20120118

I’ve been having this terrible cold for some time now. That is my excuse for not updating my blog!
新年早々風邪などひいておりまして、そのおかげでブログの更新もままならなかったのです。（というのが言い訳です）

We had a couple of cold days last week and this week but now it is warmer again (10 degrees). Our priority has been the new polytunnels in arboretum area. This is because as soon as we finish building these then contractors can start getting the ground ready for the arboretum. I was not working on this project very much but today, I spent most of my day working on it – we laid weed barrier fabric and erected metal hoops.

何日か寒い日もあって霜も降りたりしていましたが、今日はまた暖かい日でした（１０度）。今日は主にポリトンネル建設に従事しました。何とか鉄の骨組みをおこすところまで終了。明日はその上にビニールを張る作業に追われる予想。

This was one day last week – so early to have crocus open! (in the Ovals)

クロッカスもう咲いちゃってる！２，３週間早いよー。

Lime tree walk looks grander (somehow) without leaves. There are snowdrops in nice crumps.

All sorts of Galanthus are flowering wonderfully in all over the garden – this is our head gardener’s

speciality (he breeds them).

ヘッドガーデナーの専門がスノードロップ（マツユキソウ）のため、庭じゅうにありとあらゆる種類のスノードロップが！（下の写真、ダブルのスノードロップは不思議な感じがします。）

… So you can find something like this – HUGE snowdrop!!

20120111

Happy New Year.

I was back at work on Monday but I am going down with a little cold I had for the last few days and taking a day off today. Hoping to get back on my feet tomorrow and it is a great shame that I seem to have missed a beautiful sunny day (rare in Devon) today.

I returned from my Christmas and New Year holiday and had a walk around in the garden as soon as I got back, on January 8, and here they are! Way, way too early!

Crocus are out all over the place and a lot of snowdrops.

Can you see, in background, Camellia is in full bloom!

A lot of plants can be damaged badly if hard frost comes now or in February... These days we never know what happens weatherwise!

20111219

Only four days left before Christmas break. The weather has suddenly turned very warm today after some mornings of frosts (ish).

クリスマス休暇まであと４日。ここ何日か冷え込んでいたのに打って変わって今日は暖かい日でした。

All of us have been busy with leaves, herbaceous, (ever growing) weeds, leaves and more leaves. At the same time, we are building new polytunnels which we received the materials for the other day.

落ち葉、落ち葉、落ち葉。雑草はまだ育ち続けます。あと新しいポリトンネルの資材が届いているのでその建設も同時進行。

More rain. It's been so wet and the way to get to one of the compost areas turned extremely muddy and we cannot drive the tractor in there at the moment.

そして雨！雨が降りすぎて、コンポストエリアに行く道が泥だらけでトラクターが入れません。植物の根っこも腐りそうなほど水浸しです。（この地域ではこれが普通なので乾燥に強い植物、たとえばラベンダーなどはあまりよく育ちません。）

Plant ID test for December is scheduled on Wednesday. This time we will have to identify woody plants with just twigs. It is very difficult but now I am more careful when I look at bare branches.

IDテストは水曜日です。今回は裸の枝のみで何の木か当てるという、かなり難しい課題・・・

I made a flower arrangement with nice looking things in the garden. With little flowers around, interesting foliage and stem colours come handy!

クリスマス？フラワーアレンジメント。クリスマスというより、庭であるものを集めただけな感じですが・・・

Camellia japonica 'Bokuhan'

20111215

I saw something green on supposedly herbaceous plant, Eryngium. I went over to have a closer look….

Something is growing on the seed head…

They are the seed from the very plant, germinating in situ!!! That is wrong but fascinating. Did it think it fell onto the ground? Did it think it was spring? Here in Devon, quite often the seed heads become unable to disperse seed because it is very wet in autumn. One of my colleagues told me that she has seen Alliums do the same thing, but I have never seen either do anything like this.

So I cut two of these heads off and inserted into gritty compost as it was, to see what happens. Hopefully we will have a few more Eryngium next year.

This is a picture from some days ago. I probably saw about five rainbows in a week last week.