79 ~ Pruning With the Moon

New Shoots on our Grapefruit Tree

Here in Canary Islands it is customary to prune with the menguante, or waning phase of the moon. And adhering to this custom is my garden helper Antonio as well as other local Canary people I have known. I used to follow that rule myself with my rose bushes. I was never sure if it really made a difference.

Last month we gave a drastic pruning to our grapefruit tree because the leaves were suffering from a blight which has extended to most citrus trees of these islands. So this is what we did:

And now with just a month behind us, we see the first new green shoots. I wonder how long it will take before the insect settles on the new leaves. We don't use any pesticides in the garden now, although years ago I used to use pyrethrum, a natural insecticide from a flower of the chrysanthemum family. But as that is also very toxic to bees and somewhat toxic to humans and birds, we stopped all spraying, other than plain hose water out of respect for the environment.

But of course now we have to hope that the tree can survive and overcome the insect that mottles and curls the leaves. This year we had no grapefruit from our little tree which normally produces more than we can eat or give away. Here is an old photo of the tree in 2001:


Our little lime tree is faring somewhat better although it also has the blight. It's currently full of blossoms and fruit.
You can see the misshapen leaves in the background.

Lime Blossom

Bearss lime on our tree

Also know as Persian Lime, it was named after John T. Bearss, who developed this seedless variety around 1895 in his nursery at Porterville, California. (Quoted from Wikipedia.) It always surprises me that both lemons and limes will produce both fruit and flowers at the same time! And the perfume....ahhh...the scent of citrus blossoms is unforgettable. I notice a heavy scent in the air around 6 pm when we sit outside for our late afternoon coffee, watching the sun go down.

So now it seems we should start pruning the roses in four days, just when they are all in full bloom! We'll see if I have the courage to cut them all down. Here's what some of them looked like yesterday:

Grüss an Aachen

Heinzelmännchen

Queen Elizabeth

I'll leave you with the scent of imaginary citrus blossoms hanging in the air!

¡Hasta la Vista!

78 ~ Happy New Year to All!

Happy New Year and Feliz Año Nuevo

Here it is customary to eat twelve grapes at midnight, one on each stroke of the clock!

There was a hilarious incident one year in Madrid when the main plaza, the Puerta del Sol, was crowded with merrymakers waiting for the clock to begin striking the midnight hour. The clock is televised nationwide and folks at home watching their TVs are preparing to eat their grapes along with the rest of the country.

However someone in Madrid had forgotten to slow down the mechanism that controls the chiming of the clock, as is done for each New Year, so people have time to down their grapes, one for each stroke.

The result was that the clock struck the hour at a furious pace while the grape eaters were unable to keep up despite stuffing in the grapes at a speed enough to cause many to choke.

It later became an anecdote that would be recounted with hilarity as people remembered that night when the twelve 'uvas de la suerte' ...grapes of good luck, didn't quite make it on time that year!

Here now are some photos taken from the TV after the clock struck midnight.

Midnight in Madrid and the crowds at the Puerta del Sol, Madrid's main plaza:



And midnight in the Canary Islands. Gran Canaria and Tenerife:


The four above images were taken from TVE and Canary television, with thanks.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and a safe, healthy and prosperous year 2010!

Oh yes and don't forget that it's customary here in Spain to put on RED UNDERWEAR for New Years Eve!

Drive safely and enjoy yourself...¡Hasta la Vista!

77 ~ Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

A Blue Tit this morning

This morning I could have gone through the garden singing that old song from from the show Oklahoma...Oh What a Beautiful Morning...because it would have been very appropriate with sun shining, balmy warm air, twittering birds flying around the palm trees and many roses in bloom. Yes it's December 29th but it feels like spring here.

Here's what I saw while meandering around the front garden.

Iceberg

Queen Elizabeth

Strelitzia Reginae

Rheoe

Bibi follows me so closely underfoot that I sometimes step on her toes. But this time she's content to just lie and watch.

Grüss an Aachen

Gold Medal

Brugmansia

Barcarole

Tigger loves the sun

As I write this, it's Tuesday evening and Bibi has just jumped on my desk...and she's soaking wet, so it must be raining outside now. That's the best way to have the weather I think...a beautiful sunny day and a soft rain at night to water the garden. Now where's a towel so I can dry you off Bibi.

Have a lovely rest of the week and drive carefully!

I'll finish here with the beautiful voice of Eva Cassidy singing "What a Wonderful World".



¡Hasta La Vista! Sharon.

Photos were taken with a Canon EOS 30D DSLR and 50mm f/1.4 lens.

76 ~ Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas today, December 25, from Tenerife, Canary Islands!

75 ~ Tenerife at Christmas

Here it is already December 23 and like many, I don't know how time before Christmas has passed so quickly! This morning I went down to the municipal farmers' market in Puerto de la Cruz to have a look around and pick up some fresh vegetables for the next festive days.

Above is the Christmas tree in the center of the main floor. Here are some images of the bountiful produce, exotic fruits and tempting displays of vegetables that I saw there.

I was so tempted to buy one of these boxes of luscious dates from Medjoul, Tunis. The stall owner gave me a taste and they were so big, soft and sweet! But at 16 Euros a box I didn't buy. Now I wish I had!

Perhaps I'll run back in the morning to buy them. What a Christmas treat - better than chocolate!

And some unusual things as well. I had to look up OCUMO (Xanthosoma Sagittifolium) as I had never seen them before:

And here are Yuccas (background) and in the front are tree tomatoes, called Tamarillo (Solanum Betaceum):

And it wouldn't be a Tenerife market without the delicious local potatoes, called papas here, which have a knobbly appearance and are ancient varieties, some found only in Tenerife and the Andes mountains of Peru and Bolivia.

The best are the papas negras, yema de huevo, dark outside and golden inside with a wonderful flavour. Translated that means...black egg yolk potatoes, referring to both the outer and inner colours. They are the most expensive of all. I bought a large bag of them!

Here is the bag I bought. Sunglasses are for scale.

And the ubiquitous tortilla Española, or Spanish potato and egg omelette is here as well, being sold by the piece. It was making me hungry!

Outside, a few days ago I was wandering around the town and came upon this giant ferris wheel, installed in the area by the harbour where traditionally a Christmas fair with midway appears at this time of the year. Truly the biggest I have ever seen.

Poinsettias are everywhere the municipal gardeners can find a spot to put them. They really do dress up the town and are a treat for visitors who come down from snowy Europe.
Here they are in the Plaza de la Iglesia, the garden by the main church in the town center, near the plaza.

A living statue is seen here, posing without moving a muscle. What a way to earn a few coins, standing still for hours. However when I put a coin in his basket, he moved and thumped his wooden staff, making a gesture of thanks.

The garden of this downtown hotel is always colourful.

The cafes on the main Plaza del Charco are favourite places to stop, have a coffee, read a paper and people watch.

And sitting by the water of the center fountain is another pastime here in this mild climate.

And here to end is the Sussex Carol, one of my favourite Christmas carols. Have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season everyone. May you enjoy the love and warmth of family and friends at this time!

King's College Cambridge 2008, Sussex Carol arr. Philip Ledger: