Bloom Day - March, 2019

Frustration has reigned in my garden this month.  We have had exactly 1 day of rain this entire winter.  As a result, certain areas of the garden have turned hard as cement, and NOT A SINGLE daffodil has come up this year.  I gave up on crocuses and tulips years ago, and now I have to say good-bye to daffodils, too.  Frustrating.  If I ever plant them again, it will be in pots.

In addition, I have had to switch on the drip irrigation system every few days since mid-February so I don't lose my larger bushes and trees.  With the added water, the pyrus calleryana is looking spectacular today, and it is quickly becoming the largest tree on our property.

Pyrus calleryana

I am absolutely thrilled at the progress of our wisteria.  On the backside of the house, we have two large 5 x 6 meter pergolas that were installed 2 years ago, with 2 established wisterias and 2 new purchases.  Last year, the older wisterias offered up a few blooms, but this year they are ready to explode!  Even the Little 2-year-old specimens are top-heavy with buds.  I am so excited to see them take off and hopefully provide some much-needed shade.

Finally, my loyal freesia and iris are in bloom early this year.  Well, of course!  It was 27ºC / 82ºF today!

 A bit late, I am linking with May Dreams Gardens for the fun Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts.  Stop on by!

Almond trees in bloom

Over the years, I have found that our almond trees can bloom anywhere from late January to early March.  I attribute this year's March bloom to our excessive drought this year.  I have also found that 'native' trees and nursery-bought specimens do not flower at the same time.

Native almond tree

A garden center almond tree

The native wild almond trees bloom first, yet their blossoms can often be affected by a winter freeze, or their flowers open before the pollinators are out, which is what usually happens in my garden.  As a result, my natives hardly ever produce much of a harvest.  The nursery-bred trees, however, flower anywhere from one to three weeks later, and they give a much better crop.

This year, though, our temps have been high, so some pollinators are already awake.

Will I have double the almonds this year?

Marvellous mimosa

Once again, the mimosas are in bloom.  And, once again, it's that time of year when I dream of having one of these beauties in my garden.

Acacia dealbata

Saying goodbye

I have just buried my cat, Luna.

Those of you who are followers have probably seen photos of her on this blog before.  She was my true gardening companion, never venturing outdoors alone and always staying close by.  Her favorite parts of the garden were the sunny patio where lizards were often hiding, and the north side of the garden where mice and moles were to be found.  The ivy-covered wall in the front garden was her favorite perch, and the warm granite stones of the front walkway and back patios were always the best places to roll around in the sun.

She was diagnosed with lymphoma the week before Christmas, so we were lucky to have more than a month to spoil her with her favorite foods, cuddles and ear-scratching.

We laid her to rest in the place where she spent her last moments in the garden, under the gingko tree, where she sat to watch me, the dogs and birds flitting around the garden.  Her grave is protected by a large stone, and I have planted a memorial garden around it, with white iris, dusty miller and sempervivens.

Of course, I still keep seeing her out of the corner of my eye everywhere I turn.

Wordless Wednesday - Winter Beach

Santander, Spain

Wordless Wednesday - Águila Imperial

Aquila adalberti, or Águila Imperial Ibérica

Oh, sh!t

I hope not to offend anyone with this post's title, but it really is apropos.

The Friday before Christmas, I came home in the evening to find the town-owned property in front of our front wall absolutely swamped.  We have a prunus serrulata, a cupressus sempervirens and a walnut tree planted there, and they were all standing in a good 6 inches of water.  I called the water company's emergency line, and decided to rake back all the river rock gravel that I use to keep the weeds under control.  However, the leak was not near the street; instead, it was gurgling up just 8 inches from our front wall, walkway and gate.

Fearing for the integrity of the wall foundation, including the column holding up the large gate, I dug a drainage ditch to drain the water away from the wall and down the street towards the empty house lot next door.  Our 18-year-old son was home from college for Christmas, and he gave me a hand with the digging.

By the time we got the water draining away from the wall, the water company technician had arrived and immediately told me to step away - "That's not water," he said.  WHAAAAT?!  It was night, dark, and some water was running into a storm drain, so I thought the smell was coming from there.

Apparently, our gated community has a very superficial sewage system that has a number of faults.  New pumps were installed about a year ago, and leaks have been popping up in several áreas ever since.  We had no idea.

So, the following day (yes, the FOLLOWING day), the municipal workers came out to turn off the pump for our street.  The leak continued for another day, as gravity made the whole street drain at my front gate.  Lovely.  Merry Christmas.  Bah-humbug.

So now, three weeks later, the water has finally been absorbed and the stench is gone, but no repairs have been made and the pumps have not been turned back on.  So, where is it all going?  Well, remember that lovely stream and reservoir we have behind our property?  Yes... Oh, sh!t.

In A Vase On Monday - Wreath

OK, so I am cheating.  I have not prepared a vase, and the holiday season is over, but I still wanted to share a simple wreath that I threw together just before Christmas.  

Inspired by the other wreaths in IAVOM posts, I decided to wrap together some parthenocissus tricuspidata vines that had started to take over the front of our house.  These twisted together suprisingly well because they are quite small in diameter and flexible ‒ no tying necessary.  We don't have fir trees here in LaMancha, so the greenery I added is rosmarinus postrata, and the red hips are from rosa canina rootstock that grew after transplanting a rosebush.

I like the simple asymmetrical look with our old-fashioned Toledo oak door.  And, I am happy to find that, two weeks later, the rosemary has not dropped is "needles".  Of course, the door is north-facing, so I would not recommend it for a south-facing door.

Stop by Rambling in the Garden to see other In A Vase On Monday posts for more inspiration!

Three Kings Day

Epiphany, Little Christmas, Twelfth Night… you may call it what you will, but in Spain January 6th is El Día de Los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day.  On the night of the 5th, Spanish children leave out a shoe for the Three Kings to fill with gifts brought from the Far Orient on camels and accompanied by their pages.

In addition to gift-giving, there is always a feast of roscón de Reyes, which is a sweet yeast bread flavored with agua de azahar, or orange blossom water.  Dried orange blossoms are left for a day in water to give a lovely aroma to the roscón.  Obviously a Moorish influence, I have not seen agua de azahar used in any other foods.

The roscones are sold with a gold-foil crown, and they have a large butter bean and ceramic figurine hidden inside.  Whoever finds the figurine in their piece of roscón is "crowned" as King, and whoever gets the bean is supposed to pay for the roscón (fancier ones can cost up to €60!).  Over the years, children can collect quite a few figurines!

Roscones are often served with chocolate, which is a very thick hot chocolate, almost like a warm pudding or custard.  Some modern roscones are glazed with chocolate or filled with whipped cream, chocolate cream or cabello de angel ("angel hair", which is candied spaghetti squash).  My family prefers the more traditional type, though.

In the afternoon, we have a family meal, which is usually seafood-based as my father-in-law owned a small fish market until he retired.  Prawn, smoked salmon, peaches with tuna and caviar (my favorite) and oven-roasted sea bass are all usually on the menu, accompanied by Spanish cured ham and cheeses for the kids who are not big fans of seafood.  Oh!  And don't forget the escarole salad with clementines and pomegranate arils with a garlicky olive oil vinaigrette - yum!

A cousin of mine recently asked me about our Spanish traditions, so my sisters-in-law sent me all these photos to share and the photo credit goes to them.  Many thanks!  But, the Spanish Christmas tradition that I love the most is the Belén, or Bethlehem.  Instead of a Christmas village or a simple Nativity scene, in early December Spaniards adorn their homes with full-on towns of Bethlehem, including houses, vegetable gardens, gristmills with running water, paths and bridges, shepherds with their sheep, etc, all around a nativity scene with approaching Wise Men on their camels.  Some are truly works of art with antigue figurines, while others are made with Playmobil or Lego figurines and Play-doh for young children to be able to touch.  Below are photos of my sister-in-law's Belén, with lights, running water, beach sand and moss.  Each year, they go to the Christmas market in the center of Madrid to add to their collection.  Isn't it wonderful?

 

So, wherever you are and whatever your traditions, I hope you have had a very happy holiday season.  May 2019 be your best year yet!