今日は一日じゅう曇り、明日は雨の予報なので、庭のようすを確認。ピンク系の食用菊がやっと開花し始めました。道路際のじゃばらの端から端まで植えてあったはずが、この一塊だけが夏を乗り越えました。夏の間、他の草本が繁茂して日当たり・風通しが悪くなったため、この品種がどんどん消滅してしまいました。
It was cloudy all day today. As it is forecast to rain tomorrow, I checked the plants in the garden. The pink edible chrysanthemum has started to flower at last. I planted this variety close to the road, stretching for more than 2 meters, but this is the only cluster that survived the summer. During the summer, other plants thrived close by, which deprived this chrysanthemum of sunlight and air flow.
とても気に入っている品種なので、来年はもっと注意深く世話するつもりです。
This variety is called 'Kakinomoto'. I used to grow a similar looking pink variety in the past, but its flowers had the habit of becoming soot-coloured as they opened. The advantage of these pink varieties is that the petals are straw-shaped, instead of being flat. When blanched, the petals go soft like any other varieties, but the moment they are exposed to vinegar sauce, the straw shape comes back. This does not happen with other types of edible chrysanthemums.
Since this is my best favourite variety, I am going to take better care of it next year.
これがどこまで行くか見守ります。
最近の気温の低下で、日本棗の葉っぱが黄色くなり始めました。対して、大雪棗や更に北方品種の新疆棗の葉はまだ青々しています。
With the temperature falling, the leaves of Japanese jujube have started to turn yellow. On the other hand, the leaves of Snow Jujube and Xinjian Jujube (which is of even more northern origin) are still green.
今年の春に買った黄肉系イチジク苗は、初年度ながら沢山の実を着けてくれましたが、とうとう最後の一粒が残っているだけになりました。苗は、節と節の間が短いので、コンパクトな樹形が保てそうです。
I bought this yellow fig plant in spring this year, and it has given me a lot of fruits although in its initial year of growing. However, it has come to the last fruit on the tree. I love the fact that the distances between the nodes are close, which means that the tree will likely remain compact.
I wonder how far this last fruit will go.
これがそれですが、全然育っていません。接ぎ木の腕の問題なのか、それとも穂木の相性の問題なのか分かりません。とりあえず生きているようです。
私があちこち移動するたびにくっついて来るタイガ。そのくせ私がベタベタ触ろうとすると逃げて行きます。
As I move about, Taiga follows me like a shadow. In spite of that, if I ever try to cuddle, she will slip away - playing hard to get?
玄関横の種無しスダチには、去年の春タヒチライムの枝を一箇所だけ高接ぎしました。
I grafted a scion of Tahiti Lime on the Seedless Sudachi in spring last year, which stands near the porch.
This is the scion which has not grown at all. I do not know whether it is due to the lack of skill on my part, or the scion and the sudachi are not well matched. At least, it has not gone dead yet.
その本体の種無しスダチは、実を９月の旬のうちに全部収穫したつもりでしたが、こんな根元に１個の実が生っていたようです。
I harvested the fruits on the sudachi tree in September, which is the proper time since the flavour is the strongest while the fruits are green. However, I discovered a fruit left unnoticed.
今年の春、通路の緑化を目指して白花クローバーの種を播いて、一時は青々した地面でしたが、夏の間にそのクローバーが消滅してしまい今では丸裸の状態です。来年用に再度クローバーの種は買ってありますが、実験的に他の植物を写真の赤丸の箇所に植えてみました。
In spring this year, I sowed seeds of white clover in the path between the gate and the porch. The seeds germinated well and soon the path became green and lush. However, the clover disappeared during the rainy months caused by typhoons, and now the ground is bare. I have already bought clover seeds for next year, but I have also planted something recently as an experiment, in the spot indicated by the red circle.
ヒメツルソバです。ネット上では「植えてはいけない」植物のひとつとして挙げられていますが、どれほどの繁殖力なのか一度試してみたかったのです。うちの場合、増えすぎたあと逃げ出して他所の庭の迷惑になる地形ではないので安心して実験します。
Persicaria capitata. On the internet, it is listed as one of the plants that should not be grown in a garden due to its excessive growth habit. I am interested to see how fast it will grow. My house stands on a slope, and the gardens of my neighbours are on different levels. Even if this plant grows excessively, it cannot escape to next door and become a nuisance.
タイガの足元にあるラベンダーは、夏を乗り越えました。今まで様々なラベンダー苗を買いましたが、この苗が唯一、秋まで生き残った例です。
The lavender plant near Taiga was bought in spring this year and it has survived the summer.
Of all the countless lavender plants I have bought, this is the first and only one that survived until autumn.
これ↓が今年の春に苗を買ったときの花。とても気に入った花なので、来年の春には鉢増しして苗を大きく育てたいです。
This is how it looked when I bought it in spring. I loved the flowers, so I am going to repot it in a larger container next spring and hope to watch it grow further.
ローズマリーは、今年の春に枝を水挿しで発根させたものです。元々の苗が巨大になり過ぎて根詰まりから鉢の中で枯れそうになったので、苗の更新のために挿し木しました。
The rosemary plant is the result of rooting a little branch in a glass of water in spring this year. The original plant became huge and rootbound in a pot, which caused the plant to die slowly. So, I have renewed it with this cutting.
