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Saturday 2 June 2012

My garden in May - autumn;

As long as you live, keep learning how to live.  Seneca



Bougainvillea Pedro


I bought this one as a Bambino, but it seem to have outgrown its bambino shoes and arches up into a tree.


Generally the days are fine.


A seed hidden in an apple is an orchard invisible.



In the herb garden Thyme grows;





A broader leaved Thyme has still room to grow!



Thyme is one of the most popular culinary herbs worldwide, yet few people realize that Thymus, the botanic genus to which thyme belongs, contains 350 species, all of which are to a greater or lesser extent aromatic (though not all are useful in the kitchen).
Generally speaking, the thymes are wiry-stemmed subshrubs with small, narrowly to broadly oval leaves. Depending upon the species and cultivar, thyme leaves can be shiny, fuzzy, bright green, deep green, grey green, blue green, yellowish, silver, or variegated; furthermore, the leaves of the hardiest species can darken or redden in cold weather.
Thyme flowers, small, two-lipped, and aromatic, can come in pink, lavender, white, or crimson.


The thymes are classified by botanists as members of the Deadnettle Family (Lamiaceae or Labiatae) along with the mints, lavenders, rosemary, sage, oregano, and so many other useful herbs. Native to Southern Europe, North Africa, the Near East and the Mediterranean, many thymes are mainstays in the kitchen.!” Thymes  leaves provide us with powerful essential oils, the germicidal and antiseptic qualities of which are still valued today.



Coriander grows well in the cooler season; I let it flower and seed itself.



This variegated Bougainvillea I have planted into a huge terracotta pot, it grows in the herb garden, growing against the garage which forms a sheltering wall for the herbs.



Look at the trees, the birds, the clouds and at night go out and look at the stars!   Titania






A small fire cleans the tangled underground, ash will help ferns and other small native scrub to regrow.
In one corner old wood is accumulated as shelter for lizards, bandicoots and other small animals. At times Bush turkeys are around and collect mulch to make a mound to lay their eggs.






The beautiful Rosebud-Salvia flowers through winter;



Mint, this is Asian mint, which I like best. It grows best through the cooler season into late spring.




A handful mintleaves and  one teaspoon of organic sugar makes a fine addition to...



fresh Pineapple.




 Romeo and Juliet: Act 4, Scene 4
They call for dates and quinces in the pastry.


Sage, too is a herb which does best in the cool season.
I like to make Sage fritters as part of entrées, they usually disappear as quickly as they are made.

The vegetable garden provides sweet Kohlrabi, don't boil them to death; gently cook them  in a little butter and finely diced onion, add parsley, herbsalt, they are ready when they are nearly done, not mushy and not to hard either; delicious!
and

Beautiful sugar peas, eat  pod and all.There are still some of the Pitaya fruit ripening, these are most palatable and delicious when home grown, as they have time to ripen properly and are not harvested unripe.





A warm pink bougainvillea reaching into the blue;

Believe it or not:    When go into the garden with spade, and dig bed, feel such an exhilaration and health that discover that have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what should have done with my own hands.



©Ts


Titania's Pellucidity; PoeticTakeaway's; a trivial world of words;


20 comments:

  1. Your winter sky is looking marvellous. Lovely and sunny! We've been having a bit of rain up here, which is really unusual for this time of year. Your herbs are certainly doing well, and your vegie garden seems to be thriving. Love the Rose-bud Salvia and that gorgeous Bougainvillea with the variegated foliage. Winter in a tropical garden is a great time of year.

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    1. Hi Bernie; thank you for your visit. I certainly have a lot of cleaning up work through the cooler season. Just bought two new roses, lost a few lately, some are not long living in the hot climate. I have a tiny, handkerchief size rose garden!

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  2. Hello,
    Love reading your blog.It's a heart warmer.
    Anshika

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  3. Hi, T, Thyme is perhaps my favorite "ground cover" as it slowly covers much of the landscape in our flower beds; and lemon thyme is prolific in our herb garden. How I love the Bougainvillea, but unfortunately an annual here. Hope all is well and that you are enjoying this season.

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    1. Diana, thank you for visiting, I think in the cooks world it is said when in doubt what sort of herb to use, use thyme!

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  4. The Bougainvillea is ok also in Portugal.

    Beutifull vision!

    Regards from extreme West side of Europe, Titania

    Antonio

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  5. Your garden is looking as nice as ever even in winter. Mine has been neglected for 6 weeks while we've been away. Luckily it is mostly natives and they look after themselves.

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    1. Hi Diane, I am sure you had a fantastic time in LA meeting a new tiny grandson. Yes, not much worries with the native shrubs, as beautiful as they are.

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  6. Lovely collection of herbs and bougies, Titania! Love that 'Pedro' at the top.

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  7. Hallo liebe Titania, gefällt mir dein Kräutergarten und dein Tipp "look at the trees.. befolge ich gerne-:)

    Dieses Jahr habe ich Zitronenthymian gesetzt, ich habe festgestellt, dass diesen die Schnecken nicht so mögen. Dann Zitronenmellisse und einen neuen Rosmarinstock habe ich gesetzt, weil der alte im Winter erfroren ist, obwohl ich ihn abgedeckt hatte, war aber auch sibirisch kalt.

    Auch die Bougainville und die Palmen gefallen mir gut, bei uns will es im Moment nicht so recht Sommer werden, schade, denn so schnell ist hier die warme Zeit vorbei.
    Ein schönes Wochenende wünsche ich dir und schicke
    liebe grüsse nach Australien
    Elfe

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    1. Liebe Elfe; ja, ich liebe Rosmarin; feine Rosmarin Härdöpfel. Der R.Tee ist auch gut für allerhand. Kräuter sind ja wunderbar, so gesund und verfeinern vieles. Ich hoffe, dass dein Sommer sich erholt und Wärme verbeitet. Wünsche dir auch alles Gute und Herzlichst T♥

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  8. I hope those new Roses take off for you. I know Roses are not all that easy to grow up here in the heat either, although there are some quite sun and heat hardy ones available these days. By the by, I've nominated you for the 'Versatile Blogger' Award. I think you fit that bill perfectly and I hope it brings a few more readers to your wonderful blog.

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    1. Bernie, thank you so much for nominating me; what do I have to do?
      Yes, roses do not last long in our climate, but i still plant some. Iceberg is easy also for cuttings; they are beautiful with a subtle fragrance. Apricot Nectar also easy to grow and grows also well from cuttings. Both flower freely and well.

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  9. These trips over here, down under, always leave a refreshing and stimulating sense of botanical focus, flora and fauna surrounding the whole, in yours truly.

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    1. Antigonum cajan; thank you for your visit and comment, very much appreciated.

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  10. Liebe Titania, all die feinen "Chrütli", von denen du berichtest kommen hier erst langsam in "Schuss". Ich liebe Minzen in allen Sorten und brauche sie auch in der täglichen Küche (Salat, aromatisieren von Speisen wie Couscous etc. Tee usw.). Koriander hat sich bei mir leider nicht weiter ausgesät und ich muss jedes Jahr eine neue Pflanze kaufen. Ich stelle mir gerade deinen Garten beim Eindunkeln vor und höre die verschiedensten, fremdartigen Geräusche der Tiere, die ihn besuchen. Vielleicht würde mich sogar eine leise Angst beschleichen (wie meine Tochter damals in Queensland, als sie zum ersten Mal in der Dunkelheit nach Hause kam) ob der vielen unbekannten Geräusche. Uebrigens, du hast genau die richtigen Worte getroffen in deinem letzten Kommentar bei mir ! Herzlichen Dank und ebensolche Grüsse an dich!
    Barbara

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    1. Liebe Barbara; danke für's Bsüachli. Ja, ich liebe die Minze auch; in rohen, feingeschnittenen Kabis-salat,passt sie ausgezeichnet. Auch im Gurkensalat mit ein wenig frischem geschabten Ingwer, so gut! Die australischen tiere sind ja hauptsächlich in der Nacht unterwegs, da hört man schon gewisse Geräusche, aber die Tiere sind nicht gefährlich so muss man keine Angst haben. Wenn man mit der Tschenlampe auf die Bäume leuchted sieht man viele Augen herunterschauen. Falls du dann mal kommst! Musst du ganz sicher keine Angst haben. Herzlichst T♥

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