While on the island of Gozo I took notes of and enjoyed some of the trees unfamiliar to me. It is nice and interesting to find out what they are called and then to search on Google about their uses, growth, country of origin and so on, it keeps me quite busy at times. Then I will take many photos of all the different attributions, leaves, flowers, seeds, seed hulks, shoots, trunks etc. And of course I like to share this in my blog, my blog is after all a celebration of all that the earth so generously has to offer to us and to life itself. And so here goes, I hope you enjoy.
The Ombu tree, or to give it its proper name the Phytolacca dioica L. is an attractive tree. I found it growing in the area of Ghajnsielem along the main road. I was amazed to…
Hard to believe that we are already getting close to the middle of February. Winter is giving way slowly to early spring, though today you would not think so. We are experiencing a bitterly cold wind from the East and lower temperatures than is normal for this part of the country, which usually has mild winters.
This beautiful landscape, colours natural and not edited. Taken on a very recent walk close by.
But while the cold spell lasts there is plenty of planning and creativity going on inside. I made a true to scale plan of the garden so as to have a good oversight of it (and for the fun of it too). And I tested the soil on all of the 12 raised beds and found that they are poor, some beds depleted even in Phosphorus, and Nitrogen, but did a little better on Potash. So now I know what to add and where. I’m also cutting out snippets from gardening magazines that apply to our garden in particular. I do have some good gardening books but I find this somehow more personalised as I only keep what applies to my experience here.
Scaled plan our garden
Cut outs for my map
I use standardised tests bought in shop
Test information
Primroses are all the go here in the shops and we are all buying them as they herald spring and hope.And so this year I am getting on well with clearing our garden sheds and I am finding quite a bit of wildlife while doing so. This most perfect example of Peacock butterfly I accidently disturbed but I am happy to say that it went to sleep again a bit further into the shed, I guess that it realised it was too early to go flying about. ~ Be warned about the next photo as there is a spider in it!
So these are some other friends in the garden shed, a small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) also overwintering and being paid a visit by our residental Steatoda Grosso (cuboard spider). This is a slow enough moving spider and quite beautiful really. I don’t mind him and I know that I will come across him again and a few more of his family as I’ve seen them. I would not like to be bitten though, they are know not to be aggressive and I have noticed that. I obviously wear a good pair of gardening gloves while clearing the shed! I’ve also come across large house spiders (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) but they are harmless.
Here in the small market town of Skibbereen a spice and exotic vegetable shop has opened and it did not take me long to go and check out the vegetables with which I learnt to cook in both S.India and in Mauritius. The delicious meals made thereof and the pleasure of the memories got me to buy quite a selection and for a whole week those dishes were on the menu. Among them okra and bitter gourd would have been most know to me, also the chayote squash. Some of the vegetables did not make it into the cooking pan as I want to root them and I was lucky enough to see a shoot coming out of both the taro root and the chayote squash, this is an experiment. Once before I grew a large plant from a taro root but it died when I went travelling.
A selection of my first purchase
Taro shoot – hoping it will send out roots too
Chayote squash sprouting
Some of the dinners I enjoyed I improvised and did not stick to traditional Indian or Mauritian cooking, but did I use spices!
And then there is the garden! Well we have had so much rain now for many weeks that the garden is saturated and I am hoping that this present wind will dry the things out a bit. The garden looks forlorn at the moment and I am not doing much in it until the weather turns. I have lots of spring bulbs coming on though and they are a pleasure to see. (in my home-made small greenhouses to protect from heavy rains). There are still quite some vegetables ready for use, the cut and come back Kale and the leeks among them.
A very light dusting of snow last week
Leeks and young Mullein plants
More leeks and wild three-cornered-leeks
Kale
Our daffodils stay in the soil all year round, they are doubles.
Wild strawberry plants
One of my grandchildren showing me the strawberry flower
And to finish off a picture of how cosy it is inside while out there the icy wind rages, throwing lashes of hail and sleet against the window panes. The wood burner keeps us nice and warm.
I’m finding that although we are quite isolated here and especially so with the current lockdown, I am making very many interesting contacts online, being invited to interesting social media groups on culture and art and on growing in calmness, quietness and reflection. Some of these groups are in my mother tongue (Flemish) and I enjoy that very much. Making new friends and maintaining existing connections with old friends. I was also invited to become part of a meditation group. It all goes to make this lockdown time quite interesting and a place of growth for me.
I hope that all your activities and experiences are keeping you inspired too.
It was quite unexpected that I came upon a Spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus), I first noticed the red berries now mostly decayed in the mud, and recognised them as being spindle berries. When fresh they are so very beautiful! So I looked out for the tree and found it growing beside a much thicker trunk of a tree unknown to me. Part of it had fallen down and is probably dead. The crown of the tree though was still full of the berries. Do some of the birds feed on them? I do not know. The first I ever heard of the Spindle tree was from a Dublin lady called Hilary. She used to read out her essays on nature on Sunday morning in a radio program called Sunday Miscellany. Although I was fascinated this was before the internet and Google search. So I never really bothered to look up something about what was said to be a very beautiful and also a native tree to Ireland.
The berry which contains the seeds
Seeds can be seen here
The winter appearance of the tree or bush you could say is rather confusing and I will return in spring and summer to check out more about the growth and its leaves, flowers. It is something to really look forward to, I believe that it already flowers in May. In autumn its leaves apparently turn a flaming red, now that should be worth looking out for. The Spindle tree is mainly found in hedgerows and that’s where I found it too although it wasn’t a hedge but rather the remains of an old stone wall. I also read that its wood is very hard and it was used to manufacture spindles for wool-spinning, I guess hence its name.
Finding this to me new and interesting tree was the highlight of my week, we might be in lockdown but there are still always new wonders to discover.
I just want to add a little note here. I am not being very active at the moment both in posting and in reading posts from others. I am very busy but also my inspiration seems to have taken a downturn. I know this won’t last so I am just going with it. It is good to have a period of reflection as well as a period of posting a lot. I’ll soon be reading all your blogs again dear friends and followers and I wish you all the very best. Thank you for reading my words.
First I would like to wish all my friends and followers a beautiful new year ~ Let 2021 be a year filled with hope, many blessings, happiness and good health. That is my wish for everyone of you.My walk took me around our little town on the ring road, this road is relatively new and is flanked with interesting shrubs. It also gives lovely views towards the town and behind it some the hills that surround us. At some stage the road crosses the river Ilen. The view is always spectacular, the river is tidal, today the tide was high which saw the sun sparkling in the water.
Red twig Dogwood in leaf
Red twig Dogwood during winter
One of the lovely shrubs along this road is the Red twig Dogwood, it is vibrant and adds bright colour to the otherwise bare branches all around. I have added this shrub to my garden plan for this coming planting season, I read that one of the varieties needs lots of moisture and it may well help to solve some of our waterlogged problems. It would also add great interest.
Type of fir
Budding soon
Beautiful blue sky
Frost still where shadow lives
We have been enjoying sunshine and very cold weather which is a bit unusual for West Cork area but is so lovely and healthy too. The sky was so blue the day I took these photos, a delight to the eye.
Fir tree
Willow catkins
Crystals shimmering in the rock
And then to my surprise I found some willow catkins, nature sure is slowly waking up. On the way back to the car I noticed the sun was lighting up the crystals in the stones of the wall I passed, these quartz crystals are seen regularly in our stone walls and I’m always delighted to see them. They are a little camera shy though, I can never seem to take a good photo of them, nothing that does them justice as they are so beautiful.
I am hoping that you all stay healthy and happy during these frequent lockdowns. Sending you all much love. Let 2021 be a year full of hope and happiness.
This Christmas eve we are cosy inside, candles are lit and nice music fills the room. I am still inclined to go with the Flemish way of celebrating Christmas on the eve of the 24th. However, Ian being British has hugely different traditions and I try to do a bit of both, I find though that we celebrate Christmas totally in our own special way. I guess like everyone else we like to build memories and this of course also involves family. But this year Christmas is different, there is no family gathering for most people. We are lucky that we can have one set of grandchildren coming to open presents and enjoy the customary meatballs with red cabbage and apples. Many people are not so lucky and so we are grateful. As I have never cooked a turkey in my life, and don’t know how to make a Christmas cake or pudding I usually buy a good quality one for Ian and make him sweet white sauce to go with it. For me most important at Christmas are people, candles, music and the scent of pine and spices, oh and a walk in nature. So this afternoon the sun was shining and though bitterly cold it was a great opportunity to get some fresh air. Yesterday there was snow on the hills surrounding the town and I wanted to check if I could get some pictures of them, unfortunately the snow was mostly gone again. I came across so much fresh green, little plants that are either still growing from last season, and new plants like the foxgloves. These are the darkest days of the year but already I can feel fresh energy building up which once it is January will burst forth and there will be no holding it. January is my most productive month, my energy at its highest. But for now I seek peace and quiet, it’s too early to give way to high spirits. View overlooking part of the town and surrounding hills, one of which is still snow-capped.
Lovely ivy seeds
Fresh wild green
Honeysuckle plants
Ferns grow here winter or summer due to the damp climate
After a lovely walk the sun was setting over some houses, a beautiful day, a peaceful Christmas eve.
As an afterthought, this evening I received from my sister two Christmas card dating back to 1920, my grandmother and grandfather exchanged those back then. I found it so touching and they are beautiful, that’s why I am sharing them here with you all. A great present from the past.
I would like to wish all my dear friends and followers all over the earth a blessed and joyous Christmas time, or Yule time, or Solstice, or end of year or mid-winter celebrations. I love a good story and am very interested in traditions from all over the world. How do you like to spend this time of year?
On the way home, a very scenic view in the village of Leap.
A beautiful evening at almost mid-winter time of year. Today saw me driving the 91 km to the nearest city from where we live. Cork city is beautiful and as I had to drive through some of the oldest part of it in the area of the Shandon tower and the butter market, I was absolutely delighted to have had a reason to travel up. It does not happen so often these days, partly due to all the lock-downs and partly because I do not like to leave Ian alone for too long. It takes about one and a half hours one way from our little town to the city, and along the way you travel through two other small towns. What I noticed today is that these little towns are growing rapidly, but they also have lovely older areas with interesting architecture.
But to talk some more about Cork city, it is a place that I love, I learnt my English there originally. There are so many interesting places to see and take in. Today I could not stop to linger where I wanted to take photos and just admire the old quarters as I had an appointment for a Covid test, routine before any procedure in hospital which is to follow on Thursday. The test centre was right up the hill through a residential area, many of these are small one story Irish houses, some of them have interesting features of Irish vernacular architecture. (taking a note to come back some time with my camera). The streets were fairly quiet which I was happy about as I do not drive often in the city. I felt relaxed and glad.
It made me realise that in these troubled times where for most of the year we have all been very restricted in our movements, it is so uplifting to be among people, to feel the buzz of the city, to admire the beauty of it all. It made me come alive and it energized me.
Two city scenes taken at traffic lights, and another view of Leap, a small village along the way.
Kale, or to use its botanical name Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala, belongs to the Brassicaceae family. It is considered closest to the wild brassica plants. Wandering Celtic tribes most probably brought knowledge of its use to Northern Europe from the Mediterranean regions where it was cultivated even before the middle ages or long before that. These days it is a popular autumn and winter vegetable for the kitchen garden. It grows easy and is a pick and come back plant, it does not crop and leaves can be taken as needed. The Kale plant is full of vitamins, minerals like calcium or potassium, and it is said to be very beneficial, all though people with certain medical conditions should only eat it in moderation. Kale is also high in oxalic acid but that can be reduced during cooking.
A traditional dish in Ireland is called ‘Colcannon’, it is a mixture of mashed potatoes and kale. At Halloween it is served with sausages. I cannot remember ever having had kale in Belgium, not the present day kale as we know it here, but we did have ‘boerenkoolstampot’, this was a dish made using a very large dark green type of curly cabbage which was used in a similar way to Colcannon. It was mixed with mashed potatoes and served with fried bacon or worst. It was consumed when it was very cold. I remember seeing these dark green cabbages in our garden, covered in snow.
Beat leaf, or chard as it is known (Beta vulgaris) is a plant belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. I find that interesting, to think that chard belongs to the same family as the Amaranth. It is also full of vitamins and minerals, Iron being one of them. Chard was already grown 2500 years ago in the Middle East and spread from there all over the Europe and America. Again Chard is said to be high in Oxalate, the older leaves having a higher content than the younger leaves.
This season I have grown a Russian red kale, but decades ago we used to grow curly kale and ate from it all winter long. I’m also growing swiss chard in smaller numbers (only three plants).
This type of kale grew extremely well and so easily. It took very little attention or looking after. At some stage during the summer though I had to take off many caterpillars, and they did eat a good bit of the leaves but I had grown extra plants just for that reason.
Swiss chard
Red leaved chard
I did not grow much chard and when preparing a dish I only add a leaf here and there to an assortment of green leaves.
Two different types of young kale plants
Red Russian kale
Typical kale and chard harvest for one meal
Chop it up
Braise it in a little coconut oil, add pepper and salt
After a few minutes ~ Serve
Kale and chard is not only easy to grow, it’s very easy to cook and delicious too. Full of vitamins and minerals and adds a lovely fresh dimension to any dish. Today I made meatballs and mashed potatoes to go with this great greenery, it was a success with Ian. While washing these greens I had to rescue two earwigs and three shield bugs! Thank goodness I discovered those before cooking! They continue to live happily in the garden 🙂
It was a mellow October afternoon and I decided to plant out some spinach seedlings which I still had growing in a pot. I had a wander through the rest of the garden and saw that there is actually quite a lot of winter produce doing well, and it pleased me. I also saw how beautiful everything looked, the colours, the autumn shades which are wonderful. An October sun illuminated everything. It was a perfect afternoon.
Our winter leeks
Huge kale plants
A few beet leaf
Glorious colours of the hydrangea even after the summer.
I will grow these beautiful Rudbeckia again
The Mediterranean oak tree in full colour
Another oregano plant
Italian flat-leaved parsley
A type of catnip
Lemon thyme
Our lavender bushes
A new hydrangea
Some of our produce
There is so much to find growing even at this time of the year, and it will do so during the winter months thanks to the gulfstream which gives us a very mild climate.Pleasure can be gained both from tending to the garden and growing some things, or from just having a wander around.
Enjoy a lovely weekend everyone, and I would love to hear about your autumn garden too.
A week or so ago we took a drive along the road taking us over Lick Hill and further along towards Ballyalla lake and Trabano Cove. It was a pleasant drive and it was something that I wanted to do for a while, mainly because it’s rather trilling to know that the Atlantic Ocean lies a little way beyond this hill.
A few kilometres further we reached Trabano Cove, to the right we could see Bullock island which lies at the entrance where Loch Ine enters the ocean via the rapids. Loch Ine is a Marine Nature Reserve.
Trift in flower, still now
Rocky coast line
Trabano Cove
People enjoying the kayaking or swimming in the cove.
Looking towards Barloge Creek
The old life-boat house
The young people set off on a kayak spin towards Loch Ine.
I have been looking up more information on the hills surrounding the town of Skibbereen. I found some interesting facts about Lick Hill but that is for another blog post, I will do a bit more work on this. While it is recommended that we travel no further than 5km from our homes for the next six weeks, I am taking even more interest in my immediate surroundings. Might as well.
