Daytime temperatures haven’t even reached 30°C, and the weather has taken on a distinctly autumnal feel. Autumn and winter vegetables are growing in the potager.
日中の気温も30℃には届かず、すっかり秋の気候になってきました。ポタジェでは秋冬の野菜が育っています。
My wife and I started gardening in Fukuoka (Japan) in 2003. There was nothing but muddy clayey sloping land. At the beginning we made several structure such as steps and paths, and planted turf, fruit trees, roses, herbs etc. In 2010, we visited several famous English gardens, including Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Mottisfont Abbey Garden and Hidcote Manor Garden. We were shocked by the glory of those gardens. Since then, we have been trying to make small but glorious gardens by ourselves.
Daytime temperatures haven’t even reached 30°C, and the weather has taken on a distinctly autumnal feel. Autumn and winter vegetables are growing in the potager.
日中の気温も30℃には届かず、すっかり秋の気候になってきました。ポタジェでは秋冬の野菜が育っています。
In the side yard garden, the potted rain lilies are in full bloom. They bloom without fail at this time of year, letting us know that autumn has arrived. With virtually no pests or diseases, they are truly lovely, low-maintenance bulb plants.
横庭では鉢植えのタマスダレが満開です。毎年必ず今の季節に咲いてきて、秋が来たよと知らせてくれます。病害虫はほぼなくて、本当に世話の要らない可愛い球根植物です。
We made an apple pie using the small ‘Alps Otome’ apples we harvested from the potager last week and some ‘Fuji’ apples we’d just picked. We sliced the apples, added lemon juice, simmered them in sugar, then wrapped them in pastry and baked them in the oven. It turned out rather tasty, and we were very pleased with it.
ポタジェで先週収穫した小さなリンゴのアルプス乙女と、新たに採って来たリンゴのフジを使って、アップルパイを作りました。リンゴをカットしてレモン汁を加え、砂糖で煮てから、パイ生地で包んでオーブンで焼きました。結構おいしく出来て、大満足でした。
The leaves of the wild cherry tree, which began to fall about a week ago, have now become much sparser due to the strong winds caused by the typhoon. It is cool in the mornings and evenings, and it has become a pleasant time of year for gardening.
一週間ほど前から落ち始めた山桜の葉が、台風の影響もあって強い風が続き、ずいぶん少なくなってきました。朝晩は涼しくて、庭仕事もしやすい季節になりました。
Light cream-coloured lycoris have begun to bloom in the Bluebell Garden. As there has been no rain for nearly two months during the intense heatwave, most of the plants on the Bluebell slope have withered. Even so, the lycoris are suddenly stretching out their flower spikes and blooming, just as they do every year. Like the red lycoris, the red spider lily, they bloom en masse around the autumn equinox. The leaves begin to grow lush only after the flowers have faded. With the sweltering summer now over, I can sense that the seasons are steadily moving on.
淡いクリーム色のリコリスがブルーベルの庭で咲き始めました。猛暑のほぼ2か月間雨が降らなかったため、ブルーベルの斜面はほとんど植物が枯れています。それでもリコリスはいつもの年と同じように突然花穂を伸ばしてきて花を咲かせています。赤いリコリスであるヒガンバナと同じく、秋の彼岸の頃に一斉に咲いてきます。花が終わってから葉が茂ってきます。猛暑の夏も終わって、季節は着実に進んでいることを感じます。
In September, the days grow shorter by a few minutes each day. Sunrise comes later, and if you get up early, it is still pitch black outside. As the sun rises over Itoshima Fuji, its rays soon begin to shine on the brick wall. Gradually, the sunlight begins to bathe the entire garden.
9月は毎日数分ずつ日が短くなります。日の出も遅くなって、早起きするとまだ外は真っ暗です。糸島富士から日が昇ると、まもなくレンガ塀に日が射してきます。そしてだんだん庭全体に日が当たりだします。
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| Terraced herb beds ハーブの段々畑 |
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| Cherry sage チェリーセージ |
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| Salvia guaranitica サルビアガラニチカ |
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| Asclepias アスクレピアス |
It has been 14 years since the ten dwarf apple trees were planted in the potager garden; one has died, and several have lost their vigour. The number of apples set has also decreased compared to the early days. This year, one of the ‘Alps Maiden’ dwarf apple trees bore plenty of fruit in fine health. Some twenty apples were harvested. The tree next to it, having shed all its leaves, has started to produce new shoots this month and is even in bloom. Perhaps due to the harsh, subtropical-like climate in summer, many trees shed their leaves in the height of summer, and it is quite common for them to produce new shoots and flowers again in autumn. However, even if flowers bloom at this time of year, the fruit rarely develops.
ポタジェガーデンの10本の矮性リンゴの木は植えて10数年たって、一本は枯れ、数本が勢いをなくしています。リンゴの実の着き方も最初の頃よい少なくなっています。今年は姫リンゴのアルプス乙女の一本が元気にたくさん実をつけました。ちょうど20個収穫できました。その隣の木はすっかり葉を落とした後、今月になって新芽を出してきて、花まで咲かせています。夏は厳しく亜熱帯のような気候のせいか、真夏には葉を落とす木が多く、秋にまた新芽を出して花をつけることもよくあります。この時期に花が咲いてもほとんど実が育つことはありません。