城北公園の林を歩いていたら、懐かしい顔に会えました。
As we were walking through the woodland in the Johoku Park, we saw familiar faces.
Yume, a female Golden Retriever, and Rintaro, a male Chihuahua, who live in our neighbourhood. We rarely meet each other, since we walk at different hours. However, Taiga likes passing by their house on our way home from walks and, at that time, Yume often detects our footsteps and starts barking. It triggers Rintaro's barking, and they seem to compete with each other. Since I fear the inconvenience caused to their neighbours, I try each time to walk as if stepping on eggshells.
今朝も蒸し暑かったので、木陰で休んでから帰りました。
It was another muggy morning, so we rested in shade before going home.
これがその花。桃山には「桃仙」には無い美しさがあると個人的に思っています。
帰宅したら、私が庭の植物を見回っている間タイガは玄関前でぐったり。
After getting home, I started checking on my plants while Taiga was flat out in front of the porch.
嬉しい発見。去年買ったノコンギクの「桃山」が季節外れにもう咲いていました。本来なら10-11月に咲く花です。去年は、植えた後 夏の暑さで全滅したように見えて、本当に落胆していました。でも、冬の間に根系が広がっていたらしく、今年の春になってあちこちから出てきました。桃山を扱うネット通販の業者は以前２軒あったのが、いずれも数年前から取り扱いを止めたので、去年 偶然にメルカリで見かけたときは飛びつきました。しかも、出品されたのはその一度だけだったので、本当にラッキーでした。
I made a nice discovery - a few out-of-season flowers of Japanese wild aster called 'Momoyama' that I got last year. Normally, they come into season during October-November. Last year, I felt so sad when the plants seemed to have melted away in the extreme summer heat. However, the root system was alive, and it expanded a lot during the winter. So, in spring, they came out in many unexpected places. This variety is no longer available from shops, and I had been trying for several years to find it. When I saw an offer on an auction site last year, I jumped at it. Moreover, that was the only time the seller put it out - I feel so lucky.
Japanese wild asters are normally blueish purple, but this Momoyama variety has delicate pink flowers.
春になって、このように勢いよく地上部が出てきました。左のサークル内は大実柚子の根元で、右のは種無しカボスの根元。
春になって、このように勢いよく地上部が出てきました。左のサークル内は大実柚子の根元で、右のは種無しカボスの根元。
In spring this year, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much the root system had expanded. The circle on the left is at the foot of Yuzu, and the one on the right is near the Seedless Kabosu.
ブラックベリーのナバホです。花が全部終わって、あとは色づくのを待つだけ。これだけ実が多いと収穫期も長めになります。ポリフェノール、ビタミンＣ、食物繊維などが豊富らしいので、毎年ありがたく消費しています。
これは種無しスダチの根元の桃山。あまりにも増えたので、一部は鉢上げして拡散させているほどです（左の茶色い鉢もその一つ）。
This is at the foot of Seeless Sudachi. It had multiplied so much that I had to replant some of it in pots (including the brown pot on the left), in order to accommodate them in other places.
家の前の道をとおりかかった人が、ブラックベリーの幼果が見事なので声をかけてきました。玄関前でのびていたタイガが、自分も話題にしてもらおうと出てきました。
A passer-by started talking to me, admiring the state of young fruits of Novaho blackberries. Taiga, who had been lying prostrate got up and joined us, hoping to become the subject of discussion.
ブラックベリーのナバホです。花が全部終わって、あとは色づくのを待つだけ。これだけ実が多いと収穫期も長めになります。ポリフェノール、ビタミンＣ、食物繊維などが豊富らしいので、毎年ありがたく消費しています。
My Navaho blackberries with countless young fruits. All the blossoms are gone and now waiting for the fruits to ripen. With all these fruits, the harvest period has become much longer than several years ago.
こちらはルビービューティ。冬の間、玄関横の種無しスダチの根元に植わっていたときは、何度もタイガに掘り起こされたり噛み千切られたりしていたので、タイガが入り込めない場所に避難させました。大きな鉢植え植物でブロックしています。元は2株あったので、これから少なくともそのレベルまで回復させたいです。
This is Ruby Beauty. During winter, this was planted at the foot of the Seedless Sudachi. The plant was subjected to uprooting and biting by Taiga repeatedly. So, I replanted it in a spot where Taiga could not get at - it is surrounded by large pots of plants. When I bought this plant a few years ago, there were two pots, so my aim is to at least recover the initial level.
