My sister and brother-in-law kindly delivered a Christmas tree for us this afternoon. ‘Just a wee one,’ was my request, which turned out well as it seems to suit our tiny decorations. The tough little tree is able to hold heavier ones too, such as the angel on top.
Mum gets the decorations out of the bag
There are dangling decorations at the bottom to interest Felix, and plenty at eye level for little folk to see.
We’ll enjoy it even more as it gets dark. And it smells wonderful.
Some people talk to their plants. Greeting my aloe vera has become a habit.
I was given the plant three Christmases ago when it was very small. A visiting puppy dragged it out of its pot and chewed it, but it seemed to recover well when repotted. Since then, it has grown so tall that it was disappearing under the lamp shade beside it. It needs stakes to stop it from keeling over. I found out that aloes can grow tall searching for light (even a light bulb?!).
Post puppy attack July 2022August 2023November 2024
This week I found a suitable outdoor pot for it (50% off, thank you, Mitre 10). I had planned to put it beside the yucca on the driveway, but having read that aloes are frost tender, I opted to put it under the glass roof. There, it will get full sun most of the day and shelter in winter.
After planting yesterdayThis morning, in the sun.
The root ball is tiny, so this larger pot will give it room to grow, I hope*. It still needs support, but perhaps it will bulk out before long, otherwise the solution may be to cut it shorter and repot the cut piece. However, I don’t want to end up with a forest of aloe veras – then it’ll be, “‘Allo, ‘allo, ‘allo”.
The broad beans have finished and new plants are in the garden. I’m using the four stage rotation system and planted a tomato plant and a green zucchini where the beans were, and dwarf beans where the silver beet was. Beyond them, you can see how much the runner beans have grown since I posted about the bean frame recently (Old school tools, 9 Nov). The artichoke (on the left in the photo) takes up a lot of room in the garden but it is sculptural and interesting, even if I have found the artichokes pretty much inedible (Artichoke, anyone? 29 Dec 2020) or, at least, not worth the effort.
Artichokes are forming on the plants now and give the impression of bobble-headed stick figures throwing their arms upward as they ‘dance’ in the breeze. I’ve posted about their antics before (Wind-ravaged 21 Dec, 2021).
Having this anthropomorphic view in my subconscious, I was interested to see the artichoke had leaned across with one of its leaves as if to shade the zucchini plant from the sun. When the sun moved off that part of the garden, the leaf lifted up again.
A photo in a magazine shows sweet peas growing on a greenhouse frame. This gave me inspiration. The greenhouse I put together in September 2020 had lost most of its plastic sheeting which I’d replaced with shade cloth. The lettuces I tried to grow in it this year were ravaged by white fly.
After seeing the photo, I ripped out the last of the plastic (now washed and ready for soft plastic recycling) and removed the shade cloth. I’ve planted dwarf sweet peas in the relined, replenished hanging basket, tall sweet peas in the black bucket and alyssum – to ward off white fly – in the other planter. A bit of old trellis softens the harshness of the iron fence a little. I doubt if I’ll achieve the lushness of the magazine photo with this dry, hot weather, but here’s hoping for some flowers.
It’s rare to see ladybirds, so I was pleased to see this one on the bathroom window frame this morning. However, having looked on the iNaturalist site, I can see there are many species and some of them are not so helpful. The Green Goddess site waxes lyrical about ladybirds until you scroll further down to the information on the Harlequin Ladybird and other pests. My visitor is possibly an Asian Lady Beetle, but it could be the Harlequin as they seem to have a variety of colours and markings. It had flown away before I had discovered it might not be such a welcome visitor after all. Like everything else, however, it will have to take its chances in my wild garden*.
*Like the little bird which rests on the fisherman’s boat in In the Old Man and the Sea.
Today there are cherries in my local fruit and vegetable shop so it’s official: it’s summer. There have been blueberries for a few weeks and, more recently, apricots. Asparagus is well into its season. And, because it’s close to Christmas, all sorts of tempting treats are offered and proving irresistible. Less healthy for the body, but great for one’s state of mind in my opinion!
‘O Rose thou art sick…’ William Blake, The Sick Rose
From this……to this
This summer, the westerland rose is not as it was. Huge multiple blooms are this year a third the size. Only one or two pale flowers on each stem will bloom while the others wither away. Small stems sprouting from the branches blacken and die. This is despite my efforts to prune well in winter and to remove any dieback. I have fed it and watered it – perhaps too little too late.
In contrast, the iceberg has formed an arch across the drive. I can walk under it and smell the roses at nose level.
My eye was caught by this picture (above) in a gift shop this morning. You could have a lot of fun decoding the messages in it.
As I walked home these signs caught my eye.
Even if you made it to the gate in 5 seconds it was wide open and the fence would be very easy for a dog to jump.
At the end of the street is a nice piece of roadside planting which could win the prize for best berm. It slopes down to a little wooden bridge over a creek. When I had dogs, they used to love running down and investigating the creek and shrubs on our walks. On the railing of the bridge I spotted two 50c coins with the ship Endeavour on one side. I liked the old large version of this coin.
Speaking of walking the dogs, this van pulled into a driveway in front of me and a woman, who looked fit and weatherbeaten, unloaded a shaggy brown dog.
On the other side of the road my eye was caught by these two flags on neighbouring houses:
At home, I looked at my collection of coins from here and around the world, but did not find one of the old 50c coins, just the old 20c coin, a 1936 penny (British), a 1945 penny and a 1947 half penny.
I used to wear the Japanese coins on my shoelaces as was the trend when I was in Japan. Apparently, there were holes in the middle of the coins so they could be threaded on string for safekeeping. The Danish coin has a hole so blind people can distinguish one coin from another. This made me think of the many things which could not catch my eye if I were blind.
In retirement, I’m outside so often it makes sense to have prescription sunglasses instead of using (when I remember) my old clip-on flip-ups.
It’s good to have found a pair of titanium frames by the same designer as my ‘normal’ glasses – and same colour – which I’ve had for almost ten years and which look new.
Although the glasses place (aka ‘Eyewear Gallery’) I have gone to for many years has changed hands, some of the same staff are there (wearing sensational specs) and they still have a range of interesting frames and the slogan ‘No boring specs allowed’. The store has kept its art deco vibe – and awesome technology. It cheers me up.
On seeing them, my brother mentioned Elton John. I was thinking more along the lines of Jackie O.
The number plate on this Armstrong Siddeley made me stop and take a photo. It’s the same vintage as I am and wearing it well; similarly wide across the beam but still shiny.
The hood ornament is pretty ferocious. What I took to be a warrior holding weapons turns out to be a sphinx with wings mounted on jet engines. It looks as if it is crouching, but it is the jets reflected in the bonnet which create that impression.
................... for lovers of ice cream. Your free on line magazine for sweet frozen treats. Recipes, inspiration, artisanal ideas for your delectation.
Anne-O-tations 