今朝の散歩は石神井川の向こうの早宮地区。ちょっと高級感漂う街並みのエリアです。目の前をネコがわざわざ横切って塀の穴をすり抜けて姿を消したので、タイガは名残惜しそうに臭い嗅ぎ。何度ネコパンチをくらっても近づきたいようです。
For this morning's walk, Taiga chose the residential area that lies on the other side of the Shakujii River. The streets here look classier than where I live. As we were walking, a cat deliberately crossed the path in front of us and disappeared through the wall. Taiga immediately went to the spot where the cat disappeared - she simply cannot resist however many times she gets punched in the face.
坂の途中の家の花壇には紫色の花が今をピークに咲いていました。
A beautiful bush with purple flowers, growing by the side of a house.
I have seen this plant in the shop many times but they were always around 40 cm tall, growing in a tiny pot. I never knew that it could grow to such a magnificent tree.
葉っぱはハーブのセージに似た分厚い葉です。葉をくしゃくしゃにすると匂いがあるのか知りたいところ。
The leaves are fleshy and resemble those of sage. I wonder what it smells like if I tore a leaf.
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
帰宅して、門の外に置いてある食用菊の苗が咲き始めました。
Back home, the edible chrysanthemum in front of my house is starting to flower.
「十五夜」という名前で、早咲きの「阿房宮」の枝替わりだそうです。今年の８月にメルカリで買ったばかりなので、本来の開花時期より遅れているかも。咲き始めたばかりの花ですが、よーく見ると、なるほどスーパーでみかけるパック入りの食用菊です（買ったことありませんが）。スーパーでは十五夜と阿房宮が普及してるそうです。
This variety is a bud mutation of another, very popular edible chrysanthemum. Those two varieties are most commonly sold in supermarkets for consumption. They are both early flowering varieties and, since I have some more varieties to come, I can enjoy a long period of edible chrysanthemums. This year, I am going to steam and dry them to make chrysanthemum tea.
タイガが調子に乗って遊びに誘ってきましたが、かーちゃんは疲れているのよ。
Taiga invited me to play on the street, but I was too tired after the morning walk in the sun.
「十五夜」の苗を送ってくださった方がメルカリの表示よりも多めに入れてくださったので、もう一鉢あります。下の写真の最も手前の鉢で蕾が動き出しました。
I have another pot (the one in front) of the same variety. The person who sold the plant sent me more than it had been indicated on the internet site.
柑橘苗の右横に僅かに覗いているノコンギクの「桃山」も咲き始めました。
The wild aster with pink flowers (actually a cultivated variety for its pink flowers) is barely surviving. It seems such a delicate variety.
これは本当に儚いです。日当たりは良いのですが、寄せ植え状態で土が合わないのかヒョロヒョロと頼りない。実験のために少し離れたところにも植えてありますが、そちらはもっと貧弱。来年は鉢上げにして、他の植物と押し合いへし合いにならない状態を確保します。
It is in full sun but it probably does not like growing with other plants so close by. Therefore, next year, I am going to put this in a large pot so that it will not have to compete with others.
カメラのせいで若干紫がかって見えますが、綺麗なピンクの花です。
My camera does not do justice to the flower - it is actually a beautiful pink.
うちには普通の野菊もあります。この株は本来は大輪・多花性の見事な野良でした。２年前の秋に道路工事で撤去されそうになったのを、作業員さんに頼んで株を掘り起こしてもらいました。去年と今年は日陰で間延びしてしまったので、来年は鉢上げしてバルコニーで直射日光に当ててみます。日がガンガン照るアスファルトの隙間の過酷な環境に生えていた株です。
I also have the common wild aster that you can find anywhere in Japan. This particular one was growing in a tiny gap of asphalt and in full sun. When I saw it 2 years ago, they were working on a new road and about to get rid of this plant altogether. So, I asked one of the workers to save it for me. This plant had huge flowers and lots of them, even though no-one looked after it. Unfortunately, I planted this in a shade in my garden and the flowers have been sparse. Next year, I am going to keep this in a large pot and in full sun.
またしてもカメラの影響ですが、実際の色はもう少し紫がかっています。
結局うちにある野菊は、この普通種と、11月に咲く濃い紫色のとピンクの桃山、そしてメルカリでノコンギクとして売られていた濃いピンクの花が咲くものとで４種類になりました。最後に挙げた濃いピンクのは、葉っぱが日本の野菊ではありません。たぶん、洋物のアスターの一種だと思います。そのうち咲くのが楽しみです。
The real colour of the flower is more lilac than in this photo. In all, I have 3 varieties of Japanese wild asters: this common one, a deep-purple one (cultivated variety), and the pink one (cultivated variety). I also bought another aster this summer, which the seller called 'Japanese wild aster'. However, the leaves are wrong and its growth habit too vigorous - I think it is a foreign variety. In any case, I am looking forward to seeing its flowers soon.
