inspiration

WORK TO BE DONE!

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Hosta

Yes work to be done, and that in our front garden.  The back garden is taking care of itself for the moment, quite wild, but all the same some vegetables are growing and fruit is being harvested already.

But the front garden has hardly been touched for the past six years.  For years I could not do anything much as I had a bad flare up of fibromyalgia.  For the moment that is under control.  And so the work has been waiting and it is a pleasure to do it now.  Trouble is that I have several ‘projects’ on the go at once.  All maintenance has to be done otherwise in this damp climate everything rots, wood especially.  And so, apart from power washing the patio, there are the pillars to paint, the woodwork of the fence to be sanded and treated with Sadolin or something like that, and the hedges need cutting also.  And I have been and still want to introduce more container plants, especially the Hosta which I adore.

Wellingtons waiting!  And as can be seen there is much work, especially the red brick I want to get really clean as it looks lovely when they are done.  All the same I am very aware of not wasting water!!!  But what else can one do, I decided to concentrate on the red bricks.   And to remove the moss, if I could achieve that I would be happy enough.

DSCF2196As can be seen….lots of moss and dirty bricks!

This is the end result more or less after several hours of work and too much water wasted (where is it all going?  Underneath the house?  I have all these questions and in a way I am happy that I am only doing this job every so many years.

These Verbena I potted up the other day, l love the colours and they give a cheerful face to the front garden.  The Buddleia is also almost flowering, that will bring many butterflies!  The Rose pot which used to be in the back garden I am now enjoying when I look out the kitchen window while cooking, it is a joy!

In Gozo, last winter I did see lots of lovely and well kept front gardens, the plants were mainly succulents, often in containers, beautiful.  I started then to fantasize about putting more containers with flowers in our own front garden to brighten it up.

While I am wrecked tonight, it has been well worth the effort today.

I think that I deserve another visit to the Garden Centre tomorrow!

AN ALMOST TOTALLY WILD FLOWER GARDEN

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These days as we find ourselves getting towards the end of the beautiful month of May, I am delighted with the many birds, bumblebees and other insects that I am finding in our half wild garden.  Every morning I listen to the dawn chorus of blackbirds, robins, and other little birds who are nesting in our overgrown hedge.  It is a wonder to see the wealth of these creatures enjoying our smallish garden and we in turn enjoying their company and song.  The butterflies and bees have still to come, maybe the temperature is not warm enough.  Yesterday, a day of heavy rain freshened up all the plants and today the bumblebees are out in full force, the sun is out and it is warmer, a glorious day!  We are expecting friends for lunch and it seems like a day we might be able to sit outside.

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I have found a beautiful fern growing around the old pump and the red stone wall, both of which are in this garden from the time we first created it decades ago, my then husband Ron was a great garden creator, though I owe the present raised beds to my partner Ian who has put in a lot of work creating these also.  But the creation of the present lush wild flowers and plants has come about totally as a gift from nature, and happy I am about that.  It seems all I have to do this spring is walk around in this luxurious growth and admire the colours and shapes that nature throws out there, what a palette, what a beauty.

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20170518_181812And so spring is slowly turning into summer, at least its got that feel about it.  Weather- wise it seems to be warming little by little, in fact we were able to sit outside sharing a lovely meal and glass of wine with friends, chatting into the late evening surrounded by the sounds and scents of our garden, wind still.  I would not wish to be anywhere else at moments like this and feel very grateful to be able to enjoy this wealth.  The moisture and warmth after a day of rain in West Cork is something you have to taste before you can believe it.

 

Our friends brought us some young asparagus seedlings which they planted out with me, in two years time I should be able to harvest some of them and make a lovely soup, Ian’s favourite.  This bed was full of ranunculi and it took me a whole morning to get all the roots out, much as I love buttercups, they had to make space for the asparagus.  There is great satisfaction in creating something in the garden apart from enjoying all the wild plants.

A WILD FLOWER WALK

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Yesterday I decided it was time to explore one of the cliff villages of Gozo. Ta-Sannat, and Il-Munxar were on the program, then to walk back from there to Ir-Rabat. It was a beautiful sunny and warm morning. Not sure what to expect as I had not read up on these villages, I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of wild flowers that were in bloom, it really did fill out my inventory and photos of wild spring flowering plants that I have encountered so far here on Gozo. I was rather overwhelmed at the diversity, never having seen such a variety yet around the other villages, but that could be because the further in spring we get, the more flowers will be opened. The bees were buzzing, probably because the sun was rather hot, birds were singing, including the canary birds that many people here own and give fresh air whenever they can. Ta-Sannat also proved to be the first village where I heard a cock crow and saw horses and cattle outside. I got a lovely feel of the place, it is situated high enough for one to see the surrounding villages, like Ix-Xewkija, and Il-Munxar, I could also see the sea at L-Imġarr (Mgarr) from where I stood, and part of Victoria. A wide horizon is visible, and virtually the whole island of Gozo can be seen. The village itself was quiet, I was chatting with a lady in a small shop, apart from that and from the usual vegetable van which I had encountered on most of my village trips, all was still.
I know that there are quite a few things that I missed seeing around Ta-Sannat; the cliffs, the dolmen, the temple, and the ancient car ruts, but these were all outside the village and I did not like to go and see them on my own. I have a plan though, next time we spend the winter in Gozo I will link up with some friends to do things I do not like to do on my own, these activities will be on that list, I will organise that.
After taking many photos of the wild plants and flowers I started to walk toward the village of Il-Munxar. This is a very pleasant walk, it takes one along a whole stretch of farm land, land at this moment full of vegetables and here and there a farmer tending to his plants, heaps of manure were also to be seen lying ready to be spread out on places that were bare. I had a chat with one farmer who was obviously enjoying being on the land on such a sunny morning. Il-Munxar is another small village lying between Ta-Sannat and Ix-Xlendi, there is a walk that takes one from the Ferry Port of L-Imġarr (Mgarr) along these coastal villages toward Ix-Xlendi, the walk must be so beautiful as all along there are to be seen the highest cliff of Gozo. In Il-Munxar where I walked some bit out of the village, I saw meadows so full of flowers, like a painting with full blocks of bright yellow, so cheerful I just sat and watched it all and tried to take it in so I could take it away in my heart and mind, such a beauty!
Eventually I kept walking toward Ir-Rabat (Victoria) and reached there well in time to share lunch with Ian who had been at home meanwhile and working on writing his children’s book. We both excitedly shared our mornings adventures and decided once again how much of soulmates we really are and how thankful we can be for all that we are given day by day.

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Almond blossom

MEADOWS FULL OF FLOWERS

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A very peaceful afternoon, the sun blazing down and smiling over mother nature and humankind, the birds singing, but otherwise stillness over the land. This was my walk yesterday. I decided that I would go see the meadows that surround the town of Victoria and see close up what is growing and flowering there. The views that greeted me were glorious to say the least, the colours a balm to the eyes, and not alone the dark and different shades of the green grass, but the way this brought out the bright yellow of the various flowers. My eyes had a feast. The warmth of the sun relaxed me and brought more than one smile to my face, oh the good that this does to the mind and the body! A few lizards were of the same thought as they were basking on the warm stones, but scuttled away before I came close.  It was lovely to see bees buzzing around, and little snails out in full strength.  The sun had encouraged nature to become alive again!

The air was pure, even so close to a major town. I could get the scent of the greenery, with a subtle whiff of flower perfume carried on the light breeze. I stood and enjoyed this for a long time. Spring is always nice, and meadows have always been my favourite, I used to watch a painting while still at school, it were a few children playing in a meadow filled with flowers. It gives a certain feeling of total peace. That peace is still with me and is heightened when I find myself among wild flowers and meadows. Our mum used to take us to a meadow when we were very small, I remember it though was only a toddler, she would sit with us among the flowers and we were allowed to pick some. Glorious days of the past, but yet with us always, renewed in the present day every springtime again and again.
Nature has so much to gift us, feelings of bliss and renewed strength at the end of winter.
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A Maltese bee getting nectar from the Cape Sorrel.

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Mediterranean thistle – jewk abjad – Galactites tomentosa
Medicago Italica – Hairy medick – Nefel — or Coastal medick ?

Some of the wild flowers found in the meadow and along the road side too.

Sonchus Asper – Prickly sow thistle – Tfief car
Glebionis Coronaria – Crown daisy – Lellux

Below are some of the wild herbs I found yesterday, there is the Goose grass which in Ireland grows plentiful and which I use in soups, there is the Fumitory which is supposed to be a ‘liver’ herb, the Fennel of which there grows a lot around here, Borage which can be used in all sorts of ways, and the Nettle which is a real health giving herb and I use a lot of it in soups etc.  It is nice to see all the wild herbs growing very healthy.

Fumariaceae bastardii – Tall ramping fumitory
NETTLE

A VILLAGE WHICH LIES STILL AND TRANQUIL.

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Zebbug is a village in an elevated area on the North coast of Gozo. It was a Wednesday morning when I visited, everything was quiet, I saw no one when I got off the bus and I was the only person riding on the bus too. So tranquil was this place, everything was shut, that is except the church for which I headed, crossing over a large empty square I reached the steps leading up to an impressive Baroque façade of the village church, I was on a mission, to go and see the beautiful interior which is made up mainly of locally quarried brown Onyx stone, and the book where I read about it did not let me down, I was very impressed and delighted to be able to see this, and to touch this semi-precious stone. I found myself looking at the altar, the confession chair, the pillars, holy water container, a statue, the chairs for the priests, everything made out of Onyx stone, it looked amazing. Yet again I am finding that the ‘stones’ or rocks found on Gozo are very pleasing to the eye!

So I walked on along one of the streets and took in all that was to see, soon I got glimpses of the sea and the beautiful green agricultural landscape along the coast, I found it interesting to see lots of fields like patchwork, the land was being worked by some farmers I noticed. I read that Zebbug derives its name from the Maltese word referring to the Olive tree. The village is also known for its lace making, its weaving and its woollen blankets, but I did not see any of this when I went, no shops were open. The village was quiet, there was a vegetable van driving around, I bought a very tasty orange from him, a few people were gathered around this van buying stuff. There was also a gas delivery truck driving around blowing the horn at intervals as is done here in Gozo. It was when I saw a bread van that I decided to check out if it carried ‘Ghazziela’ I had read about it and had to see one, it’s a biscuit in the shape of the ‘M’ for mother Mary, tradition is to hang it behind the door of your house in order to protect the place from storms and lightning. These biscuits are blessed after they are baked. Of course the bread van lady did not have them, they are not for eating! However, a kind lady standing beside me and hearing me ask for the Ghazziela offered to have a look for some in her house, she did come out with two of them and gave them to me, we had a chat after that and she and her sister really made the visit to Zebbug a very memorial one, so kind and helpful people are, I am experiencing this all the time, it warms the heart. The kindness of these two ladies will not be in vain, it has touched me and showed me once again that people have such good hearts, humankind is not a failure, if we let our hearts speak then kindness has no bounds, it made me happy to mull over these thoughts on my way home.

I took many photos, some of which I will share here, but there is still much more beauty to find in this tranquil  village, I’m so glad that I went there.

The two Ghazziela gifts I received from the kind ladies, and on the right this is the inside of a Prickly Pear cactus leaf, people use this material in making jewellery.

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A street leading towards the blue water, and butternut squash drying in the sun.

These four photos are of the village church and its Onyx interior.

I saw grapes hanging over the wall in a village street, and little country lanes lead out from the village to the pastoral land below in the valley.

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This village has its fair share of arches which I love so much, I hope that they can always be preserved.

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Greenery looks so nice against the limestone walls.

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This cat did not have to say much for herself, she was just soaking up the few rays of sunshine on this winter day.  You are never short of cats on Gozo, and they are beautifully coloured animals.

HERBAL MEDICINE WORKSHOP

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Today at the Hollies I attended a workshop which taught me more about how to make some medicinal herbal teas, tinctures, syrups, creams, and ointments for regular use, for small ailments. We learnt to identify the plants first on a walk through the land, as I have an interest in herbs for a long time, I had no difficulty recognising them all. What I was hoping to get out of the workshop was a bit more knowledge on how to make a cream or an ointment from infused oils, compresses, poultices, and I found it not only interesting, I also found it inspiring. We went through so much information, took notes, took photos, chatted, and listened, and of course we tasted and tried stuff we made, and we smelled every plant we used, and what a variety; Mullein, echinacea, hypericum, fennel, plantain, hawthorn, periwinkle, rosehip, sage, marsh mallow, calendula, rosemary, comfrey, yarrow, and elderberry. After a few hours of identifying and picking plants, we went inside and enjoyed a nice lunch of nettle soup, homemade bread and hummus, after that we got stuck into brewing up our stuff, first we chopped up some rosemary and also some comfrey root, we made a tea of the rosemary leaves, and cooked up the comfrey root in hot oil (au bain marie), we strained it, and added it to the beeswax which we had cut up and melted (au bain marie) also. Finally we mixed all the ingredients together and poured into little jars. This ointment is said to be good for sprains.

For the cream we made we used calendula flowers, and rosemary leaves, the method was straight forward enough, as was the method to make a tincture, or a syrup.

I think that I finally have found the motivation to use more of the herbs I am growing, and some of the oils that have been waiting to be turned into creams and ointments.

So much to look forward to.
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A great group of interested people gathered around so many herbs.

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Making the cream was of even more interest to me, we made it of calendula flowers and rosemary, the result was great.

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Stirring the cream before pouring it into the little jars, labelling is also very important.  Creams would usually last for about a year.  And of course we got good recommendation of books, some of which I might look out for.

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Digging up the comfrey root, and washing it before taking the peel off and cutting it up for use.

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Cutting the comfrey root, and pouring the finished product into little jars.

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Comfrey used in a poultice, and students listening and taking notes in the gardens.

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Picking off the elderberries to make a syrup, and getting the hawthorn berries ready to make a tincture.