Morning walk

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #135 on: July 06, 2017, 03:54:16 PM »
Stretching today's morning walk a bit, both metaphorically and physically. It took place in a village high on the Troodos massif. In the first photo I was too far away on the other side of the valley to tell whether or not the green roof was natural or fake. The second photo is aimed at my former colleagues on the MGS AC and may strike a chord with them.
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 #136 on: July 29, 2017, 07:38:00 AM »
Haven't posted much on morning walks for a while but with the current weather conditions it's probably the most strenuous activity possible. Today I decided to take a few photos of the plants that were still flowering despite the extended period of
intense, 40+C, temperatures we have been experiencing for much of June and July.
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 #137 on: July 29, 2017, 07:42:49 AM »
And a few more.
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 #138 on: September 04, 2017, 06:17:49 AM »
Today's morning walk resulted in a couple of surprises. This year has been a strange one so far but I did not expect to see the flowers featured in the first 2 photos yet. The lilac usually only flowers around Easter. The Tecoma stans and its cultivar 'Orange Jubilee' help to brighten up the day, while our white buddleja has flowered all through the summer. The fruit of the Eleagnus angustifolia are beginning to ripen although they are an acquired taste that I have never acquired.
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 #139 on: October 03, 2017, 05:51:09 PM »
Not a morning walk but I took a detour while driving to the shop this morning to go past the church that features in a post from June 07 on this thread. I wanted to see how the plants that we had put in to stabilise the slope outside the church were doing. I took a couple of shots, not brilliant but give some idea of how they are doing the job that they were intended for.
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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Alisdair

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #140 on: October 03, 2017, 06:10:34 PM »
It looks as if it's working really well, John
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #141 on: October 05, 2017, 07:56:29 AM »
One of our Passion flowers has decided to suddenly spring into life.
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 #142 on: October 08, 2017, 08:41:40 AM »
No real rain in our part of the island as yet but we decided to take a walk this morning in the area of the Akrotiri Marshes and Salt Lake to see if there was any sign of new life appearing. All very dry and nothing really stirring but we did come across the tree in the photo below which was a bit disappointing. The tree is Cordia myxa and although I believe the fruit are edible, never tried them so can neither confirm nor deny, they are usually used here to make the glue that poachers coat glue sticks with for catching small songbirds.
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 #143 on: October 08, 2017, 10:33:08 AM »
My previous post was not quite accurate we did find this rather stunted thistle, bravely hanging in there.
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 #144 on: October 09, 2017, 02:19:56 PM »
Pity the Cordia is managing to survive and produce fruits if they are used in the way you described John.
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 #145 on: October 09, 2017, 05:47:21 PM »
Unfortunately using lime sticks and mist nets to catch small songbirds for pickling, although illegal, is a lucrative occupation. The main excuse used to justify it is; "It's part of our culture". We even had a Member of Parliament who used to boast about how many he could eat at a sitting.
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 #146 on: October 22, 2017, 12:45:08 PM »
Not a morning walk but a morning drive, yesterday, to a couple of places that are, shall we say, a little out of the ordinary when it comes to the plants they grow.
The first photo is of a Podranea ricasoliana being grown almost as a standard at the entrance to a family run nursery.
Two is a very large Litchi chinensis in the same nursery.
Three is in a different establishment, one that specialises in extremely unusual plants, many of which I have never seen growing anywhere else on the island. This is Ziziphus mauritiana.
Four is Diospyros nigra, the chocolate pudding fruit tree.
Five is Petrea volubilis, a plant I first encountered on the MGS AGM in Mallorca.
Six is a real teaser. I was tempted to use it in the What is it? thread. Maybe we could have a mini test here before I say what it is. Any takers?
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 #147 on: October 23, 2017, 05:20:46 PM »
The last photo on the above post is of a vine, Momordica cochinchinensis. No wonder that locally this has been reduced to Gac fruit.
The name Momordica comes from the Latin, to bite. Apparently the seeds appear to have been bitten. I cannot confirm this as I have never seen them.
The cochinchinensis refers to the area of South Vietnam that once went under the name of Cochinchina. Gac is derived from the Vietnamese word for the fruit.
« Last Edit: October 26, 2017, 06:43:26 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)

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John J

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Re: Morning walk
« Reply #148 on: November 02, 2017, 07:01:22 PM »
Not a morning walk but a late afternoon stroll. Following an intensive few days picking olives (not an easy task at our advancing ages) we felt the need to stretch the legs and take in some cool evening air. So we decided to take a look at the clifftop above Kourion to see if the recent short rain showers had brought forth any life. The answer was not a lot but we did find a few Narcissus serotinus and Ranunculus bullatus.
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 #149 on: November 04, 2017, 11:15:05 AM »
Again not a morning walk but a quick trip to a local hardware store to collect a couple of small items when I spotted the following sign. They are really beginning to branch out I thought. It was a bit early for a drink but I couldn't find the bar anyway so that solved that dilemma.
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)