Yes, this is a tomato blossom and no, I am not living in the southern hemisphere! I am in Crete, the biggest Greek island and although the calendar says that we are in the middle of the winter, the weather (and apparently the plants agree) thinks otherwise! It is not uncommon to have a very mild December but the winter so far is ludicrously warm!
I went today to see the herb garden, after two months that I was exclusively engaged in the olive grove. If you remember it, from my summertime #gardenjournal posts, there were a few summer vegetables among the herbs. Going back there in the 19th of January, I wasn't expecting to see those vegetables still alive. But I was absolutely wrong!
I can't say that they are thriving but they certainly are far from dead :)
The rosemary on the other hand, thinks that spring is already here and the same applies for the almond trees too.
I think that this weather is making my plants lunatic :)
At least the tangerines are on time and as juicy and sweet as they should be!
An easy task (so little I knew) I had to do today, was to uproot a caper that had grown on a bed that was meant for some more herbs. Caper with all its thorns and its expanding nature, is not something you want to have, among your cultivation.
It was a rather small bush so I wasn't particularly worried about it, maybe that's why I let it grow in the first place. So I cut the upper part and started digging.
And digging.
And digging.
And the deeper I went, the stronger was the realisation that uprooting this little devil, is mission impossible! Under the ground there was a massive root that was expanding to every direction. After a lot of sweat (it is hot here, remember?) and a broken pickaxe, I admitted my defeat and cut the roots, leaving a big part of them in the ground.
Now I know that every year I will have to deal with the new capers that will grow from the remaining roots. But since I am not going to use any chemicals to get rid of it, there is nothing more I can do :(
And now that I finished nagging let me make up for you with a picture of my favourite wild flower, the winter anemone!
Have an amazing day!
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It is only in the last few days, that it felt like winter has arrived here in the South of Spain, it has been so mild up until then. Now we have lots of snow on the mountains and very chilly mornings. Certainly feels like the seasons are shifting.
Capers have the most beautiful flower, but yes best not to have them with your herbs xxxx
Same here. It is just starting to feel a bit winterish. With so few rain so far, I am afraid though, that this is going to be a very harsh year for the plants.
I love the caper's flower too, it is magnificent, indeed!
Winter here in the U.K. was quite warm throughout Christmas and the start of this month but then it plummeted into negative figures at the start of this week. Snow forecast for some places and on higher ground, it looked like it had it was it just a frost? We couldn’t quite tell.
Enjoy that lovely warmth. We are looking forward to a bit of that later this year.
We are definitely warmer here, I can't complain about that, but nature needs more rain and snow in order to survive the hot Mediterranean summer and I am concerned that this is going to be a very harsh summer for the plants!
Enjoy your winter :)
That must be a genuine worry indeed. Hope it balances out for you.
they could be unlucky as it looks like that we maybe are getting something that could be winter. Temps till now were something i don't remember. we had 1 day of temp below 0.
Just now it is snowing but it is still over 0 so it will all be just mud.
but maybe it will not get all the way to you :)
The forecast is telling for days that the weather will change but we are still waiting :)
Definitely not a normal winter for Europe, we'll see how it will continue.
we had snow for one day. it was melting but i got out to clean it to get the winter feel :)
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I'm not a friend of tangerines, because I don't like citrus fruits, but when they are very sweet I eat them with pleasure 😅. The photos are great, very good! ✔️💯📸. I loved the end of your post, that purple flower is beautiful 💜. Happy day ☀️.
Thank you @schiogonzalez for stopping by, I am glad you enjoyed the pictures :)
Just like mine here, I did not really expect too that my veggies were alive after the terrible storms last December. Now we are enjoying still the cold season but not the winter that you are experiencing there like the Greek winter. I so love the plants for they are so colorful and bright. And of course your great photography as always. Have a wonderful time my friend and take care.
Thank you very much for your comment @pinkchic, I am glad you like my photography :)
Have a lovely day!
Wow that is amazing. Great shots. Those blossoms.
Thank you Sara, nature is always the best inspiration :)
That caper sounds like a few plants we've tried to get rid of over the years. 😅 They do eventually die off if you keep taking out the shoots, but it takes a year or two...
Yes, I know. It takes a lot of patience and consistency but eventually it can be done :)
I've been seeing documentaries on the Mediterranean "drought" popping on my YT suggestions, some Olive farmers' harvests have dropped from 7000kg harvest to barely 1000kg per season. And there's some news about the "misuse" or channeling of water to the rich and urban spaces, further drying up dying forests. :/
You're tangerines calmed me down, it just look so beautiful!
Although you are far away, you are very well informed! The reality is pretty close to what you described. At least the tangerines are having a great season :)
Thank you for your support!