今日の動画:バラ カヨコがまた咲いています
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.
The roses in the side yard garden have finished flowering, and now the echinacea in the small border bed is beginning to bloom. It is Echinacea purpurea, with its beautiful pink petals. I expect that white Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) will soon start to bloom in the summer garden, and the echinacea will continue to produce lovely flowers.
横庭はバラも終わり、今は小さなボーダー花壇にエキナセアが咲き始めました。ピンクの花びらがきれいなエキナセアプルプレア(ムラサキバレンギク)です。これから夏の庭では白いムクゲが咲きますが、エキナセアもきれいな花を咲かせ続けてくれると思います。
The hydrangeas are in bloom in the garden, so I picked some and arranged them on the surface of the water in the small fountain. I arranged the white and pinkish flowers against a blue background. The various shades of blue look absolutely beautiful. The rainy season has taken a break for now, and the sky is clear blue. That blue makes the flowers look even bluer.
アジサイが庭で咲いていて、花を集めて小さな噴水の水面に飾りました。ブルーをベースに白やピンクがかった花を配置しました。いろいろなブルーの色合いがとてもきれいに見えます。梅雨は中休みしていて空は青空です。その青色が花をさらに青く見せています。
The bluebell leaves have started to wither a little. As the seed heads have turned brown and the seeds have ripened and begun to fall out, I gathered the seed heads and collected the seeds. When I turned them upside down, the seeds fell out, so I gathered them up.
ブルーベルの葉は少し枯れ始めました。種子頭が茶色になって、種が成熟してこぼれ始めたので、種子頭を集めて種を採りました。逆さにすると種がこぼれ落ちるので、それを集めました。
Some of the fruits of the Japanese apricot in the bluebell garden have started to turn colour and fall, so I decided to pick them. Those within reach are easy to pick, but for the ones a little higher up, I pull the branches down to get them. I left the ones that were too high and difficult to reach, and didn’t pick them. The bluebells beneath the tree are starting to wither a little. The seed heads had dried out and the seeds had formed, so I collected those as well. Up above, the blue hydrangeas are in full bloom and look absolutely beautiful.
ブルーベルの庭にある梅の木の一部の実が少し色づいて落下し始めたので収穫することにしました。手の届くところは簡単に取れますが、少し高い所は枝を引っ張り下ろして実を取ります。高くて取るのがむずかしい場所はそのままにして収穫しませんでした。梅の木の下のブルーベルは葉が少し枯れ始めています。シードヘッドが枯れて種ができていたので種も取りました。上のほうでは青いアジサイが満開でとても綺麗です。
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| I’m going to make apricot syrup by soaking the plums in crystal sugar 氷砂糖に漬けて梅シロップを作ります |
今日の動画:熊のトピアリーの剪定
I've been gradually making progress with pruning the boxwood hedge in the main garden. I trimmed the bear-shaped topiary made from boxwood. New shoots had been appearing since spring, so it was time for a “shearing”.
メインガーデンのマメツゲの垣根の剪定は少しずつ進んでいます。マメツゲで作った熊のトピアリーの剪定をしました。春から新芽が出て「毛刈り」の時期になっていました。
The jacaranda is a flowering tree native to Central and South America. In its native habitat, the entire tree is said to be covered in blue flowers in spring. In Japan, however, the leaves appear first, followed by the flowers. As jacarandas grow into tall trees and do not seem to flower until they have reached a considerable size, I planted a dwarf variety in my garden 3 years ago. It has now reached a height of just over two metres and has begun to flower. The flowers are a very beautiful blue-purple. In the garden, the ‘Azure Rush’ geranium is also in full bloom at the moment. Meanwhile, the blue-purple flowers of the catmint are looking as though they are coming to an end, but the flower bees are still visiting.
ジャカランダは中南米原産の花木です。現地では春に木全体が青い花で彩られるようです。しかし日本では葉が先に出て、そのあと花が咲きます。ジャカランダは高木になり、かなり大きくならないと花が咲かないようなので、3年前に矮性の品種を庭に植えました。2メートル余りの高さになって、花をつけ始めました。とても美しい青紫の花です。庭ではゲラニウムのアズールラッシュもいまたくさん花が咲いています。そして、キャットミントの青紫の花はそろそろ終わりそうですが、まだ花蜂が来ています。
The rose geraniums and cherry sage are still in bloom. The cleome, which has become a perennial in our garden, has also started to flower. As we enter the rainy season and the weather becomes wetter, we plan to prune the herbs in the herb beds.
ローズゼラニウムやチェリーセージが咲き続けています。宿根草化したクレオメも花を咲かせ始めました。梅雨に入って雨が多くなる季節、ハーブ畑ではハーブたちの切り戻しなどを行う予定です。