Bloom Day - December, 2018

The 15th of every month is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, when we all post photos of what is blooming in our gardens.  But, today is not the 15th, is it?  With the rush to finish work before the holidays and our eldest son coming home tomorrow for Christmas, my mind has been elsewhere!

Although winter is right around the corner and we have had some frost, I do have a few pretties to share.

This rose looks lovely, until you realize that it is Benjain Britten, and that icy-pin color it is sporting is not its true color.

Benjamin Britten

Abraham Darby, protected by a stone wall, continues to produce near-perfect roses. 

Abraham Darby

Abraham Darby

La Sevillana has not noticed that all her neighbors are lying dormant.

Such a hard worker! 

La Sevillana

The mums are on their way out, but they still provide color.

Gaura, oh gaura!  How did I ever live without you before this year?  She has been blooming for a record-breaking 8 months!

Gaura

What is still blooming in your garden?  

Stop by May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in other peoples' gardens

from around the world.

In a Vase on Monday - Cat Toy

Just a few snippets

You know, there are some very talented gardening bloggers out there who also excel in flower arranging.  I just happen to not be one of them.

Gaura, with her long-arching arms, is difficult to photograph

But, I often have a few clippings in a base on our kitchen table, especially on the weekends.  This weekend I had been taking cuttings to propagate gaura, salvia and abelia, so the flower tips wound up in an old maple syrup bottle on the table.  It did not take long for our cat, Luna, to take an interest in it.

Stop by Rambling in the Garden for the weekly In A Vase on Monday posts to see other proper arrangements.  As for my little vase, it's now high up on top of the cupboards, where I'm sure the spiders will enjoy it.

End of the Month Garden View - November, 2018

Well, that went fast.  Of course, I didn't get much done in the garden this month, but I did at least do something.

New planting area

Since we've had some rain and the clay has softened up a bit, I have been focusing on the back patio area.  The 'soil' is absolutely horrendous, so several days were taken up by ammending the area before planting.  This will be an irrigation-free area, and my budget is 0€, so I have been planting propagated cuttings and iris divisions.  If it all dies, at least I won't be taking a loss!

I've also been moving around rocks in front of a small slope to create a planting area with improved soil, but now I've found that Trufa has been digging up the irises.

New planting área on small slope - look at those holes!  BAD DOG!

 

The front yard could use some cleaning up, but that will have to be done next month.

The neglected front garden

 

Taking photos for this post and owning up to the current state of my garden does not exactly feel inspiring.  Will next month be any better?

I am posting with The Patient Gardener for the End of the Month View, where other gardeners will hopefully have accomplished more than I this month.

What have you been doing in your garden this month?

Village living

You know you live in a small village when…

...you mention to the village baker that your husband has brought home a cold from his business trip to Portugal, and he steps out to his garden to give you larger-than-life pomegranates with extra vitamin C!

Fall foliage

Fall foliage in Spain is mostly monochrome: gold on gold.  So, one of my goals in my garden has been to bring in more oranges and reds, reminiscent of my native New England.  Sometimes, you have to look hard, but it's coming along.  

Parthenocissus quinquefolia

For some reason, Parthenocissus quinquefolia likes hanging out at the top of the fence.  It hasn't grown much in years, and I wonder if it will ever fill in.

Tricuspidata on the front wall

A Boston girl loves her Boston Ivy!  But it really did not get colorful this year.

Strawberry

Fraxinus angustifolia Raywood

But, don't worry!  There's still plenty of gold here, too.

Morus alba?

Fig

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wisteria in the spotlight

Having my afternoon tea in the kitchen, I had to run out and take a photo of my oldest wisteria, looking so pretty in the sun.

I usually have a large outdoor sofa in this exact spot, but I recently moved it to the other end of the porch during a wind storm (it has been known to get pushed off the edge and down the stairs).  It is funny how when you re-organize things you see them in a whole new light, both literally and figuratively.  I won't be putting the sofa back any time soon.

What have you been reorganizing in your life (ejem), I mean, garden?

Bloom Day - November 2018

The sky has been cloudy this month and the fog has crept up the river from Toledo most mornings, so these photos were taken in mad dashes yesterday when the sun peeked out its head.  What a tease, that sun!

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is my favorite red rose.  Red?  Well, someplace between red and magenta, but its most appealing attribute is its scent.

Benjamin Britten 

I am pleased with this photo because it shows the progression of colors that Benjamin Britten is capable of producing, but in the summer the flowers are too fleeting to appreciate.  From bits of yellow, to coral, to a purpley-red, BB has got it all - with a fruity scent to boot!

Charles Darwin

In my garden and in its current location, Charles Darwin is a bit of a meek producer.  However, it is healthy and I love the color of its blooms, so it is a keeper.

?

Chrysanthemums in Spain are sold for All Saints' Day on November 1, so you will probably never see them in a garden as they are associated with cemeteries and funerals.  However, I have always loved chrysanthemums becuase of the color they bring to the fall garden.  I have several, which can be grown as perennials here.  Unfortunately, though, they are sold here sans ID.

La Sevillana

La Sevillana has been flowering since May.  She is such a hard worker.  I should probably pay more attention to her.  Ay, if only she smelled as lovely as she looks...

Podranea ricasoliana

Salvia microphylla

Winchester Cathedral

Heritage

If you have been paying attention, then you know that I do not care for the color pink.  So, what is Heritage doing in my garden?  Well, I planted this rose to commemorate the birth of my niece, Katie, exactly 7 years ago today.  

Happy Birthday, Katie!!!

And happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day to everyone!  Stop by May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in everyone elses' gardens.

Red-legged partridges and "Little owls"

Alectoris rufa hispanica

Athene noctua, "Little owl"

A tribute to the mochuelo (Little owl) that pooped on me while gardening last week.

Who's been visiting your garden lately?

100 years

On the 100th anniversary of the end of Word War I, The Great War, the "War to End All Wars", I once again have been reflecting on the fate of so many young men and women who gave ther lives to preserve our freedom, among them my grandmother's cousin, Frank.

Cousin Frank was 22 and born in Massachusetts, but away at college when he enlisted with New York's 7th Infantry Regiment, often known as the "Silk Stocking Regiment" because the sons of many of Manhattan's socialites had also enlisted.  He was killed in battle towards the end of the war.

However, I had never been able to find where he was buried.  All of my online searches had come up empty.  Until today.  Searching once again, I have just been able to find Cousin Frank's gravesite at the Somme American Cemetery in Bony, Aisne, France.  The Find A Grave website provided a photo and a description:

"He was awarded the Distinguished Medal for service for bravery and determination of action under heavy machine gunfire during the attack on the Hindenburg Line, during the Battle of Saint-Quentin Canal in the vicinity of Bony, Departement de l'Aisne, Picardie, France." - Find a Grave

I feel better now that I know where he was buried, and I know that one day I will visit his grave.  You see, I believe that both my mother's and my middle names are Frances for a reason.

Whirling Butterflies

Gaura indheimeri "Whirling butterflies"

End of the Month Garden View - October, 2018

I had thought that I might be a bit more motivated to get things done in the garden if I posted monthly photos of the garden's progress.  Accountability, I say!  It also gives me a good excuse to pay attention to my garden at the end of the month, which is always hectic at work because the biomedical journal I translate runs on an end-of-the-month deadline.

However, it has been cloudy and rainy for the past 5 days, and I thought I would never get any decent photos today.  But, Mother Nature cooperated, and the sun breached through the clouds for just five minutes, and I ran outside to get some quick pictures.

View from the back porch, with new pergola below

I still don't have the heart to call the back part of the property a "garden".  I mean, all there is are a few random trees that are still growing in and little else.  While it is mainly overrun with our native stipa, which I actually like, there is really not much of interest going on here, and I find it a bit embarrassing.  It is just horrible, horrible soil, and the ammending process is slow, arduous, and unsatisfying.  The battle will continue.

Looking south

View from south-eastern side

Just a few meters over from the previous photo is an area that is doing a bit better because we created a sort of earth berm so that the neighbor's rainfall would not keep encroaching on our property.  Here, I added 5 cypress trees, an ornamental pear and a gingko to provide privacy from the neighboring lot and street.

Trufa's favorite perch

Front garden

The front garden is a much happier place.  Right now, the chrysanthemums are in bloom, the abelia have turned red, and the fraxinus rubra is also turning.  My plans for this weekend include cleaning up the last of the pruning pile and transplanting lots of the rooted creeping rosemary and irises to the back yard.  Free plants fit well within my budget. 

The missing chair cushion was torn apart by pigeons.

Ah, yes, the basketball hoop: the ultimate test of any plant.

On the right, some newly added salvia and carex

Have you made any progress in your garden this month?

I am cross-posting with The Patient Gardener for the end-of-the-month meme.