Fruit at Pisa Botanical Gardens

There were quite a few green ponds

I wonder if these beds used to be full of plants?

Apricot - Prunus armeniaca.

Kiwi fruit leaves - Actinidia deliciosa and loquats - Erybotrya japonica.

Lots of signs to help identify the species.

The wide-leaved lime and an unknown fluffy shrub.

I'm 40 today. It feels really weird writing that. I don't feel it at all. Apart from my aching arthritic hip and the fact that I nearly had an asthma attack after jiving with my husband at the Jubilee Jive last week. That's never happened before! Continuing our tour of the botanic gardens in Pisa we came across a long border against a sunny wall with a variety of fruit trees and shrubs. It was a thrill to see so many well established, exotic fruit trees growing outside. If it wasn't for the signs I wouldn't have been able to identify many of them. I have never seen a loquat tree before. Also known as the Japanese or Chinese plum. They are unusual because they produce flowers in the autumn and early winter. The small downy, orange fruits were ripe when we visited in early June. I have a habit of climbing trees in pursuit of a tasty treat but I managed to restrain myself on this occasion. The flavour is a mix of peach, citrus and mild mango. In Mexico the fruits are placed on alters as offerings to the spirits of the deceased on the Day of the Dead holiday. I love that there is so much to discover, so much that is completely new to me, so much more out there that I have yet to find. If anyone knows what the white, fluffy shrub is in the last photo I would love to know.

Pelagorniums at Pisa Botanical Gardens

Pelagorniums are drought and heat tolerant making them an ideal pot plant in the South East of England. I have one in a pot that is a few years old now. Sheltered in a sunny position against a wall, it grows as an evergreen perennial. They are usually thought of as annuals in the UK. It doesn't need much looking after at all and doesn't mind when I forget to water it sometimes. It was lovely to come across a tiered wall of ceramic pots filled with different varieties of pelagornium at the Botanical Gardens in Pisa. The leaves are often as showy as the flowers, with lots of variations of colour and shape. The flowers come in hot shades of pink, mauve, burgundy and scarlet red as well as snowy white. I'm not a big fan of bold flowers that also have very loud leaves but if I had a large bed to fill I would be tempted to use the variety shown in the last photo as the leaves alone en masse would look stunning.

Pisa Botanical Gardens

The Botanical School in Pisa Botanical Gardens.

One of the well kept ponds in front of the Botanical School.

A welcome shady area.

Giant bamboo on the left and a Magnolia tree planted in 1787 on the right.

The delicate Mock-Orange (Philadelphus) flower and the Prickly Pear (Opuntia) cactus.

In this blog I strive to show everything I see that is amazing in the natural world. In a world that is sick in many ways there are many, many wonderful moments. People have said I must live a wonderful life when they look at my blog. In many ways I do. I live a flawed life that is full of emotion, drama, conflict, joy, sadness, peace. My Polish friend told me that when Eastern European women would do their weaving they would make a deliberate mistake somewhere because they believed only God is perfect. Whether you believe in God or not, accepting imperfection saves a lot of energy; loving it saves a lot of disappointment. To try to be your best is sometimes all we can do. A couple of weeks ago I was threatened and chased by a drunk man while walking with my friend on a sunny afternoon. I had such a massive flight or fight reaction to it that it took me a whole week to settle my nervous system back into balance and be able to think straight again. The quickest root to recovery from distress for me is to accept it and talk about it, laugh and hide from the world for a while if necessary and learn. How do my actions affect others and the world around me?

We can learn from nature that nothing is static, everything passes. I've just come back from a weeks holiday in the beautiful region of Tuscany in Italy thanks to my in-laws, for a reunion of friends and family. Looking now at the cold wind throwing the trees about at the bottom of my garden makes me feel that the warm, sunny days by the pool were a dream. In many ways they were. We flew to Pisa where we had a hotel for the night. There's nothing like the first day of being in a new country with unfamiliar language, temperature, sights and sounds. I was delighted to discover there was a botanical garden very close to our hotel so we headed their first. We only had half an hour until closing time and ended up rushing around the garden in order to see everything. The botanic Garden in Pisa was founded in 1544 by Luca Ghini. It was relocated from it's original riverside location to one near the Convent of Santa Marta in 1563. It was the first university botanical garden in Europe and is still used by the University of Pisa today. It also contains one of the earliest iron-framed hothouses built in Italy. Rather than rushing you through the gardens like we did I will share a little bit at a time. I learned the story of the garden and its trees and plants when I was researching it back home. It made me view the place with a whole new reverence. My first thought when I arrived was 'it's a bit old and neglected' because on the surface it was. This made me laugh because every thought I have about the world around me is actually about myself. There is always something to learn.

Topiary for five year olds

 

A few weeks ago I held a really fun garden workshop for Reception Class at my son's school. The ages of the children are four to five. I made the first initial of every child using some poplar branches I harvested locally. They were from trees that are pollarded so the new shoots were growing very low down the tree and were easy to reach. I lined all the letters up in the field and the children came out to find their initial. They really loved doing this.

We went over to the edge of the field where some ivy was growing under a tree. We talked about the places that ivy likes to grow then each child used the fork to dig some up. We looked at the roots and put the lengths of ivy into a bucket of water. We went back to the little garden outside the classroom leaving the bucket in a shady spot.

 The next day the children arrived in fancy dress costume as it was the last day of term. So we had Robin Hood, Superman, Minnie Mouse and a princess, to name a few, doing garden activities. The children filled pots up with compost then planted their letters. They made a hole in the compost for the ivy to go in. We spoke about which end of the ivy should be planted and I told them about the roots having an important job of taking in nutrients and water. The pots were filled up with some more compost then watered.

As the ivy grows it will wrap itself around the letters and can be trimmed to control the shape. The poplar branches will sprout leaves as well which will be a fun surprise. This was a really great activity to introduce children to propagation, plant biology, planting, plant care and topiary. Children as young as five make great horticulturists.

Signs of Early Summer's Arrival

With the unusually wet and cold weather we've been having lately it's hard to believe we are coming into early summer. The Jack in the Green Festival which happens every May bank holiday weekend in Hastings is a celebration to mark the end of the winter. Now in it's twenty-ninth year, it is based on an old festival by the local chimney sweeps who would celebrate the new season of chimney sweeping once the winter fires had been put out. It is said that Jack began as a small garland worn by a sweep. These days Jack is a crowned giant of evergreen foliage who leads a merry procession through the streets of Hastings and into the castle for an afternoon of singing, dancing and boozing. Genuine sweeps still take part in the parade as well as Morris dancers, folk musicians, giants that represent summer and winter and a green mermaid as tall as the trees. All through the old town large bunches of laurel leaves and colourful ribbons adorn houses, railings and lamp posts. All the shops have a green themed window display. It's fun to see each different interpretation of Jack in the Green as well as the incredible costumes in the parade which seem to get more elaborate every year. This year the grey clouds hanging overhead and the chilly showers all cleared once Jack had been symbolically slain and the spirit of summer was released for another year.

Another sign that the winter is over and summer is on our doorstep is the emergence of the dragonfly from it's underwater home. The alien like nymphs that have hatched from eggs live in ponds and marshes while they grow into dragonflies. This portion of the life cycle can take an incredible four years to complete. When the weather is right the nymphs start to crawl out of the water up the stems of plants. The metamorphosis is complete when the dragonfly breaks out of the nymph skin, leaving it behind as a dry empty shell called the exuvia. Perched on the leaves with their wings outstretched drying them, you can see just how intricate and stunning the design of the dragonfly is. Amazingly these beautiful creatures only live for about two months. It's enough time to find a female mate who will lay eggs and the whole cycle starts again. These photos were taken at the allotment on the punk's plot. He's delighted to discover his pond is allowed to stay because the newts are protected.

Do you celebrate the coming of summer? What signs and symbols represent this change for you?

World Earth Day

Lesser Celandine & Dandelion

Forget-me-not & Bluebells

Nettles & Wild chives

Wild primrose & Lady's Smock

Bay Tree

Wild Garlic

Wild violet & Angelica

Angelica

Angelica

In the last few weeks we've been blessed with a world of overflowing colour, pattern and form. So much is taken from the earth but it just keeps giving. I've got an abundant, organic deli on my doorstep where everything is free. Dandelion and nettle leaves are at their best this time of year when they're fresh and young. Wild garlic can be used to make pesto or soups, and when mixed with butter can be used to make garlic bread. You can't mistake it and end up eating something poisonous because you will know when you find it; the strong garlic smell pierces the air when the leaves are walked on. Am I worried that dogs have peed all over this woodland salad bar? No. I walk my dog here often and he has never peed anywhere near the edible plants. And I think a bit of pee is far less disgusting than a vat of poisonous spray. The other day I noticed someone at the allotment had sprayed their plot. The beds were surrounded by paths of collapsed, yellow, dying grass. Fortunately the plot is quite a distance from mine and the majority of allotment holders these days grow organically, without dangerous chemicals. The rules and regulations, issued by the Council, that are there to insure everyone enjoys their growing experience and gets the best from their land, do not include a ban on herbicides. Why? What kind of crazy world are we living in?

 I used to hate dandelions. I'd had years of indoctrination. "Pick a dandelion and you'll wet the bed" I heard often as a child. The French name is pis-en-lit. Taraxacum officinale. It wasn't long ago that I discovered the myth comes from the use of the dandelion as a diuretic in herbal medicine. Bees and beneficial insects love them. The use of herbicides to kill dandelions and other wild plants has been linked to Parkinsons disease, cancer, embryonic cell damage, infertility, genetic damage and a decline in bird species in the UK. There's no need for herbicides and it's a disgrace they are still being used with abandon. It's time to start loving our wild plants and flowers. We need them more than they need us.

Loving Magnolia

When I saw the text from my neighbour last week letting me know her magnolia tree had flowered, I rushed over with my camera. The forecast had been for rain but we were lucky to have a whole week of fine weather; the best way to admire the handkerchief coral tepals is under sea blue sky. The spread of the branches takes up a quarter of her small back garden and creates shade for most of the year. She has thought about cutting it back but never has because she is worried it would stop flowering. The magnolia flower represents "splendid beauty and dignity". From a little sappling she thought didn't look so well when she planted it, to a diva of spring in our neighbourhood.