Morning walk

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #360 on: August 25, 2019, 02:46:39 PM »
Following on from last week's trip up the mountain we decided this week to go a little higher to try out the Artemis Nature Trail. This is a circular route of 7 km that circles the top of the mountain at a height of between 1820 and 1860 m asl.
At one point we came across a sight that had us wondering just how far we had walked and if we were still on the same island!
 ???
The North Face ski centre and ski-lift were not in operation either.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #361 on: August 25, 2019, 02:56:25 PM »
Carrying on from the above we did find a few endemics, although not many were in flower at this time of year. The last 2 are not endemics.
Nepeta troodi
Pterocephalus multiflorus
Dianthus strictus ssp troodi
A small Cedrus brevifolia
Genista fasselata var crudelis
Saponaria cypria
Cirsium vulgare not endemic
Self explanatory.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #362 on: August 30, 2019, 08:04:14 AM »
The temperature at this end of the Med is not letting up yet and has added humidity to make it even more uncomfortable. Yesterday when I returned to my car after dropping off grandson at his football training the temperature gauge was registering 42C.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #363 on: September 01, 2019, 02:38:20 PM »
Today in an attempt to escape the heat, currently registering 38C down here, we drove up the mountain to a village I have never visited before, Gerakies. Beautifully located with stunning views over the Marathasa Valley it would appear to be on the decline. According to an elderly resident in the local coffee shop in his lifetime it has gone from over a thousand residents to a mere 60 today. A great shame. We decided to walk the Ariadne Nature Trail that circles the mountain above the village. This proved to be rather steep for much of the way, with paths of loose rock. What goes up must come down and so the descent into the village was equally steep and loose. I managed to turn my left knee and ended the walk with a swollen knee and a badly bruised ego. I also only managed to get one photo.  :-[
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #364 on: September 08, 2019, 08:02:29 AM »
For today's walk we stayed a bit closer to home, a short drive to the top of the cliffs at Kourion and the site of the Ancient Stadium. It was very hot even in the early morning and we found little to photograph. A squirting cucumber and the first Drimia of the season.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #365 on: September 15, 2019, 01:40:01 PM »
This morning we headed up the mountain once more and found the following.
Saponaria cypria.
Crocus troodi.
Sideritis cypria.
Hibiscus trionum.
Phlomis lunariifolia.
Thymus capitatus.
Mentha longifolia ssp cyprica. This one was difficult to photograph being so small and growing in heavy shade.
We left a little earlier than intended as a sudden thunderstorm rolled in and we thought it prudent to get out from under the trees. The good thing was that as we drove down the mountain we did not drive out from under the rain and it was still falling when we arrived home. Not heavily but enough to moisten the ground. Our first rain of the season, may there be a lot more.  ;D
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #366 on: October 04, 2019, 06:57:19 AM »
Casual morning walks have been a bit few and far between lately, due to a variety of reasons, but this morning I got some shots of things that are currently in flower.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Umbrian

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #367 on: October 05, 2019, 08:07:12 AM »
Name of number 4 John.... the lovely orange colour?
I too have quite a bit of colour for the time of year mainly due to Salvias - so rewarding.
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #368 on: October 05, 2019, 09:43:06 AM »
Carole, it's a hybrid of the Black-eyed Susan, Thunbergia alata. The colour is not particularly accurate, it's rather more red than it looks in the photo. Alisdair suggested it might be a variety called, 'Arizona Dark Red'.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #369 on: October 05, 2019, 09:52:22 AM »
Just out of interest the others are:
Sedum 'Thundercloud', though how it got its name I don't know as it doesn't look threatening to me.
Ipomoea carnea ssp fistulosa.
A variety of Cosmos.
Leucophyllum frutescens.
Obviously Bougainvillea.
Crithmum maritimum.
A rare Cyprus endemic, Centaurea akamantis.
Tecoma stans.
Salvia mexicana 'Limelight'.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #370 on: October 06, 2019, 07:08:58 AM »
Went out this morning to find we had a new addition to our Cosmos flowers, none of which we have a name for.  Alongside the orange, that we obtained from the owner of a garden on the outskirts of Rome that we had been taken to by our good friend and fellow MGS member, Keay Burton-Pierconti, who is sadly no longer with us, and the white that came from a packet of assorted varieties bought in England was a deep maroon(?) one, from the same packet.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Umbrian

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #371 on: October 06, 2019, 07:53:06 AM »
Thanks John - worth looking out for anyway.
Sedum'Thundercloud' does indeed have a strange name but
although  not a great fan of Sedums I do like this one for its unusual leaves.
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #372 on: October 08, 2019, 12:26:26 PM »
Today's morning stroll took us up into the cool of the mountain and the Forestry Department nursery at Platania.
The first 2 photos being general shots of a couple of areas and the third has my wife, the Forester in charge and an assistant discussing the merits of different Cistus..
The 4th photo is of the plants we brought back.
After the nursery we called into the Botanical Garden to deliver some Alium seeds to the Forester in charge.
It was only a fleeting visit but we found the Salvia 'Anthony Parker' and S. 'Love and Wishes' that we gave them last year looking good and in flower.
The Sternbergia lutea were also beginning to pop up.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #373 on: October 10, 2019, 06:35:49 AM »
Just a couple of quick early morning photos today as we have a busy one ahead.
The Melia is probably the closest we get to Autumn colour in our garden.
I found it difficult to get the true deep colour of the Salvia splendens 'Martinus Borg'.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #374 on: October 25, 2019, 06:35:25 PM »
The MGS AGM in Athens has been mentioned in a few posts on the Forum this week and we arrived back from it in the early hours of this morning having been the victims of the dreaded delayed flights syndrome.
Anyway, I must confess that we did not attend all of the organised programme in Athens but did on one day take a morning walk in the Diomedes Botanical Garden.
The photos show:
An interesting way of introducing visitors to the garden.
Cyclamen were seen in abundance on the post tour to the Pelion area, but more of that later.
Clerodendrum chinense.
Bauhinia yunnanensis.
Two unnamed roses.
Clerodendrum bungei.
Justicia carnea.
Callistemon sp.
Perhaps this should be in the Wildlife in the Garden section.
« Last Edit: October 25, 2019, 06:37:17 PM by John J »
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)