Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Precursors of Spring

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Little things through my camera lens this morning.
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Prunus x blireana, survivor of a pair of 8' trees.
It's twin succumbed to drought and high water
salinity last summer.
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Muscari striving for light
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First white Hyacinth

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Muscari reaching for the sky,
red Tulips come a close second.
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A promising Crocus
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One tempting flower on the Fuchsia bush.

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Eriobotrya japonica, commonly called Loquat
promising harvest in January and a boon for bees
in winter. The scented air wafts like Moley's homesmell
through the garden, just follow your nose...
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A surprise on the wing, a five year old
seedling has it's first ever bud.
Should we be blesses by a fruit, we may discover
what kernel gave rise to it,
a peach or a nectarine?
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Prunus dulcis
Although there are some blossoms on our 5 almond trees,
I fear the parrots will get them all again.
Last year we could have had a bumper crop
except for the parrots!
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Double lilac Parma Violet with a lovely scent.
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Sometimes I cheat, this Blueberry,
Vaccinium corymbosum , I bought in a pot 3 days ago.
My two remaining bushes (50% loss last summer)
are still totally dormant or they may not have the strength to flower
after the stresses of last season.
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Winter Iris, always a joy when not much else
except for Calendulas is in bloom.
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A cheerful Daffodil in a windbreak I planted
years ago when digging virgin ground was still
a possibility for me.
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My first blue Anemone, promise of many more to come.
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This blood Orange is colouring up nicely,
and with a little more frost will be delicious.
My little tree is covered in them,
and I look forward to slicing them thinly, and dehidrating
them. When you hold the dried slice to the light, it
glows in colours of gold and deep red like a stained glass window.
After enjoying it's beauty, I like to dip half of it in dark chocolate.
The rest I leave to your imagination.
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10 comments:

  1. Beautiful photographs. I can taste that blood orange. I am envious of your ability to grow them. I have just been round our garden and taken a few photos of the remaining flowers left in our garden as we approach Autumn in Ireland.
    I took some in the local wood 2 days ago and have posted them on my blog if you care to visit!
    Gina
    x

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  2. Gina,
    I cannot access your post from your comment, I have tried before. Your comment on my previous blog doesn't work either. I'll give it another shot through someone elses' site.
    xx

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  3. Absolutely breathtaking! Such glorious colors. Ahhh.

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  4. I'm so glad you managed to visit my blog arija and thanks for your lovely comments. Your photos put mine to shame. I'll put it down to your superior light!! Where are the photos of the cows then? Maybe tomorrow?
    Love
    Ginax

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  5. Flowers, blooms, birds, and landscapes! A genuinely beautiful environment to intrigue the artist's eye, and to provide solace for the spirit! An invigorating collection of art, prose, and wonderful memories!

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  6. Arija you do know how to stimulate the senses!!
    Fragrance, blooms, beauty, blossoms of Almonds, peaches, nectarines... Fuchsia as a bush... You do live in Paradise!

    I am so glad to see spring bursting forth with great hope of a rewarding season to follow... Thank you

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  7. It's interesting to see that in your part of the world spring is approaching and soon, for us, it will be autumn.

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  8. I really enjoyed seeing these. We are readying for Autumn over here.
    I love seeing Spring getting ready to be Sprung :)

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  9. Keep posting the flowers, please. I am going to need them in a couple of months.

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  10. Hi Arija,

    Your photos are wonderful - and how cool to see Prunus x blireana! The garden writer Henry Mitchell praised it, but I've never seen it. We finally had some rain and I hope the skies open soon for you.

    My loquat responded by showing a hint of future buds - usually they bloom in November here in Austin, with fruit coming in May...but the birds and animals get more than we do!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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