BACK HOME FROM UK

We visited Britain from last week, and came back home this afternoon.
We lost no time in getting to work in our garden; collecting fallen leaves, exterminating insect pests, and harvesting fruits and vegetables.

Blue sky over the North Sea on our way home

Though there was no rainfall during our absence, every plants in flowerpots and containers were OK thanks to our neighbours

Ducks welcomed us with full bloom of Tsuwabuki (Farfugium japonicum)

We harvested persimmons, tomatoes, sweet peppers and rose hips with Rosa 'Scarborough Fair' 

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MORNING GLOW （朝焼け）

Especially in autumn, we often are surprised with beautiful morning glow.  It lasts only just 10 minutes or so.  The latest glow colored clouds in the whole sky vivid red, and I was really moved.

Red sky and sea from a window of a garret. 

Rafts for oyster farming in a bay.  

The garden in morning glow

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TSUWABUKI （ツワブキ）

Tsuwabuki (Farfugium japonicum) is ever green and hardy in winter, and it is valuable in a desolate winter garden.  It is native in most of Japan.  Its flowers are vivid yellow in autumn.

Tsuwabuki and toad lily

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WHITE OXALIS （オキザリス）

White oxalis has started flowering, and it continues to flower until early spring.  It provides fresh green leaves and white flowers in a desolate winter garden.

The flowers open only when they receive plenty of sunlight.  On a cloudy day, they never open.

Oxalis under prum trees

Oxalis and Japanese anemone

APPLE & PERSIMMON （リンゴとカキ）

We have harvested two good apples this autumn for the first time.  This is a popular variety of apple in Japan; Fuji.  It was bred in 1930's and registered in 1962. More than half of apples produced in Japan are Fuji.

I planted Fuji apple trees grafted on dwarf rootstocks in February 2012.  In the third year in our garden, one apple tree bore two fine apples at last!  To protect them from crows and badgers, I had wrapped them with metal mesh.

Last weekend, I harvested the apples without problem.

We enjoyed its good flavor and so sweet taste.  More harvest may be expected next year, I suppose:-)

Persimmon is a popular fruits of autumn in Japan.  It is very bitter before it really ripens.  I usually eat persimmons raw, and I dry some for preservation.
Persimmons in our garden are changing their color to orange, and we can harvest them in a week or two.

I covered the tree with green net to keep crows away.

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PRUNING PEONY （シャクヤクの剪定）

It was still hot in a sunny place last weekend.  My wife pruned withering peony leaves, and new leaves of Lycoris radiata became visible.  I planted half a dozen of bulbs of Allium cristophii in this raised bed.

I also planted two dozens of  Allium unifolium bulbs in the east-side border.  This pink allium can be seen on a photo used as a wallpaper of this blog.

Leaves of peony started to wither.  

Metal mesh supports for peony has became visible.  

Under peony leaves, there are new leaves of lycoris, that grows after flower.  

Bulbs of Allium cristophii

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ROSES IN OCTOBER II

Roses below are Rosa 'Dainty Bess' and 'Mr. Lincoln' in the kitchen garden this morning.
Those flowers welcome a guest who are visiting today.
The scent of Mr. Lincoln is great.

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ROSES IN OCTOBER （10月のバラ）

I pruned roses beside the sleeper steps at the end of August, and now they have started to flower.  Every September, Holochlora japonica (a kind of grasshopper) comes and eats buds of roses.  Other pests including caterpillars also come.  Ｉｆ we relax our guard, they eat most of flower buds.  Marple is looking around every day.


This is Rosa 'Scarborough Fair' (David Austin).  This is one of my favorite roses because it flowers continuously from May to mid-winter and its flower is so cute.  The song ''Scarborough Fair' is my favorite, too.  I feel very nostalgic when I hear the song, and it reminds me of the movie 'The Graduate' in 1967.

This is Rosa 'Mary Rose' (David Austin).  I love this beautiful-pink flower.  I also planted it in our kitchen garden as a standard rose with tomatoes.

This is a French Rose 'La Parisienne' (Delbard).  I love this mixed color of pink and yellow.

Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll' (David Austin) has wonderful fragrance.  I also planted this at the brick wall.

This is a newcomer to our garden; Rosa 'Skylark' (David Austin).  Its shape is similar to Scarborough Fair, however, its pink color is much deeper.

Rosa 'Leonard da Vinci' (Meilland) is also a French rose.  Though it flowers as a splendid bouquet in May, some flowers individually in autumn.

Rosa 'Angela'  (Germany, 1984) is a climbing rose at the arch.  It is gorgeous in May.

A Rosa 'Pat Austin' at the brick wall.  Its copper orange color looks harmonious with a brick wall.

These are white roses at the white rose arch in front of the bench.

Rosa 'Iceberg' (Germany in 1958) with white Japanese anemone and white Oxalis

Rosa 'Snow goose' (David Austin)

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AGAPANTHUS & E.T.?

Today we divided agapanthus.  This is the second time since we planted it seven years ago.
It flowers so well in June every year.  We can expect much more flowers by separating.

Separate and dig up agapanthus

Plant it 30 cm apart each other

When I weeded white lily and campanula bed, I found something that looks like somebody...

Yes, it's E.T.!　　But what the hell is that??
It turned out to be seeds of red lycoris.

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In the kitchen garden, sweet peppers are changing their color from green to red or yellow.

Leaves of cherry are falling everyday, and Marple often sweeps them up.

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When we had almost finished today's gardening, we heard a loud noise of a helicopter, and noticed that it's a helicopter emergency medical service (ドクターヘリ).  The helicopter landed on a parking field of a fishing port (rendezvous point), where an ambulance was waiting for the helicopter, which took a patient to a emergency hospital.  I wish the patient was saved.

The helicopter is flying away toward Fukuoka city. 

A beautiful sky in the evening. 

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