Monday 13 May 2013

In transit

Time has come to move from busy Bodrum to our peaceful summer quarters. The two are only 30 kms distant from each other, but  sometimes seem to be decades, countries and climates apart.  Our Bodrum house has a tiny garden but last week the Cannas, Bougainvillea and  Lantana were throbbing with vibrant colour; a warmish damp winter has brought them on a treat.




By contrast, our village garden looks rather subdued.  The winter here is too cold to grow any of the above with any success. My bougainvillea is about the same size it was when I bought it 15 years ago. Despite growing in a south facing courtyard, every winter any growth from the preceding summer is taken down to soil level and each spring it starts again from scratch.  The same with the Lantana and the Canna gave up the ghost several years ago. Roses are the garden's saviour but it is impossible to keep them flowering during July and August, so this year I am learning from 20 years' experience of what I can't grow and admitting to myself that  cold winters and pines trees leave me very little choice: pelargoniums, rosemary and plumbago.

 
Nature is a much better gardener than I am and the uncultivated garden is at its best when we are not here. Despite the very dry April there are still masses of delicate pink wild orchids and  a few lingering poppies. A downpour today may bring out a few more. It certainly gave the pomegranate trees a good wash and brought out the vibrant colour of the flowers.  In Turkish "my pomegranate flower" is a term of affection which gives me an idea for another post... 

30 comments:

  1. Isn't lovely to have the best of both worlds? The bustle of Bodrum and the peace of the countryside. Lovely photos by the way x

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    1. We are lucky - (not sure how long we can keep up to establishments bu we'll enjoy it while it lasts)

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  2. beautiful, beautiful flowers :D

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    1. The photos don't do justice to how bright the colours are

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  3. B to B, Those colors are eye-popping! Glad you're settling down in your summer digs.

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    1. We are not quite settled yet - a bit of going and froing still to go.

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  4. Beautiful flowers! I wish I had a garden with so much color!

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    1. The bright flowers are in a tiny garden. You could grow the cannas and bougainvillea in pots if you are far enough south.

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  5. J does the same, works with what will grow - experiments now and again but nurtures the survivors and has a great show much of the time. She also has the finest compost bins this side of Eden!

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    1. I would like to sit down with J and pool a bit of experience. I haven't been able to dissuade my neighbours from feeding my compost keep to their cows.

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    2. . . you need a pair of pinemartens to guard them ;-)

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  6. Lovely flowers!

    We don't have many here yet so, clearly you are a week or so ahead of us.

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    1. We had a mini summer for the last 2 weeks of April.

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  7. Looking forward to seeing you and your flowers very soon - Kath & Dave xx

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  8. Back to your summer quarters, young lady! How's the pool doing? We might like to take a dip come the autumn.

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    1. Looking forward to seeing you. Should we get a blue plaque made for the guest house?

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    2. Oh, I think a pink one, don't you?

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  9. Fond memories of your lovely summer retreat - and your fabulous food. Enjoy x

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    1. Hope you spend more time enjoying it this year.

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  10. Dear Annie, what vivid color. I find myself often wondering wherein color resides. It's a mystery to me. I look forward to your postings from your summer village. Peace.

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    1. Sometimes natures's colour is too bright to be real.

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    2. Dear Annie, by the way, I'm on the list at the libary to get "Thread" by Victoria Hislop. Peace.

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    3. Dear Annie, "Thread" came in and I picked it up at the library. I started the copy of "Birds without Wings" that I'd gotten from the library. Then I realized that the book was going to take time to read and I had a stack of other books that were due back at the library, so I ordered the book from Amazon. It will come soon, and I'll read it at my leisure. Thanks for recommending it because with just the little reading I did I know I'm going to enjoy it. Peace.

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  11. I let my garden get on with things too, and it does a very good job of it. Your flowers are beautiful. I love Bougainvillea, but I've never managed to get it to survive in my garden....

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    1. Unfortunately the pergola under our bougainvillea has rotted and we're not sure how we can replace it with our spoiling the plant. Need some engineering wizard to come up with a cunning plan

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  12. I'm enjoying my new garden showing its colours. Your colours are amazing even if the photos don't do them all the justice they deserve. How lovely to have the best of both worlds though 30kms would seem a long way to all our neighbours who have their town 'apartments' and country houses within a 10 minute drive!
    Axxx

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    1. I'm looking forward to more pictures of your garden.

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  13. Those colours are simply amazing, Annie, especially as everything in our garden is still yellow (daffodils and primroses in mid-May?) I sympathise with trying to keep gardens going in adverse conditions and with prolonged absences. Every summer I work hard to get my French garden in some kind of shape, only to have to leave it to its own devices for the rest of the year. Enjoy your summer quarters.

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    1. I recommend plumbago for France. It seems to need very little water and looks after itself while blooming all through the summer and not succumbing to cold in the winter.

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