTis-KG1p36mUKPiPn3rLtSRAgh8zWVXw9YjnfCQfi-UURERhs8_FShWAIrpdU_3WcwHMR85e7-T1LclrypiA84eNvlfVOz-tuPxZDsK4QCF/s320/Feb2011+022.jpg" /></a></span><br /></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Next, the railings and container holders, as well as the drip trays and the containers themselves, all got washed down - as did the tables. And then the fun started ...<br /><div><br />For the past ten days or so, I've been "collecting". A visit to the garden centre last Sunday saw me coming home with a couple of bags of primroses and pansies, and when I was at the supermarket yesterday, and saw them putting out stuff that had just come off the lorry - well I couldn't resist.<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJW_0fdEI9ffNHOZVvON1DcLtiZJbkqieb2_xRAyq82vuy512bs8G3m4Nwh_sNUBEyUEnNa55-i7a7fhmUc1IIViS3ote9hNK4iL1vuaJvmFK3pOgPfTXb6oqGUUZjnBeHKWaf/s1600/Feb2011+020.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 198px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570634386742871874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJW_0fdEI9ffNHOZVvON1DcLtiZJbkqieb2_xRAyq82vuy512bs8G3m4Nwh_sNUBEyUEnNa55-i7a7fhmUc1IIViS3ote9hNK4iL1vuaJvmFK3pOgPfTXb6oqGUUZjnBeHKWaf/s320/Feb2011+020.jpg" /></a><br />So in they went, together with some other plants that had been keeping warm under the fleece since the autumn - like the cyclament I blogged about then.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570633857092213202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYX4awVX81QruAZu_wQmMTjYPqBakpivzfUySI1VNLJkc4D21RgZxd8wRlwlqDHZy9qX9fqt3Q23EcPSouxqXspb3xphi8gSXPRxqWH6XwY_kF7sDPxUtAqDHrTmnYkiNfgAm/s320/Feb2011+018.jpg" /><br />But I wasn't the only one who'd decided that spring is just around the corner and it's time to wake up and start work again. While I was potting up the new plants, I had a visitor...<br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 263px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570633849760478866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUzh7DfagllMwEKvjSE-hTX7BkiB79Qgc4jktCnuT6nTt4YncKV5az8bdjUDJ33GtqcAqjuQ1QBjhqehKvrjPzlZud-S-tL8MkkJtZ6ixaIQTmeNI5x-bsHm7YHWU7K4lftUo/s320/Feb2011+013yes.jpg" /><br />The first bee of the year - obviously pleased that he'd found somewhere where there were a few flowers. And very welcome he was too. May he be the first of many.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570633853989663842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDhh6pKffDOoCJ_Va00fv6Qba8ATXZbNcNKhpf_Fw1UROz2LraYnPooO6ry3tejhARli-gS4HYunwMASGfPb8m6HxG5mcw1zye0hxzlRDw4mebEKlrTPduLn8WsInDZTYh2y6/s320/Feb2011+017.jpg" /><br />By the time I came in to make lunch, the sun had hit the balcony and the thermometer was showing 18°C (64°F). I'd stripped off the heavy Norwegian style sweater I use for winter gardening (I can't bear gardening in a jacket) and winter seemed only a memory.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNVVDa6n0KSPuS_zCCgfYzTzd4GLsmkVOlGSFCEJBzuNyJDXS89uYcfgZhyl8bH0UW6sQzIw0dJRKT-R5gfdcsBfKZPJ729KPTe2YtgABJuRAgL2dl1I5Esmy9Nd0GjobCJVw/s1600/Feb2011+016.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570633850843557410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNVVDa6n0KSPuS_zCCgfYzTzd4GLsmkVOlGSFCEJBzuNyJDXS89uYcfgZhyl8bH0UW6sQzIw0dJRKT-R5gfdcsBfKZPJ729KPTe2YtgABJuRAgL2dl1I5Esmy9Nd0GjobCJVw/s320/Feb2011+016.jpg" /></a><br />But no - I'm not that naive. It's still only the first week in February, and a quick look at the forecasts for the next few days show that though daytime temperatures are staying up around 14°, at night it's going as low as -2°(28°F). So (if sadly) I left the tenderer plants, like my plumbago, close to the house, and wrapped them up again in fleece. The primula and pansies should have no problems, but there are a few biennials that I'm more worried about. Like the plants in the first container above. I think they're daisies, but have to admit that I can't really remember. But it's easy enough just to pop the fleece on at night and off again in the morning, using bulldog clips to hold it.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBNv_5nE2pJM8RVjN-2YHhOgH_5yML5_d6D61eFP-umnoDu_IX1ym6Yv_uaWNZMizZZKokzi6DsJdL7LtbUfTyQmu81cXXCYr74CVvOIURuptGCfuI4U86gSdZ4jCo3S1ySTU/s1600/Feb2011+026.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570634393879257362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBNv_5nE2pJM8RVjN-2YHhOgH_5yML5_d6D61eFP-umnoDu_IX1ym6Yv_uaWNZMizZZKokzi6DsJdL7LtbUfTyQmu81cXXCYr74CVvOIURuptGCfuI4U86gSdZ4jCo3S1ySTU/s320/Feb2011+026.jpg" /></a><br /><br />So there we are. The winter may not be over. But for the moment it looks as if we might be heading for an early spring. Or have I spoken too soon...<br /></span></div></div></div></div><br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv53Utxs1hUO4TfCbS1JzIhPdppIAjpmbBtqqBOq4EaLc14NJ3G4c8Fg0_T9s97d1isFHW-8-EL2mMtKhiCkM8XpUJhMeGQAwMbpEahXvZQ_aCXJPidPc-7a9B7YG9QSzWfGTN/s1600/Feb2011+019.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570638230129825538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv53Utxs1hUO4TfCbS1JzIhPdppIAjpmbBtqqBOq4EaLc14NJ3G4c8Fg0_T9s97d1isFHW-8-EL2mMtKhiCkM8XpUJhMeGQAwMbpEahXvZQ_aCXJPidPc-7a9B7YG9QSzWfGTN/s320/Feb2011+019.jpg" /></a>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-2250179770738253472011-01-27T20:55:00.006+01:002011-01-28T19:46:10.073+01:00Starlings<br><p align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Cq_FkdhEg2yUjBLeMjHkK6uzpQogdx7mrfaFCxXABNuP37_pufJSCcm6e59T4Ju-__1_pHaA6-VZtKGBI7c_yyghPmoyHVeWc035rSvz4DAFt7XvTtcUTOzPgbLccHS6siVR/s1600/starling1.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 294px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 174px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566937655979756130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Cq_FkdhEg2yUjBLeMjHkK6uzpQogdx7mrfaFCxXABNuP37_pufJSCcm6e59T4Ju-__1_pHaA6-VZtKGBI7c_yyghPmoyHVeWc035rSvz4DAFt7XvTtcUTOzPgbLccHS6siVR/s320/starling1.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />My mother loathed starlings (sturnus vulgaris). She'd always put out bread for the birds, but then spend hours chasing off the starlings. Bullies she called them, only interested in "stealing" food from the little sparrows. Anthromorphism rules, OK.<br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There no longer seem to be either sparrows or starlings in my Lonon garden. I've posted before about the sparrow decline in London (they're still going strong in Milan fortunately), but the lack of starlings is odd. Because they're still in the area - the car park of our local supermarket is full of them. The cars don't daunt them in the slightest...<br /></p></span><p align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOT0TPtBNhBrfYjaTpnEcV-epamQVMy65j_2nJn_0BnGqQq-81pCDhhzGZTjOxJcGQYYNLfZqOnZoaPOXoao8gmsxxnrnGUsK7hwIaiXy_zGxVvqf8zmBwqf8yrFV8-vca-Fy/s1600/London+July+2010+064.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 230px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549493442932881618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOT0TPtBNhBrfYjaTpnEcV-epamQVMy65j_2nJn_0BnGqQq-81pCDhhzGZTjOxJcGQYYNLfZqOnZoaPOXoao8gmsxxnrnGUsK7hwIaiXy_zGxVvqf8zmBwqf8yrFV8-vca-Fy/s320/London+July+2010+064.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Why have they abandoned our area of parkland and gardens to move into a trading estate? No idea. Wouldn't have thought that an Asda car park was that rich on pickings. Could be the MacDonald's next door I suppose ...<br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>Oi Bert! Them kids 'ave just dropped a carton. Sling us over a chip, would yer...</em></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But perhaps it's not just that. According to the </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/European_Starling"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">BBC Wildlife</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> website, the population of starlings has dropped by 92% on previous figures. That certainly tallies with what I've seen in the garden.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Starlings are sensible birds. Some migrate, some don't - it depends where they live and what the winter conditions are like there. Birds from eastern Europe, where temperatures are harsh, will migrate, either to milder climates like Britain (is that why I no longer notice them so much - because I'm only there in the summer when numbers are reduced to the residents?) or south, to the real warmth. Here in Italy we see huge flocks arriving every year. Both in Milan and Rome, the sky outside the main station is often dark with them, and the air shrill with the squawking of up to 100,000 individuals. I wanted to make a video of them this year but (of course) missed them and had to make do with a few photos. During a walk down the Martesana canal in November, I noticed that they were gathering. Numbers were puny in comparison to some flocks that I've seen, but still dangerous. I had to go home and wash my hair afterwards...<br /></p></span><p align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsDzpGVEDZy0yUNtEMqMtZNvL0z5wlsTW7ovPu9fDChgUAetl771k1c693GyL9y-HwOWDz8hwdYLOpdl3k0xN-i5_zZcE6xzOvIqeAILc97YtLns3wnEDw8ISo3t-bdhCZ_Tb/s1600/Nov+2010+082.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 278px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566949362097942594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsDzpGVEDZy0yUNtEMqMtZNvL0z5wlsTW7ovPu9fDChgUAetl771k1c693GyL9y-HwOWDz8hwdYLOpdl3k0xN-i5_zZcE6xzOvIqeAILc97YtLns3wnEDw8ISo3t-bdhCZ_Tb/s320/Nov+2010+082.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Yet even a few who live in more temperate climes will sometimes up and go. </span><a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/youth/learn/migration/stories/starlings.asp"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The RSPB </span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">site says "These birds are residents, and most never leave us..." - <em></em>which presumably means that some do. So how do they decide ? </span></p><p align="justify"><em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">- Eh Fred. Decided what yer doin' fer yer 'olidays?<br />- 'allo Charlie. Well, yer know, things 'ave bin a bit tight recently. Me 'n the missis thought we might just stay at 'ome 'n 'ave a few days out. You?<br />- Oh going down ter Majorca fer a coupla months with the gang. Yer know who I mean? </span></em></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Those that decide to stay at home sometimes find themselves in trouble when unexpectedly hard weather comes. This one, with 25 cms of snow on the ground, was reduced to attacking the feeders for the tits on my sister-in-law's balcony in Northern Germany this Christmas.</span></p><p></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCztd_Xun0VCoymYr0sxj_4-j99rJrism69biPEEDgnN5VuXI9HgmKPUWzDLd3TdWaG0CZbUJjnwmitvi7VaNOiCBf4ZZ_FIZuJjDzBJM4LccQRW5Xm16u9AzCXqC4u8rL7P9/s1600/xmas2010+012.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 294px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566953500744722258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCztd_Xun0VCoymYr0sxj_4-j99rJrism69biPEEDgnN5VuXI9HgmKPUWzDLd3TdWaG0CZbUJjnwmitvi7VaNOiCBf4ZZ_FIZuJjDzBJM4LccQRW5Xm16u9AzCXqC4u8rL7P9/s320/xmas2010+012.jpg" /> <p align="justify"></a></p><br /><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So if you've got some in your area, take no notice of my mother's prejudices. They're no longer the common garden bird that they once were. Ignore the pompous, aggressive strutting and squawking, and focus on that gorgeous metallic sheen on the plumage. Losing the starling would be as great a loss as losing the Bengal Tiger in my opinion. So put out some food and don't chase them off. Even starlings have to eat...<br /></p></span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-72164356033831095242011-01-23T19:12:00.003+01:002011-01-28T19:49:07.416+01:00Spathiphyllum<div align="justify"><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It has been bitterly cold here for the last few days, with temperatures dropping to -8° at night. And we're not even officially into the three "days of the blackbird" at the end of the month, traditionally always the coldest of the year. (Why "days of the blackbird"? I blogged about it a couple of years ago. You'll find it </span><a href="http://balcony-garden.blogspot.com/2008/01/snow-on-antirrhinums.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">here</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">)<br /><br />So I've found myself putting off the clearing up jobs that are waiting for me on the balcony, and I've spent the time giving my houseplants some TLC instead.<br /><br />I have very few in the flat. It's quite dark, and most plants suffer from the lack of light. In the summer, in fact, they stop being houseplants and go out on the balcony, but in winter have to come in to protect them from the cold. But I do have a bit more luck in my office. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 237px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565433528827438962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbd2f1-TXM81lQ0vkEGbbsBHsyKo2oJ2TPMEJvC_1GkK_rv4dqOFFjPp2QRVh9dQZddWB60upiCNlt7MMPHmvpm4Que2FCt8iRNJf-lVhHx2agC24h1Q4e1oey8mkOcLLnxE-/s320/Oct+2010+054.jpg" /><br />One of my favourites (apart from my beloved Pothos, Scindapsus or <a href="http://balcony-garden.blogspot.com/2008/01/if-theres-plant-which-i-find-easy-to.html">whatever you want to call it</a>) are these little Spathiphyllums, Peace lilies. I got them last autumn (a present from some students - thank you Module 3 people) and they've been super all winter, blooming their little hearts out.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Native to the rain forests of Central and South America, Spathiphyllum thrives in slightly shady conditions. And so is well at home in the office where, except on the sunniest days of summer, I need a light on constantly. Being a tropical plant, it does like to stay warm though -keep it at over 15°C (60°F).</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">They come in all sizes from small to medium to large. I'm not sure what this one is. Possibly Spathiphyllum wallisii "Chopin", a dwarf cultivar. It's tiny in comparison to other spathiphyllums I've had in the past.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">As a rain forest plant it likes to stay moist - though not soggy. Let it dry out and it will flop horribly. Don't panic however - as long as you catch it quite quickly and water well, it will pick up again as if nothing had happened. It's only fainted.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Like all houseplants, it needs to be kept clean. If the leaves get dusty then their stomata ( the plant version of skin pores) get clogged. Plants absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide to create their own food in the form of sugars, releasing oxygen as a waste product. This process, called photosynthesis, is impossible (or at least inefficient) if the stomata are clogged, and the plant will suffer (wouldn't you?).</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Plants growing outside will be washed regularly by the rain, but in the house (or on a balcony) they need cleaning regularly. Use a soft sponge or cloth dipped in tepid water. You'll usually be horrified at how much muck comes off.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Smallish plants with tough leaves (like Scindapsus) can also be popped into the sink under a <u>gentle</u> stream of tepid water and given a shower. This is also a good way of getting rid of any pests like aphids and the dreaded red spider mite. Make sure though that any excess water that gets into the soil is allowed to drain off immediately. </p></span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-1322489128494083952011-01-16T20:38:00.005+01:002011-01-29T17:41:08.062+01:00Mini-plants<span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We're having a cold, nasty January. Temperatures aren't bad - around 2-3°C - but it's been foggy for days. Which means it's been a miserable, damp type of cold and everything is grey and dark. Summer mist can be beautiful. Winter fog isn't.<br /><br />Needless to say not much is happening on the balcony, and I'm getting itchy. I want to get going again, but know it's too early. So when I saw these mini-houseplants in the supermarket yesterday, all at 1,50€, I didn't stand a chance of resisting. They were being sold separately, but I loved the contrasting leaf colours and thought they'd look good together. And bought them.<br /><br /></div></span><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_zSZ_zkaDk27PpAauzdTNF66Mc3I473skIfd5scimxotly9dVNlqr5DC_OMoJ7JTmmmUQT_P7YuKKzl0Lxwy6jWPkUZdjXgy_o1wx_XmPKZYarEnPhu12YthGiub0DA9UZwn/s1600/Jan2011+016.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562854536288979794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_zSZ_zkaDk27PpAauzdTNF66Mc3I473skIfd5scimxotly9dVNlqr5DC_OMoJ7JTmmmUQT_P7YuKKzl0Lxwy6jWPkUZdjXgy_o1wx_XmPKZYarEnPhu12YthGiub0DA9UZwn/s320/Jan2011+016.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Dangerous. Because I had no idea what they were and what conditions they needed. The supermarket label announced that they were "piantine verdi" - small green plants. Wow, that's helpful. Did they need the same type of soil? Did they like the same amount of water. No idea. Buying plants without knowing what they are is, of course, the one thing you should never do. But you do, don't you? Please tell me it's not just me.<br /><br />Anyway, once home, out came my wonderful, very old and very well thumbed houseplant book*. And I think I've managed to identify them all (I think - tell me if you disagree). They are, starting with the plant with the pink leaves at the back (weren't these supposed to be small <em>green</em> plants?) and moving around in clockwise order : </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong><br />1. The Polka Dot plant</strong> (<em>Hypoestes phyllostachya</em> also known as <em>H. sanguinolenta</em>) : Originally from Madagascar and likes warmth and humidity. No problem. Is also happy in shade good. My living room gets very little natural light. Can grow up to 2ft, so need their growing tips pinched out to stop them becoming straggly. Still no problem ..</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong><br />2. Ivy</strong> (<em>Hedera</em>) : Well, OK, I didn't really need to look this one up. Good in situations of poor light (phew!) and doesn't seem to be fussy about anything else.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong><br />3. The Aluminium plant</strong> (<em>Pilea cadierei</em>) : I think this might be my favourite of the five - I loved the contrasting green and grey of the leaves. Native to Vietnam and sensitive to magnesium deficiency - needs a good dose of Epsom salts occasionally (a teaspoon in a pint of water.) That can be arranged. Likes a moist soil - no problems so far.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong><br />4.</strong> This one caused me a few problems. I couldn't find it at all. However, when I turned to the net it popped up on <a href="http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com/2010/02/list-houseplants-with-heart-shaped.html">Plants are the Strangest People</a>. It's a <strong>Peperomia</strong>, though I've not been able to identify the variety. My houseplant book does list them, but there are around 1,000 species in the genus and, not surprisingly, mine wasn't the one they'd chosen to illustrate. Doesn't like to be too moist and not keen on humidity. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong><br />5. Pellonia</strong> (possibly <em>Pellonia daveauava</em> - try spelling that without looking three times) : Again likes warmth, humidity and moist soil.</span></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />So - the only problem might be the <em>Peperomia</em>, which seems to like cooler, drier conditions than the rest. Could have been worse, I suppose...</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />References</span></strong></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />What is my wonderful, very old and well-thumbed houseplant book ?</span></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><center><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=wwwbusinessta-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=B000S3JQX6" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></center>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-25083327409477682932011-01-07T23:51:00.003+01:002011-01-07T23:55:22.598+01:00Thank goodness for garlic... Part Two<br><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">When I was a child, growing up in South London, garlic was the epitome of foreignness. My mother wouldn't have touched it with a bargepole. It was one of those things, like snails, that the French ate, and therefore decidely beyond the pale. (When I got older, I did once point out that she would eat winkles at every chance she got, but received the reply, "Yes, but they're food.")<br /><br /></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559520332263747986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdcrK1oW1L35phVJJCiI9rDBJ9MfdTE66OzE5O-Uo2pFIAWhTR_fhF_oJ84cJLwzoVVQ2IHCHynwi5MDbdV7fQeSdfuwZl32HY2I3hyzIsWt364tBtOmZYz3TSt4QoaRcDIsg/s320/Jan2011+002.jpg" /><br />Back to garlic. Suffice to say that I had to wait till I left home before I discovered what it could do for food - eating it was one of those daring, "forbidden" new experiences which awaited me when I got to university.(Don't get excited - the others were things like curry and stirfries. Food plays a large part in my memories of uni.) And I was immediately hooked.<br /><br />One of the reasons I'm obsessing over garlic at the moment is that it's the featured plant on this month's page of the garden calendar that I found under the Christmas tree this year. Santa (in the guise of my sister-in-law) brings me one every year. It's always garden related, and it gets pride of place in the kitchen all year. This year the focus is on herbs and spices, and January is garlic.<br /><br />I talked in Part One of this post about how useful it is to deter insects and fungi in the garden. But of course, as well as being good for plants, it's equally good for us. Leaving aside its folkloristic reputation of protecting against the plague and vampires (though it might not hurt to take the odd plait with you next time you happen to be in Transylvania), it's recognised as being </span><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7045557.stm"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">good for the heart</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, and as </span><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7045557.stm"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">protecting against some forms of cancer</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. This in addition of course to the anti-bacterial properties - something I tried out at Christmas when I managed to slice open my finger with a knife I'd been using to chop the stuff. Can't say it was the pleasantest experience I've ever had, but boy did that cut stay clean... </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">What was I making at the time? Garlic bread - one of those totally simple foods that always tastes as if it originated in heaven. I always make it to accompany roast chicken and turkey - I'll leave you to guess which I was cooking on Christmas day - but it goes well with a lot of pasta dishes, peppers, all sorts of things.<br /><br /></div></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559579173084242562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggM6dccKfBPrGE4fz0_VFNtFx36OrWSp1mkzzXM8XqwAm6YlPCBBA0betedY9ib66O5O9aWH8imJkHcY-ei3CF8ZDcutJ85kz-FpC4A6TtN6W5JS_IlUMgpdWEjakkO4tX-PZH/s320/Jan2011+013.jpg" /><br />The easiest way to make it is just to make some vertical slashes in a baguette type loaf (or whatever you can get that's similar), and stuff each slash with a slice of butter and a slice of raw garlic. However, an alternative is to soften the butter first, crush the garlic, and mix the two together along with some finely chopped herbs - I usually use chives or parsley. Then stuff the cuts in the bread with the mix, as before.<br /><br />Wrap the lot in foil and pop it in the oven at about 400F/200C/gas mark 6 for about ten minutes till the crust is crispy and golden. </span></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexPekzoqmGWo9Nk6_5Zmn0fBTZGKDEAkHuLKmzNi4Q9Drn6cZNYSYVNs_i8J9BIv1RNai7dim9dEHxwZD11Re3SW4-7FyNFZrWt0Q5xGL52WL12ueeeAQPIl8tjF_xyVYrZoU/s1600/Jan2011+011.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 165px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559579178905265410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexPekzoqmGWo9Nk6_5Zmn0fBTZGKDEAkHuLKmzNi4Q9Drn6cZNYSYVNs_i8J9BIv1RNai7dim9dEHxwZD11Re3SW4-7FyNFZrWt0Q5xGL52WL12ueeeAQPIl8tjF_xyVYrZoU/s320/Jan2011+011.jpg" /></span></a><br /><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">OK - it's not the recipe to use if you've got a cholesterol problem or are trying to lose weight. Garlic is often touted as a way to lower cholesterol, but </span><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6396405.stm"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">recent research</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> doesn't seem to support the claim. I suspect this sort of garlic bread, with its heavy dependence on butter, was originally a French recipe. If you want something a bit more healthy, there is of course the Italian version, bruschetta, which is just slices of toasted bread plus garlic and tomato. I love Italian food, and much of the best of it are the traditional recipes of the poorer part of the population - one of the most delicious things I ever tasted was Panzanella - a "salad" made with stale bread, oil and tomatoes - a recipe invented so as not to waste left-over bread.<br /></p></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But back to bruschetta. To make bruschetta properly, you need unsalted Tuscan bread and to toast it over an open fire. If that's not possible, use what you can - but bear in mind that you need a trip to Italy if you're going to really understand what's so great about it. Rub a clove of garlic into the toasted bread, dribble some good olive oil over the top, add a bit of salt and a round of very thinly sliced tomato sprinkled with oregano. If all the ingredients are fresh and good quality, it's heaven.<br /></span><br /><br /></p></span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-39285400198368791652011-01-05T19:53:00.000+01:002011-01-05T19:53:22.900+01:00Thank goodness for garlic... Part One<br><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWs1wZN7s0owEku3d2hag1KevLJc4-C9gI9pXoGklPHo5tevY2hUYYf6l6Ve0vyr8TfFjwMMp0iNaqubuCo50I2VJFAWFY97JBQ0tqIRn49k-5E_yapuVEF02leaU2T_6Rt_qH/s1600/Jan2011+009.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558770127494490482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWs1wZN7s0owEku3d2hag1KevLJc4-C9gI9pXoGklPHo5tevY2hUYYf6l6Ve0vyr8TfFjwMMp0iNaqubuCo50I2VJFAWFY97JBQ0tqIRn49k-5E_yapuVEF02leaU2T_6Rt_qH/s320/Jan2011+009.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It's that time of year again. Mid-winter. The time when you look around desperately for something to do in the garden and can't find anything. Christmas kept you occupied for a bit so you didn't have to think about it, but now...<br /><br />So thank goodness for garlic. Garlic actually wants to be planted in winter. It needs a while in cold conditions in order to start growing. If you're late, you can always stick it in the fridge for a few weeks before you plant, but what gardener would want to pass up on the chance of having something that really, really wants to be sown in January?<br /><br />January may seem a bit late. The advice on when to sow that you'll find in the gardening books and websites ranges from late October to early spring. But the </span><a href="http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/garlic-grow/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">BBC Gardener's World </span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">website says November to January, and that's good enough for me.<br /><br />I'm sowing in seed trays for now, and will transfer the plants to the containers later on. The <em>Gardener's World</em> website explains how (follow the link above) - or if you speak Italian try a great blog that I've just come across </span><a href="http://www.unpugnoditerraeunseme.com/blog/cosa-piantare/aglio/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Un pugno di terra e un seme </span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">(which translates as <em>A fistful of soil and a seed</em>).<br /><br />I shall be using the garlic mainly as companion plants to deter pests - harvesting is a lower priority. Garlic supposed to deter just about anything - aphids, red spider mite, colorado beetle, and boring insects (no, not uninteresting ones, but the type that eat into woody stems and branches). You name it and someone will suggest garlic as a remedy. It's also supposed to prevent a variety of diseases - peach leaf curl, apple scab, sooty mold, black spot... All sources however, warn against planting it near peas, beans and other legumes - annoyingly without explaining why. It might possibly be because the antibiotic properties kill off the bacteria which fix the nitrogen produced by legumes in the soil. But I'm hypothesising wildly there. Does anyone know?<br /><br />Even if you don't want to grow garlic around your plants, you can buy some and use it as a home-made anti-fungal spray. Crush or blend the cloves from three large heads of garlic into about half a litre of water. Leave it to stand and then strain the bits out (or they'll clog up the tube of your spray). Breaking up the tissues of the garlic during the crushing releases a chemical substance called allicin which has antibiotic and anti-fungal properties. I've used it regularly and it seems to work. Not recommended, however, for houseplants. It works all right, but the smell does linger...<br /><br />Garlic oil is also recommended as a deterrent for slugs and snails. That's one problem you don't get on a balcony, so I can't vouch for whether it works, but it would be worth a try.<br /><br />As I'm not primarily growing the garlic as a crop, I didn't bother too much about the quality of the cloves, and just stuck in some which I got from the supermarket. If you do this though, make sure that you use organically grown garlic, as otherwise it may have been treated with chemicals expressly to stop it germinating. Another reason for the "lazy" choice is that there's nowhere around here that I can get seed garlic, and my first attempts at sourcing it through the internet only came up with places which either didn't deliver to Europe or only sold it in quantities that were far too large for the balcony.<br /><br />However, I've now found </span><a href="http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/index.aspx"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Garlic Farm </span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">which sells everything you could possibly think of related to garlic, and which has gone firmly onto my list of places to visit the next time I'm on the Isle of Wight. As my last visit was forty-five years ago, a new trip is long overdue. They sell lots of varieties of seed garlic - and will deliver to Europe - and browsing their site has made me think I might just invest in some of the good stuff. Especially as it seems that last year there was </span><a href="http://christopherranch.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/chinese-garlic-prices-continue-spiking-welcome-news-for-california-growers/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">a garlic shortage </span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">and prices sky-rocketed. Why? Because apparently, a lot of the garlic we eat comes from China, and fears of bird 'flu there meant that domestic supplies were hoarded. No, as far as I know there's no evidence that garlic protects against bird 'flu, but a lot of Chinese seem convinced it does.<br /><br />I don't know whether the situation will be repeated in 2011 or not, but the thought of the carbon footprint that the garlic I'm using might have clocked up is quite enough to convince me that growing my own might not be a bad idea. And until then, I shall certainly be looking at the labels to make sure that what I buy comes from slightly nearer home - as I said, the stuff that I've planted is organic, and though the packaging doesn't state the origin, it does say that the cultivation methods conformed to the </span><a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/consleg/1991/R/01991R2092-20070101-en.pdf"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">EU regulation 2092/91</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> which suggests that it comes from slightly nearer home than China, at least.<br /><br />But if I'm going to grow my own, what varieties will I choose? <em>The Garlic Farm</em>'s list had be hopping from one foot to the other like a child in a sweetshop. Should I go for softneck garlic, the type you normally find in the supermarket, which is easy to grow and store - or hardneck garlic, which tastes better? What about trying elephant garlic, with it's huge sweeter tasting cloves? Or should I just go for the <em>Garlic Lover's Seed Selection</em> which will give me nine different varieties and a hundred plants...</span></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A hundred plants. Erm... wasn't that the quantity I didn't reckon I could cope with on the balcony? And aren't even the air miles between the Isle of Wight and Milan a bit exaggerated? It may not be China, but it's hardly local produce.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There are times when trying to live sustainably can be very difficult ... </span><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-74728918672087743612011-01-03T17:41:00.003+01:002011-01-04T11:25:29.564+01:00Look what they've done to my balcony...<div align="justify"><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">As usual we spent the Christmas and New Year period in Germany. We left Italy just as a lot of European airports were being shut for snow, and thinking that it might turn south, I made sure to fill up the bird feeders before we left.<br /><br /></span></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557998566033829426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XBVlzkx3mukVFwJkEG_z-rPyV4dVgVvTd3GdPioHM8R0XZH3k6u1X71Ih-BgIMh5ynPf9-hx6bHrf0YA8Uom5AC1rRnnjAb4ixPKW5797iFTO_etUat93SPk-9fdZ6tXv6PG/s320/Jan2011+007.jpg" border="0" /><br />In fact, while most of the continent had a very white Christmas, Milan only had rain. That didn't deter the birds though. The great tits are clearly at the more respectable end of the bird community. They've been pecking their way gentilely through the peanuts,and I'm expecting a thank-you card to arrive soon. The sparrows, on the other hand, are a bunch of deliquents who clearly saw the bird-seed container as an invitation to vandalise the whole place. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557998560378449570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjND7Wy5QluW2bsAXOxDO8WGndqm36-qpq-Z147qn7PNv8HlEe_KmQr6IIisZHA9yOv2xw3j1VuLS62F8y7r1ZuJNCx2Pg-8deSXfkWmkKGxdSnAwpwZn9_8E7CHpAPFLsyym0y/s320/Jan2011+006.jpg" border="0" /><br />The balcony looks as though a bomb has hit it, and I hate to think what I'm going to find growing in that container next year. On the plus side, I don't think I'm going to have to buy any fertiliser. By the time I've scraped up all the droppings, I'm going to have enough guano to last a couple of seasons...<br /><br />In Germany, with all the snow that was around, the birds were virtually dependent on feeders and it was a great chance to spot a few types that we don't get here. Apart from the ubiquitous great tits and blue tits, I also saw some long-tailed tits, greenfinches and chaffinches, a nuthatch...</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557998575224062178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguShFqK-eZdpEV5-bb5MbLmsyqeXy5uVcSAchDQ37p2SmEOx2gx73mFdOMcWCrPInaDj6ZSq2_0MmA1h_rYyOCV5hfLjz3mpjvyWdyc80X7oGT3ci2P73qA8E2Q8RwEPapnv4A/s320/xmas2010+069.jpg" border="0" /><br />...and a tree-creeper.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9zy7Y-hQyMNJQ5hX9T18NxkFgSuF8pIL1Zq_xT59rPb-ifqUMzHDX1TUppcsUoKxRmGaZMVfSPGnYz7lUQpHxE7EsRPze6FH2CRS0-TJwqDp0bB0LVHQp3on10pxnT-AVLEC/s1600/xmas2010+095.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557999217957686018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 317px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9zy7Y-hQyMNJQ5hX9T18NxkFgSuF8pIL1Zq_xT59rPb-ifqUMzHDX1TUppcsUoKxRmGaZMVfSPGnYz7lUQpHxE7EsRPze6FH2CRS0-TJwqDp0bB0LVHQp3on10pxnT-AVLEC/s320/xmas2010+095.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Forgive the lousy photos - I had my camera on the wrong setting without noticing it.<br /><br />There were various raptors around too. I saw a lot of buzzards in the woods, and a dead blackbird's head and mass of feathers in the snow on New Year's Day suggested we'd been visited by a sparrowhawk in the early morning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></p><p align="justify"><br /></p></span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-37724701412410740482010-12-11T20:28:00.002+01:002010-12-11T20:30:18.066+01:00Looking after the snails<br><br><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So there I was last Sunday evening, washing the turnip tops ready for dinner, when I found a snail. Well, it happens. He seemed to have survived 24 hours in the fridge quite happily, and was clearly perking up, so I popped him on my spider plant while I decided what to do with him. And then I found another one ... and another one... and ...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 303px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549507467938711602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPB8RDHstGXD_NBlafg_DKPQV-dFDX06rPhac6FaC6ONdbFLwGiYhbcF43yEUVogvlDOIMeWuvcZuN8f_q3nTJMG4IKj3Bg5gLRtsBC64tpJR6YRPnQX0Lb5HpqQyJ_uHS1V7/s320/dec+2010+010a.jpg" /> </span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">By the time I'd finished I had five of them - and quite honestly had lost most of my desire for turnip tops that night. But what was I going to do with them? Temperatures outside were well below zero, and a quick look at the internet said that snails freeze if they haven't got themselves into a well-protected position before temperatures drop. And whilst one on the balcony chomping away at the plants probably wouldn't have done much harm (they were very small), I wasn't sure I wanted five of them running rampage for the whole winter.</span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So the snailery was born. A large glass vase covered with clingfilm with airholes punched in. And the five of them - Fred, George, Ron, Bill and Percy - have been happily chomping away on a basil plant, plus various vegetable peelings that I've popped in for them, for the past week.</span><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 190px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549507471264316786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9J7W7d-Gjzf2byYmpQxN6bYUzH0omUIbXTFh1mnggZUO0B_Y9GzKZZmfjJtdYdO9denKS9hZ2qUlpNq0d35qnjc1BocS0yWWu-r0RLGh888IelhEjZDgE01ENm-KIT_cKsxd/s320/dec+2010+021.jpg" /></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">OK, OK. Like my family you probably now have that expression on your face which says <em>This time she's really flipped</em> - but I am not alone. I have discovered a whole <a href="http://www.petsnails.co.uk/care/substrate.html#s_pests">website</a> dedicated to keeping snails as pets...</span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And oh dear - I find I have to get my act together. I've got to provide them with calcium, cook their carrots and potatoes, stock up with tortoise food in case I get snowed in and can't provide them with fresh greens, make sure they have somewhere to lay their eggs, protect them from mites ...</span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I'm not entirely sure whether I'm supposed to take them for regular walks - but I suppose come spring a few excursions on the balcony might be in order...</span></div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-68998825472661164302010-11-29T17:36:00.000+01:002010-11-29T17:36:00.064+01:00The Chrysanthemum Experiment - Results<div align="justify"><br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tEHMJ8nv9dlKZpgE3jUKliHoT3dXTtduExG8dNT10nFS67IKg2LsR3MoJ4jh5uG1q28a3KR0ttkES7u2hjb6Tz_wObGh1PKQ5W4wrEqRcIQ5zQjuJ8A4WFFVAopPYRFuSEau/s1600/Immagine+101.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544569585319567362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tEHMJ8nv9dlKZpgE3jUKliHoT3dXTtduExG8dNT10nFS67IKg2LsR3MoJ4jh5uG1q28a3KR0ttkES7u2hjb6Tz_wObGh1PKQ5W4wrEqRcIQ5zQjuJ8A4WFFVAopPYRFuSEau/s320/Immagine+101.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This year I've been experimenting with my chrysanthemums. I have some little yellow ones which I've been growing for years now. Every year I leave the old plants till early spring, and then take cuttings from the new growth. That's what all the books tell you to do, saying that the old plants will never produce such good blooms in subsequent years. Was it true? This year I decided to try it out.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 262px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544569589819531858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_1QKtFr1P6-JPYhkCdooXiXHQZtZWw1fvgV7O9Hh40gq-MYOpMngr7PCkQXs4R7vP9r5DtoLiZyJ2V2Og46aVrW7Oqg080VHBc6W1H3WLOb4J0oUH3kDVkiq6I090QeE9UFi/s320/May2010+078.jpg" /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">If you click </span><a href="http://balcony-garden.blogspot.com/search/label/Chrysanthemums"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">here</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, you'll find the posts I wrote in March (when I took the cuttings) and May (when they'd taken and it was time to "stop" all them in order to convince them to put out side shoots). But I've reproduced the photos to show you the main stages. I took cuttings, but didn't throw the old plants away. Instead I planted the cuttings in the same container, in between the older ones.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544569595257007618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw21-9IC7H9FiY8yFcfUOK0i3Jh1Vb1BbEKhIYzoAqS2ep4mb9LhiwWlzAT8S_fLor4ZG_gShQTkMsBm8qRxSl_I0RJXJeTfTs_lF9b0Lr297nlNpQQn-le6sKVGy6z6EskWmB/s320/May2010+090yes.jpg" /><br /></span><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Why? well firstly to fill the gaps left by a couple that had died over the winter. But also to ensure that the soil, water, light and fertiliser conditions were identical for both sets of plants. As any primary school child will tell you, an experiment is only a "fair test" if one variable, and one only had been changed. In this case the variable was old plants vs cuttings. Everything else was identical.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Back in May, the new plants looked pretty puny in comparison with the old. But by the time autumn arrived, I could only remember which was which by going back to the spring photos to check.</span></div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQ-XWlH7AOQvzHETr5QV7-VwbmBF6MYCOb3F2gIW7v6eWFKkyEXUfIBtpV_itlaoleQJa_7sZz37zcVflQtWHCeIoYcaf-C0E_wJVkFMwf1ffBrt2np5ijq85xcpuQ6YvKJnV/s1600/Oct+2010+008.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544571805068170386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQ-XWlH7AOQvzHETr5QV7-VwbmBF6MYCOb3F2gIW7v6eWFKkyEXUfIBtpV_itlaoleQJa_7sZz37zcVflQtWHCeIoYcaf-C0E_wJVkFMwf1ffBrt2np5ijq85xcpuQ6YvKJnV/s320/Oct+2010+008.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">By October they were covered in buds. Whichever won, it was going to be a good year. And, when the buds opened, it was immediately clear that...</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE35_eHSGAVfm6jYltDyjOcaXt5cBvUWeMZmQ1MQQD19BwGYoGGvMmwOQ0AsAJRuDiPztXhU5T-_fiKkeIu1CBXLRn-S5DVk8S6otvwvlfJEHTEALV3sigw0VwDXq4py9yPaZW/s1600/Nov+2010+915.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544570560982509378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE35_eHSGAVfm6jYltDyjOcaXt5cBvUWeMZmQ1MQQD19BwGYoGGvMmwOQ0AsAJRuDiPztXhU5T-_fiKkeIu1CBXLRn-S5DVk8S6otvwvlfJEHTEALV3sigw0VwDXq4py9yPaZW/s320/Nov+2010+915.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">... there was no difference at all. Both sets of plants are full of flowers, the flowers are all of the same size, and I can see no difference of any kind.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So will I be taking cuttings next year? Yes, certainly. But to increase the number of plants I have, not to replace the old ones. From now on, my chrysanths can go on for as long as they feel like it...</span></div></div></div><br /></div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-81202023133697102222010-11-28T12:30:00.003+01:002010-11-28T13:20:31.233+01:00The Canal in Autumn<span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQzoc49B0-ZfnUl3Y6ezD5GO7PWG7KrU1HazvnaXLS_h1yJUO7CbkO5hRAB219bB9fpEQYNmQIQ2wFYZo7_bXvkjsS7B0hYfLGwAu5acIBxqSl432a0SSz1NZ2ZXxKlcxytp-/s1600/Nov+2010+043.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 327px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536927877720906146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQzoc49B0-ZfnUl3Y6ezD5GO7PWG7KrU1HazvnaXLS_h1yJUO7CbkO5hRAB219bB9fpEQYNmQIQ2wFYZo7_bXvkjsS7B0hYfLGwAu5acIBxqSl432a0SSz1NZ2ZXxKlcxytp-/s400/Nov+2010+043.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />This year's autumn colours were amazing - I don't remember ever having seen anything like it in this area. I imagine it was something to do with the weather - just the right amount of rain at the right time, just the right temperatures.... something like that.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaqTEl1ZC3-33J4DpT_5sj2heGiUa3C6ZYNr3WPb8M_rC-JzqLR4jwwR7QJpd81ekpEqufNOe1WbDackKc9oDyp_DaF2MBW46LQGEokCmxf-2ybP9_gr31Y6yqPpBnYgTGJAE/s1600/Nov+2010+050.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536927445914602674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaqTEl1ZC3-33J4DpT_5sj2heGiUa3C6ZYNr3WPb8M_rC-JzqLR4jwwR7QJpd81ekpEqufNOe1WbDackKc9oDyp_DaF2MBW46LQGEokCmxf-2ybP9_gr31Y6yqPpBnYgTGJAE/s400/Nov+2010+050.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But it was so beautiful, that one day we walked down the canal just to take some photos...<br /><br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTIoPToGD9btmSIezEH_0vM-jgxeCBULPqNXfdibsEj7sAZ-h9KDdd-uNwDo36SiUUJsA7PKQ4h3zwp7TlM8EgILvVCz7PMrIkz-NInNVudwG7vIuosq50kQu7HKjkh5OtZNg/s1600/Nov+2010+045.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 324px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536927443104857186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTIoPToGD9btmSIezEH_0vM-jgxeCBULPqNXfdibsEj7sAZ-h9KDdd-uNwDo36SiUUJsA7PKQ4h3zwp7TlM8EgILvVCz7PMrIkz-NInNVudwG7vIuosq50kQu7HKjkh5OtZNg/s400/Nov+2010+045.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Most of the trees here turn yellow or brown - there are very few reds ...<br /><br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4lQ_DZCF4fEEsTZMPQrDbO3isX5S5x_MuibB_e4GRBOyNLDwZJlAJWtkPs2hSNnmKLvVhx8gLGQkoXaKaH01B27fWBBgwSBiJwFSuzWOp_B7Uc4DD4F5FicMG0NElrc1Cujm/s1600/Nov+2010+047.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 278px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536927436541137346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4lQ_DZCF4fEEsTZMPQrDbO3isX5S5x_MuibB_e4GRBOyNLDwZJlAJWtkPs2hSNnmKLvVhx8gLGQkoXaKaH01B27fWBBgwSBiJwFSuzWOp_B7Uc4DD4F5FicMG0NElrc1Cujm/s400/Nov+2010+047.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Just a few ornamental maples that have been planted, and then this hydrangea that was peeking through the undergrowth...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 327px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536926010007669506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaoKlbAGKZmI_HM0yQ917ZYVbV_CAe54welqqInNVFkk98fY7A09qonWKh_CM25Oe36Y9uusABTpaTUUOSTHkg17VMj3EPnKXw2paXSHmGFw7UrRdYQmPcW4QrU3M6eLZJPeH/s400/Nov+2010+039.jpg" /><br />The Virginia Creeper looked as if it knew it should be red, but was trying desperately to blend in with its surroundings..<br><br /></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536925981371221234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0M0Vlko58iz6kXx-oPYxX5lT4dDIGuzwq19JAkNsWHkuU05M9-767oXpiVKal3qvf5dUwv4WYmdo2TnY650Me4vmmq5AH6mm2itYcfxSpfN5OfeWMRcyQOZbt_jmCB0RGUGa3/s400/C2.jpg" /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And with yellows and browns like these around, who could blame it?<br /><br /></span></div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQCvYZPtHlujiQxioSUzMWWoJTlhV0TcyuJXNk0iKdVCra-ejAW_ZDg2PaI9E4mQlOdu5srG83yeHNVS5TZT1yJGwLDktB-a3NAldYtzQKPX_1m12XE4N1aQL-AlUefZPjGmk/s1600/Nov+2010+068.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536927421779526290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQCvYZPtHlujiQxioSUzMWWoJTlhV0TcyuJXNk0iKdVCra-ejAW_ZDg2PaI9E4mQlOdu5srG83yeHNVS5TZT1yJGwLDktB-a3NAldYtzQKPX_1m12XE4N1aQL-AlUefZPjGmk/s400/Nov+2010+068.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />These aren't leaves, but seeds, sycamore type. Thousands and thousands of them.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536925990737896258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SMJ8y13vpGwB2LbNcxie2hHWv4NXf0PedbO0GJjA1KmBI76a9IHDjX-FeQ37pCFv5vYl7KP7Kbc20xda6gkLVBt_IRKSm-IlQvQcMrDjKG9x3MLSaSnNDUh4YDGCdcJr1Em8/s400/Nov+2010+026.jpg" /><br />We walked for a couple of hours...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536925999382103922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwTi6zspr1xlQhBWDav2XvXDutwfCXH4IZ3D6dIybUEZUm78vdorTJ4kHk7fYt1ak8-MpLLE6oJa0DTRG1R20tHmm6CXqaMSMQHFlWBCeWLGGk4UEhNiQqLUIaOooD3XVrJMP/s400/Nov+2010+030.jpg" /><br />And by the time we got back, it was almost dark.<br /><br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_xYG6dqcCH_1IG_swHSVQ3cZ1W9-peULOs8QjiTiHHF0H53V30Nobcet84jLnF0l4Pp_Z2tucII8KNkU2S_PdOgUZ89em82ohFoLty9IALsguMEbkxspCLs3wWrqJ6qHpI40/s1600/C1.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536925976733541714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_xYG6dqcCH_1IG_swHSVQ3cZ1W9-peULOs8QjiTiHHF0H53V30Nobcet84jLnF0l4Pp_Z2tucII8KNkU2S_PdOgUZ89em82ohFoLty9IALsguMEbkxspCLs3wWrqJ6qHpI40/s400/C1.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></div></div></div></div></div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-80493030588190621992010-11-24T19:46:00.004+01:002010-11-24T19:49:45.813+01:00Wildflower Wednesday - Bindweed<br><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Am I the only person in the world who loves Bindweed (Calystegia sepium, also called Convolvulus sepium)? Yes, I know it's a problem and just as invasive as my dreaded <a href="http://balcony-garden.blogspot.com/search/label/Borage">borage</a>. For the same reason too - leave an smidgin of root behind when you pull it out, and it will grow back. Even the </span><a href="http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=241"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">RHS site </span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">seems to give up and just recommend drowning it in glyphosate. I once saw the garden of an abandoned house which had been swamped by it. You literally couldn't see an inch of ground. But oh, was it glorious. Just a sea of white flowers.<br /><br /></div><p></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5M49QtGNFp24iKL7722XLCC2qj7XUnqACK33x-B_K8uutLH4CWg-rIWm5ZLy8P7qftB3E0oxa0XtLYvFVt27m_UVhyphenhyphenGBWtNX25qMMqdnPC06iX0RBudsnT3nYheCqDf8luX9t/s1600/Sept+2010+017.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536932348404571106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5M49QtGNFp24iKL7722XLCC2qj7XUnqACK33x-B_K8uutLH4CWg-rIWm5ZLy8P7qftB3E0oxa0XtLYvFVt27m_UVhyphenhyphenGBWtNX25qMMqdnPC06iX0RBudsnT3nYheCqDf8luX9t/s400/Sept+2010+017.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />So this is my contribution for Wildflower Wednesday, the brainchild of Gail over at <a href="http://www.clayandlimestone.com/2010/11/hyper-colored-hypericum-for-wildflower.html">Clay and Limestone</a>. I've never participated before, but while I was on holiday in the Veneto in early September, I collected up a few wildflower photos to brighten up the winter months. And with temperatures predicted to drop to -4°C tonight, with snow tomorrow, I reckon it's time to start. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The flower in the photo is long dead - but never fear. Those roots are still there, hibernating under the sandy coastal soil. They'll be back again next year... </p><br /></span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-20158242465133273892010-11-21T19:04:00.003+01:002010-11-21T19:07:03.537+01:00Who ordered that?<br><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EXIOjY_XTNyRdhsLMelF79bHLT0uKUHSueP7nyXlV7aXhUOqlmmD6RxwD-nRdVH5b5fJHf8-BlJ3QxEamOqHufcC6BUZsGYs7ILyOYxorJE18073XhW7XWJu9x_OIE_F2z68/s1600/Oct+2010+024.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 270px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536929804897951314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EXIOjY_XTNyRdhsLMelF79bHLT0uKUHSueP7nyXlV7aXhUOqlmmD6RxwD-nRdVH5b5fJHf8-BlJ3QxEamOqHufcC6BUZsGYs7ILyOYxorJE18073XhW7XWJu9x_OIE_F2z68/s400/Oct+2010+024.jpg" /></a> </div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />What on earth are these and wherever did they come from? I noticed them first at the end of October - lots of little green shoots sprouting in the container that had held my Four o'clocks and a couple of Honesty. They were clearly bulbs, and there were about twenty of them, so no chance of them having self-seeded. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />I've racked my brains and I have absolutely no memory of having planted bulbs in that container. If I did, they must have gone in at the beginning of spring, if not before. I don't actually remember planting any bulbs since last autumn. But what are they, and why have they come up now of all times of the year?</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />I did have a quick look round the container to see if there might be an old forgotten label lying around. But I know myself too well to have really believed I'd find one. Label the containers? Who me?</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />So it's wait and see time. Till next spring presumably, when with any luck there'll be some flowers. Oh well, only four months to go ...</span></div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-82789059541069292852010-11-11T13:00:00.001+01:002010-11-11T13:00:01.905+01:00Cloud<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8EZG_6nJI4W7s8j36KWYTYtejjMl3FVZfGwKAeErIfGIKWu8JJPFkVz6mIAy-nXhRF-IZB2T_iyJ-9P9XLDKP3nqoaa528ABQVsics38aGy8t_HOF7bEt36r9qPx9C_J__W-/s1600/Sept+2010+008.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534266660563197986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8EZG_6nJI4W7s8j36KWYTYtejjMl3FVZfGwKAeErIfGIKWu8JJPFkVz6mIAy-nXhRF-IZB2T_iyJ-9P9XLDKP3nqoaa528ABQVsics38aGy8t_HOF7bEt36r9qPx9C_J__W-/s400/Sept+2010+008.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Taken in early September while we were in the Veneto at Eraclea Mare. The cloud seemed to be hanging right over the path. You felt as if you could reach up and pull it down.</span></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8rwi3LjB5_49FaqymuwboAGZR-zoeVQJbQl2uv1iPWBKd_esNFu4w1AoHSczBcqVrxjzkobc-qSSkZHIFJ4c5O7PowmpISWMkxG9Lq3TgdI7QNa3qPpPZFPt-uQ69wYF5C0jM/s1600/Sept+2010+009.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534265821494038450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8rwi3LjB5_49FaqymuwboAGZR-zoeVQJbQl2uv1iPWBKd_esNFu4w1AoHSczBcqVrxjzkobc-qSSkZHIFJ4c5O7PowmpISWMkxG9Lq3TgdI7QNa3qPpPZFPt-uQ69wYF5C0jM/s400/Sept+2010+009.jpg" /></span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've been meaning to post these photos for </span><a href="http://skyley.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Skywatch Friday</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> ever since we got back. The autumn has just flown ...<br /></span><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534265827602300114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVMlzela4RRe9c5uAjj5ftY3-kmRFaZQf-xDfZrUoyT2HWE5MMjuFGl2lND5hp-bt3RylqX-9P9RTPU6HItOaAaMATcQw8oIzFm4wVSg_2wpoIKZvcJLSZIGVS-7g90gHh3xQ/s400/Sept+2010+011.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-64370884015421097652010-11-10T13:00:00.001+01:002010-11-10T13:00:14.289+01:00(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Berries<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Pyracantha..</span><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534283489295705378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqL58HkYlfGuVU13Wpr5_x47hMN2Llx293Xm7s4xTr1O2EZbMa83W3ARRvbecJGpQHLgHkG4_ZbReiVVDk45pXNESW-tv2IXwyq01LuTFDp71ObM9DFpycvEpHYTlMjZups24z/s400/Sept+2010+003.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">...and Hawthorn.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zagt1ZE0Dco4yzQf5qU_DeTiZ82vxrrWMI1N7JT8_25u69bOwQYvVl9mnSAHSpjZ0YWM5tZ3anQdrCDPmEhYrbbvsLZKWxuomUTujHZc7JDsHjTpE3ZFfMtg2ANtTnAAi-qn/s1600/Sept+2010+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534283509048529378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zagt1ZE0Dco4yzQf5qU_DeTiZ82vxrrWMI1N7JT8_25u69bOwQYvVl9mnSAHSpjZ0YWM5tZ3anQdrCDPmEhYrbbvsLZKWxuomUTujHZc7JDsHjTpE3ZFfMtg2ANtTnAAi-qn/s400/Sept+2010+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Both spotted at Eraclea Mare while we were on holiday there in September. They say a wealth of berries in autumn signals a hard winter to come. Dig out your woolly jumpers...</span></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRPmx4CIGWQBoTOcdqTHcx5AfuY9wIoyRFnlb6nakH9i7xoZS1wNv-P8Dl6RUYHfUdyXJJcOI7nrkUpAWErkHRftDWhpVjV2tU9wClYxx6hxA6s8CpOeadZjPgSpArHFmpqTE/s1600/Sept+2010+002.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534283517677868482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRPmx4CIGWQBoTOcdqTHcx5AfuY9wIoyRFnlb6nakH9i7xoZS1wNv-P8Dl6RUYHfUdyXJJcOI7nrkUpAWErkHRftDWhpVjV2tU9wClYxx6hxA6s8CpOeadZjPgSpArHFmpqTE/s400/Sept+2010+002.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Some of the other contributors to </span><a href="http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Wordless Wednesday</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> are a bit stricter about the wordless bit than me. Click on the link to check out their pics.</span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-61301700719221252212010-11-04T19:57:00.001+01:002010-11-04T19:59:39.487+01:00Skywatch Friday - Sweden<br><div align="justify"> </div><p align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibGHtFLwJba3STiyQkhdoUxIlfOvXiteMQ9gjPoNEfrOhYolzo3-Aa35Sk8M5fZg7H3E_HnqzsW1ZOeDo8Dtuddx1HhdT151IrdXQNAZsJZb9zmvSWYlb-77vCxRdDc4JIoRS/s1600/Oct+2010+040.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 242px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534254332971524610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibGHtFLwJba3STiyQkhdoUxIlfOvXiteMQ9gjPoNEfrOhYolzo3-Aa35Sk8M5fZg7H3E_HnqzsW1ZOeDo8Dtuddx1HhdT151IrdXQNAZsJZb9zmvSWYlb-77vCxRdDc4JIoRS/s400/Oct+2010+040.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Two weeks ago I was in southern Sweden. And the skies were tremendous. </span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMILkbS3FNJH8uggRa8Ln9JN4kvJJeznEBbi78XBl0PNXI3zpzqWIW_jBUA6kak3lnCrdV5yeTKsyJQHcwor-t-F1zvnWQaDAKCZzWKWeDV2VCN2M2ufHcMB6F9CGHKyRN-68/s1600/Oct+2010+043.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534254344767709378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMILkbS3FNJH8uggRa8Ln9JN4kvJJeznEBbi78XBl0PNXI3zpzqWIW_jBUA6kak3lnCrdV5yeTKsyJQHcwor-t-F1zvnWQaDAKCZzWKWeDV2VCN2M2ufHcMB6F9CGHKyRN-68/s400/Oct+2010+043.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />I took these on the train from Copenhagen Airport to Lund, where I was working. And just as I put my camera away, a skein of about 60 Canadian geese flew overhead, migrating for the winter.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzszMnqefdAi3aE-0hS4tHYhHoBJiUSY4I2tkHyRdmNWhn65Cvvg3Q4ZGrq2WDRwVY3sMcCAnoVKJy7P9Za_wzU3Y6L8TtgdBa-d4DC_nvECIRgJsD-4W4jntLjhH7VzJlH3sg/s1600/Oct+2010+042.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534254343206348386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzszMnqefdAi3aE-0hS4tHYhHoBJiUSY4I2tkHyRdmNWhn65Cvvg3Q4ZGrq2WDRwVY3sMcCAnoVKJy7P9Za_wzU3Y6L8TtgdBa-d4DC_nvECIRgJsD-4W4jntLjhH7VzJlH3sg/s400/Oct+2010+042.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />And of course, they'd gone before I could get the camera back out. Pity. That would really have been a photo worth posting for </span><a href="http://skyley.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Skywatch Friday</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.<br /></span><p></p><br><br>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-74529669984355052372010-11-03T13:00:00.000+01:002010-11-03T13:00:13.701+01:00Cyclamen - Who Me?<div align="justify"><br /> </div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I decided not to buy any cyclamen this year. I lost all the ones I had in last year's hard winter, and decided I couldn't be bothered fussing with them again. It tends to be too hot in the house to keep them in flower, and there's not enough light, whereas outside I risk losing them as soon as temperatures drop. They also prefer slightly acidic conditions - a bother to maintain with the hard water we have here. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </div></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So I thought I'd give them a miss this winter. But then I saw these - and they were sooo pretty, I just had to bring them home.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534262035495706594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxr-Et2-D20niq6FaPcLEsDxGNn4q3XIc4e-8nQJ60DD9_t1txYrgumi5Q4E4xpfANSl8OI_4GyO2SGb5CIqhMQhiJwlFUHYGnWwykzAp1MDcmC56m0g8B3DcITTI8IqLpiPL/s400/Oct+2010+062.jpg" /> </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A week later, I saw these...</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534262040426257426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1kevntNqfyZ5UvU2pGkX0466RSXkidrtLkCB_fed7D4R5KVl9upD44FXmO2VAHqWFKmcPSd0FwQx9n7Og62IqBpqb7wxLp1XlHy4TV5KIRMMHFyIE96j1XujID-I71xh8Bj0/s400/Oct+2010+058.jpg" /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">At which point I thought I might as well get some red ones too...</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 248px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534262044998534930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXRfFNglryiiDBWgsmbeFqr8gi-fT5fL4IFVb14ZPKmrh_8yW7Q6cBiqpGr9hUqoJw3_MyI9x-kcTRMmD40u4AH0Q_ONP0Srqjs3aKJ_rbX9U_Xj4i0iQn43oTfOnAmN4n-xo/s400/Oct+2010+060.jpg" /><br /></span><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Oh well, here's hoping for a warm winter.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-12039457417217025292010-11-01T12:45:00.002+01:002010-11-01T12:47:22.403+01:00November Again<br><br><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It's November, already. I'm not sure where the autumn has gone. I've been very busy with work - hence the scarcity of posts recently - including a great two days in Lund, in southern Sweden. I was hoping to meet up with </span><a href="http://livetsgladjeamnen.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Gittan</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, but it was such a flying visit that we couldn't match our schedules. Never mind, I loved Lund and hope to be back - I knew it was my sort of place when the first thing I saw on coming out of the station was a sign pointing to the botanical gardens.</span><br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There hasn't been much time for the balcony either, but some work has gone on. All the houseplants came back indoors a couple of weeks ago, just before the heating came on. They could have stayed out longer, as it was still relatively warm, but then when I finally did bring them in, there would have been a sudden huge increase in temperature. As it is, they all seem to have settled in well.</span></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkgC07jxbhn23eGQDtUXMRgRVltQ7A1Z92s99UHh1aFg7pgP5w9JKGqMT-WILMiHsPtt7M6ftTxx1lwkbK_xpA97Qu7DcsnrUklvWUdo1ZAzo5K2ZiDsGYr-J7bOAyAVLvrXH/s1600/Oct+2010+052.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534277560263121410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkgC07jxbhn23eGQDtUXMRgRVltQ7A1Z92s99UHh1aFg7pgP5w9JKGqMT-WILMiHsPtt7M6ftTxx1lwkbK_xpA97Qu7DcsnrUklvWUdo1ZAzo5K2ZiDsGYr-J7bOAyAVLvrXH/s400/Oct+2010+052.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A few new plants have gone in - pansies, cyclamen and some new chrysanthemums ...</span></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNT4hcuO8Jlz-edj4Q5Jz6dx71VcXD6D59h9oRcDUL8232olqHgUOxo3EXqhsvhgY-8maP9LvWNNjKM6N0KzAa-7RWrebD4fYC_H4Jh5N9FPgwxbPhkgb3rU_znnMpKixWHxR/s1600/Oct+2010+056.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534277555087686834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNT4hcuO8Jlz-edj4Q5Jz6dx71VcXD6D59h9oRcDUL8232olqHgUOxo3EXqhsvhgY-8maP9LvWNNjKM6N0KzAa-7RWrebD4fYC_H4Jh5N9FPgwxbPhkgb3rU_znnMpKixWHxR/s400/Oct+2010+056.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">... and I've got some bulbs in too. Most of them are leftovers from last year and I'm not expecting them to do much. Must get some more.</span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've also sown some sweet peas, despite the fact that I know the climate here is wrong for them and they never reach maturity. But each year I manage to convince myself that if I get them started in the autumn, they'll be in flower before the heat and humidity kick in and finish them off. We'll see. Anyway, the seeds were leftover from last year's futile attempt, so I thought I might as well stick them in and try again.</span></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Apart from that, it's mainly been a case of clearing up the stuff from the summer, which is slowly dying off. And collecting the seeds for next year. My Four O'Clocks (Mirabilis Jalapa) were disappointing this year - the first year they've ever let me down. Usually they thrive. But I've saved what seeds there were...</span></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHK6CkBwh7zj8YH2qYzWHZlY28UbFp_wL0l4dWytg2Y8ND4AaGHq46YTzBLVFOpX1TuYCXwxX5gen9flnDttXw6AHrW8Hak-NZ-nMFUjFvWDLiGnh9X8ubSBb1rH2jSbqKFpI3/s1600/Oct+2010+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534277546533805378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 308px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHK6CkBwh7zj8YH2qYzWHZlY28UbFp_wL0l4dWytg2Y8ND4AaGHq46YTzBLVFOpX1TuYCXwxX5gen9flnDttXw6AHrW8Hak-NZ-nMFUjFvWDLiGnh9X8ubSBb1rH2jSbqKFpI3/s400/Oct+2010+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Up to now the autumn has been mainly mild and sunny. But this weekend temperatures have dropped to 10-12°C during the day and it's not going to be long now before we hit the gardener's dreaded average daily temperature of 7°C. The temperature where growth stops and the least hardy specimens start to suffer. Oh well, the summer couldn't last forever I suppose. 175 days to spring, and counting...</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-63847468323405831302010-10-31T18:47:00.000+01:002010-10-31T17:28:09.183+01:00Pumpkin Soup for Hallowe'en<br><br><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Yes, I know I'm the only person left in the world who still puts an apostrophe in Hallowe'en, but then I even use full words and capital letters in my SMSs...<br /><br />It's crept up on me unawares this year. It's not an Italian tradition, and until recently passed unobserved. But then about ten years ago pumpkins started appearing in the shops at the end of October, as well as other Hallowe'en themed goods.<br /><br />Until this year. Suddenly nothing. Not a pumpkin in sight, no witches, ghosties and ghouls... Nothing. Is it because shopkeepers found it hadn't caught on enough to make it profitable? Or have the </span><a href="http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=8105"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Catholic church's criticisms</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> put people off? Not sure.<br /><br />Oh well. Even if I've not seen any Hallowe'en pumkins in the shops, there are plenty of the edible kind around. And last night I made a pumpkin soup that came out so well that I thought I'd share the recipe - which I rather made up as I went along, so apologies if the quantities are a bit approximate.<br /><br />You need :<br /><br />1 medium size onion<br />1 leek<br />Olive oil<br />Butter<br />A hot pepper (optional)<br />Half a pumpkin<br />A few potatoes<br />A handful of borlotti beans<br />Vegetable or chicken stock<br />Curry powder (optional)<br />A handful of peas<br />Milk<br /><br />1. Add the oil and the butter to a heavy bottomed pan and place over a medium heat.<br /><br />2. Peel and chop the onion and the leek. Add to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes. Then cover, turn down the heat and let them "sweat" - ie they should cook slowly in the oil/butter and their own liquid, turning transparent without browning.<br /><br />3. If you want to add in the hot pepper, chop and add it at this point. I did - mainly because I wanted to use the pepper's I'd grown on the balcony this summer. But I'm not a great fan of hot peppers, so I think in future I'd omit it. I felt it swamped the other flavours rather. Decide depending on your palate. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWG-D64jgANKGMBH8XW5WwgePpfSpqYS8APDfNSMyKarPIz3pvQS3NJp8Qn1ia2qZpiwYpCfbLK2wsj135iRs_OG2RTtbUE39FRaKMoBiMWHG2cb0P0DHKGTxkL6KZnFosc9-I/s1600/Oct+2010+032.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWG-D64jgANKGMBH8XW5WwgePpfSpqYS8APDfNSMyKarPIz3pvQS3NJp8Qn1ia2qZpiwYpCfbLK2wsj135iRs_OG2RTtbUE39FRaKMoBiMWHG2cb0P0DHKGTxkL6KZnFosc9-I/s320/Oct+2010+032.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534247079971069186" /></a><br /><br />4. Meanwhile, peel and dice the pumpkin and the potatoes. Add them to the pan once the leeks and onions seem transparent, and fry for a couple of minutes - keep them covered and turn them occasionally.<br /><br />5. Add the stock. I nearly always have home-made stock in the freezer, which I swear by as the base of any soup, but yesterday I found I didn't. So I added cold water and sprinkled in a vegetable stock cube. It worked.<br /><br />6. While the stock is still cold, add the pumpkin, potatoes and borlotti beans. I used fresh beans, but if you use dry you'll need to have soaked them for at least eight hours previously. If you use canned (not advised) drain and rinse them first to get rid of the salt. At this point it should look like this ...<br /><br /><br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534245145836349714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjteMiV0tM1WoYNm_dWnFJIZOObUNJUdVQYEwaZW_8XbYBm1Jx5eM7dlNSccaIs1Zw-QBQUHNjnmlyrXvJ63RxmFNCuoou2eNBNYNqtXRJGOPPczSb_UqSvOjKIqe9NTjIuUor/s320/Oct+2010+055.jpg" /> <p align="justify"><br />7. Add a small amount of curry powder - again this depends on how much you like it. If you're turning your nose up at the idea of ready mixed curry powder, it probably means you're into Indian spices and can produce a much better blend yourself. Feel free.<br /><br />8. Simmer for about 45 minutes - or until the beans are cooked. Then tip the lot into a blender and blend until smooth.<br /><br />9. Tip it back into the pan and add the peas (I used frozen). Simmer until cooked.<br /><br />10. Add the milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over a low heat (don't boil) for another few minutes.<br /><br />11. Don a witch's or wizard' hat and enjoy with some good crusty bread.<br /><br />Even with the pepper it was great, and I'm looking forward to trying it again without. </p><p align="justify"></p><p align="justify"><center><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;">Happy Hallowe'en.</span></strong></center><br /><p></p></span>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-92134785101416379582010-10-10T19:58:00.000+02:002010-10-10T19:59:01.228+02:00Sacrificial Mint??<div align="justify"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">If there's one thing that has done well for me this year, it's these little peppers. They were an impulse buy - I found them as plug plants in a supermarket and just threw them into the trolley along with some tomatoes that I really wanted.<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wsZvD_JxyCK7Z6LuzUpQRY_CchsTDB1BDR4oJ6lugSbawSIwLZ6pkrczzFAk52L65ApAV753-sQn7-rdl5o16gTzBC-7R22snFSVTIk-HxQXvb7FF1WL2TDrCt7kboIh87eM/s1600/Oct+2010+028.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526475849239643314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wsZvD_JxyCK7Z6LuzUpQRY_CchsTDB1BDR4oJ6lugSbawSIwLZ6pkrczzFAk52L65ApAV753-sQn7-rdl5o16gTzBC-7R22snFSVTIk-HxQXvb7FF1WL2TDrCt7kboIh87eM/s320/Oct+2010+028.jpg" /> <p align="justify"></a><br />They weren't quite what I expected. I have to admit to having looked too quickly at the label and thought I was buying big, sweet peppers. But when I got home and read it properly - no, they were small, hot peppers.<br /><br />Now, we don't usually like hot peppers, so I was more interested in them for their ornamental value than anything else. And have they paid off. They've been green and glossy all summer and are now covered in bright red fruit, which looks great against the green walls of the flat.<br /><br />And unlike virtually everything else I've grown, they've not been touched by sap sucking insects or red spider mite this year. Apart from a bit of caterpillar damage, they're just about the healthiest plants I've got.<br /><br />Is that because the bugs don't like them? No. These two plants came in a group of four, and the other two went on the front balcony with the tomatoes. And the insects just dived in and munched. They didn't last much past flowering.<br /><br />So why the difference? The only thing I can point to is this.<br /></p><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5-T_ll-dsLvgWsi9ebYlNUxJjYkgaAiAGJ5toaNGE6i8Ue6GLd9-g6wD9LuDLvlTSsIpLkNxwkR78yuzjm81N1EhH4Iu3riBRCBiAB4CoMev-MefABYHDD7Tg0TAUtm2xIFF/s1600/Oct+2010+034.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 229px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526475869616554562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5-T_ll-dsLvgWsi9ebYlNUxJjYkgaAiAGJ5toaNGE6i8Ue6GLd9-g6wD9LuDLvlTSsIpLkNxwkR78yuzjm81N1EhH4Iu3riBRCBiAB4CoMev-MefABYHDD7Tg0TAUtm2xIFF/s320/Oct+2010+034.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Mint, growing at the bottom of the peppers. Or at least, it was.<br /><br />Back in the summer I wrote a post on <a href="http://balcony-garden.blogspot.com/2010/05/companion-planting.html">companion planting</a>. Some plants will repel insects, thus protecting any other plants growing nearby. Mint is supposed to be one of them.<br /><br />Now, I ask you - does this look like a plant that has repelled insects? Huh - they've had a feast.<br /><br />Rather than repelling the insects, it seems to have acted as a sacrificial plant. They've enjoyed the mint so much (and believe me, a while back there was a lot more of it) that they've left the peppers alone.<br /><br />Well, that's the theory. I can't find confirmation anywhere that mint should attract pests. Every website I've found so far solemnly assures me that insects can't bear it. They've clearly never met ours.<br /><br />In any case, I know what's going to be growing between all my other plants next year. it's going to be tomatoes and mint, surfinia and mint, roses and mint, hollyhocks and mint, beans and mint, potatoes and mint, honesty and mint, jerusalem artichokes and mint, zinnia and mint, peas and mint, black-eyed Susans and mint, lettuce and mint, morning glory and mint, sunflowers and mint, delphiniums and mint, marigolds and mint, cosmos and mint, calendula and mint, poppies and mint, rosemary and mint, antirrhinums and mint, radishes and mint, alyssum and mint ....<br /><br />So should you hear people complaining of a mint shortage in North Italy around about the beginning of May 2011, please don't tell ...<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlr1_Gtm0alwrbrTYX8LCr40rOFHOMWFp52UZN_5Frc5wy8OJg_baDXOgxw7vNRUl-LZwtN74oH7s9KZnZXQBgrrdcIVabwcbNRSJtHDbZpD6yXMkOzkAUDjPmyW5yIXB5ziR/s1600/Oct+2010+032.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 194px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526475854485934898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlr1_Gtm0alwrbrTYX8LCr40rOFHOMWFp52UZN_5Frc5wy8OJg_baDXOgxw7vNRUl-LZwtN74oH7s9KZnZXQBgrrdcIVabwcbNRSJtHDbZpD6yXMkOzkAUDjPmyW5yIXB5ziR/s320/Oct+2010+032.jpg" /></a><br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br /></span> </div>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31803386.post-46148360685391266772010-10-02T14:30:00.003+02:002010-10-02T14:34:11.998+02:00Autumn has arrived...<div align="justify"><br /><br /></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 290px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523420714149128578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AxwL1W3QxhPWILEsNhITcWIRIGD81fwfNEhoq_7n6-1hyphenhyphenjZ-WvY9Vl-5x9t5XSk_Q4M1EY5OZjiSXp0uQ7jLwtyr1PGNoiE1i6wOaAAoDuKkMxiFMm1pScFpErwZvE94DeW4/s320/Sept+2010+054.jpg" /><br />Autumn has arrived on the balcony ...<br /><br />We had a stupendous September. Warm and sunny, but without the oppressive heat and humidity of summer. In terms of weather, it was the nicest month I remember for a long time. But now it's October, and there are clear signs that the summer has gone for good ..</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The flowers of the annuals are just a memory. Their containers are already stripped and bare, waiting for the winter bulbs to go in ..<br /><br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 270px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523421029949220610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyX8rAtqFftkphG0Rspkk4fHyvDrFk0ZYh4gGKG_6I1WjAXs33bfPNB9My2e3BfhkqOEkFq2NH9xCup3FpZUnWNFLd0GYd2VCYMN5rGLPOuOIQgGq-vNJOvjBspyc7PUUkzQt/s320/Sept+2010+048.jpg" /><br /><br />On the Four O'Clocks, seeds have replaced the flowers, and are ready to be collected. </span><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 233px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523420723459576370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VSQIEThJ0qpwhvWIEiKQNuW9eizGIfQ22S-bb6s0KdDOPYKHWaa1BGMv9lYk12Mv3TgSjdoC0uc-Wi7jIbW3LAOss6Y9jwxDjxqxPGhk-7lpU7QVbBL7I2PYcZttba6CyGU8/s320/Sept+2010+052.jpg" /><br /><br />The peppers are ripening fast ... </span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523420715862913874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4DmiJ6yxwXNQ2VyNV95pvplXGn21VfHJK1dEpYPksvmKS15r81cEZrsVSe1y1K1s3Fb4qFHsxQQ4GzbQiRjtkYFoUJW0TFD0a54FZ_zFJ4wldOigHLUxqvpffcJHuhUhmiQC/s320/Sept+2010+055.jpg" /><br /><br />And the winter flowering pansies have gone in. They may not look much now, but they'll provide the odd flower right through the dark months, and then in spring will suddenly explode again into a riot of colour. Definitely a flower no balcony should be without...</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 252px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523421029698978386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtb0cLzlxLZT6d22MmD_pZWJD5Mz4b_-0U9CMfuV13qwoPU-nSO3TZB6KW4g6KV4i5BfMWAy8uT-eXzhVkedQ8xTsc6dF7E3aijSHVlpJin0P-C8Xs1JPNN7jB2GwMf2iZ300w/s320/Sept+2010+029.jpg" /><br /><br />But much sooner than that, the chrysanthemums will be in flower. They're full of buds ...</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 232px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523420709696325314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlL323btBUhv_vTJ8z4CGSOX1H0hgLPhFTNh1KH8zsdjMPrgeAaKQmOHcjOwWPlpVwJjl0T_msb7H_iUEHC7fB8RoNo2oJ2h0ByWcqZP22Tp6Vc2AZwqdAPjj9WffRufBscgj/s320/Sept+2010+044.jpg" /><br />Bye bye summer. Time to get the winter woollies out again.</span> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><br><br><br>Sue Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16053188212601918182noreply@blogger.com13