Thursday 22 April 2010

Fierce energy





I planted much earlier this year, and that, perhaps along with a colder winter and a milder springtime, has led to much greater success (so far!) than my last attempt at a garden.

The vegetable garden contains:
- roma tomatoes
- squash
- cucumber
- borage
- beets
- carrots
- two different sorts of pepper (capsicum for Aussies)
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- arugula (rocket for Aussies and Brits)



The patio herb garden contains:
- rosemary
- Thai basil
- Italian basil
- cilantro
- lemon thyme
- regular thyme
- parsley
- chives
- sage
- tarragon
- curry plant
- oregano
- dill
- mint


There are strawberries in one hanging basket, and we have blueberries and raspberries waiting to go into the side garden (when the Ike-damaged fence is finally fixed!). Netting supports peas, sweet peas, morning glory, moonflower and nasturtiums; the lemon which we bought late last year and which weathered all the frosts against all odds is blooming beautifully, and the Virginia Creeper is already up and over the eaves.


I keep the squirrels (who are fixated on the coconut fibre linings of the planters) at bay with pepper, tabasco sauce, flapping items hung on the clothesline, and prayer!



The title of this post is from a quote by George Bernard Shaw:

Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn!
You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak!
Bury a sheep, and nothing happens but decay.

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Bluebonnet season

Springtime in Texas is far more beautiful than the harshness of the summer might indicate. The best of it is really to be seen in the hill country, as far as I have heard, though unfortunately I've not been able to see that for myself... however I was fortunate enough to be at a conference in San Antonio the weekend before last, and we (my colleague Melanie and I) detoured a little north on the way home to see if we could find any bluebonnets. And we did.


Sunday 4 April 2010