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’ve entered the height of the rainy season, and heavy rain is falling from time to time. In the side yard garden, the roses have finished flowering and are now putting out new shoots. New buds are also appearing on the jasmine beyond the small fountain. The ground cherry is bearing plenty of fruit again this year, gradually turning from green to brown as they ripen. When they’re ripe enough to fall off, the yellow fruits—about the size of cherry tomatoes inside their husks—have a sweet-and-sour, tropical flavour and are absolutely delicious. It looks as though we’ll be able to eat them soon. The echinacea in the narrow border along the retaining wall has produced more flowers and is looking magnificent. Higher up, the rose of Sharon has begun to bloom with white flowers. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we won’t suffer any damage from torrential rain.
梅雨の最盛期に入って強い雨が時々降っています。横庭ではバラの花は終わって新しいシュートを伸ばしてきています。小さな噴水の向こうのジャスミンにも新芽が伸びています。ホオズキトマトは今年もたくさん実をつけて、だんだん緑から茶色になってきて熟してきています。自分で落ちるぐらいになると完熟で、袋の中にあるミニトマトほどの大きさの黄色い実はトロピカルな風味のある甘酸っぱい味でとてもおいしいです。もうすぐ食べられそうです。擁壁に沿った細いボーダーのエキナセアは花数を増やして豪華になってきています。その上の方にはムクゲが白い花を咲かせ始めました。豪雨被害が来ないことを祈っています。
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| Ground cherry ホオズキトマト |
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| Echinacea エキナセア |
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| Rose of Sharon ムクゲ |
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。
It has been sunny every day since 4 May, so the garden is quite dry and needs watering. The roses in the side yard garden are in bloom. These are varieties that come into flower a little later than usual; they weren’t in bloom at all during the open garden event the other day. ‘Summer Snow’, the white rose at the very top of the main garden, is a variety that produces hundreds of flowers on a single tree, and it is now in full bloom. The ageing ‘Pierre de Ronsard’ is also producing a few flowers.
5月４日からずっと晴天が続いて、庭はかなり乾いていて、水やりが必要です。横庭にあるバラが咲いています。少し咲き始めの遅いバラたちです。先日のオープンガーデンでは全く咲いていませんでした。メインガーデンの一番上にある白バラのサマースノーは一本で数百の花を咲かせるバラで、すっかり満開になっています。老木となったピエールドロンサールも少し花を咲かせています。
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| The side yard garden 横庭 |
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| Mary Delany メアリーディレイニー |
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| The pilgrim ザピルグリム |
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| Summer snow サマースノー |
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| Pierre de Ronsard and Summer snow ピエールドロンサールとサマースノー |
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| Main garden メインガーデン |
This camellia tree, bearing small flowers with pale pink petals, was planted from a seedling purchased some twenty years ago. It has gradually grown larger and now bears countless blossoms. It truly is a camellia of the most elegant floral hue.
淡いピンクの花びらの小さめの花をつけるこの椿の木は２０年ほどまえに苗木を買って植えたものです。少しずつ大きくなって、今では無数の花をつけるようになりました。本当に上品な花色の椿です。
Several years ago, I received ground cherry seedlings from a gardening friend. Since then, I've collected seeds, propagated the seedlings, and cultivated them annually. They are perennials and can overwinter. Last year, seedlings planted alongside strawberries in a large pot grew exceptionally large. By autumn, they bore abundant berries. Gradually ripening, the pods turned a pale brown while the berry inside turned yellow, ready for harvest. Even deep into winter, the branches and leaves remain unfrozen, with berries continuing to ripen slowly. They appear quite hardy against the cold. The yellow berry has a slightly tropical, sweet-and-sour flavour and is absolutely delicious. They contain numerous small seeds, which seem to have a good germination rate.
ホオズキトマトの苗を数年前に庭友さんから頂いて、それから種をとって苗を育てたりしながら、毎年育ててきました。そして昨年はイチゴと一緒に大きな鉢に植え付けた苗がとても大きく育ち、秋にたくさんの実をつけて、少しずつその実が熟して袋は薄茶色になり、中の実は黄色くなったのを収穫していただいています。真冬になっても枝葉は枯れず、すこしずつ実が熟しています。寒さに結構強いようです。黄色い実はちょっとトロピカルな甘酸っぱい味がしてとてもおいしいです。小さな種がたくさん入っていて、種の発芽率も良いようです。
In the side yard garden, the pink flowers of the cuphea are now in full bloom. This shrub endures the hot summer, and its size can be kept manageable through pruning. Its vivid pink stood out strikingly in the garden at dusk.
横庭では今クフェアのピンクの花が満開です。暑い夏に耐える低木で、剪定で大きさを小さく保つことができます。夕暮れの庭で鮮やかなピンクが目立っていました。
The Rose of Sharon in the side yard garden grew naturally, not planted by me, but has produced pure white flowers every year for the past few years. They wilt within a day, but there are many buds, so we can see many flowers every day. Here in the side yard garden, we have two varieties of camellias in March, roses in May and then in July it is the turn of the Rose of Sharon.
自分で植えたわけでなく、自然に生えてきた横庭のムクゲですが、ここ数年は毎年純白の花を咲かせます。一日でしぼんでしまいますが、たくさんつぼみがあるので、毎日多くの花をみることができます。ここ横庭では、3月には2種類の椿が咲いて、5月にはバラが咲き、そして7月がムクゲの番です。
