Glorious gladiolus

這些 劍蘭 （gladiolus）都是去年種的，冬天來時挖出來在窒內過冬.  春天到時因疫情的關係我們沒有出去買新的 花苞，所幸這些去年種的花苞 今年還算爭氣，也花姿招展一番. 最下面的兩張是 2017 及 2013 年拍的。

The unknown purple wild flower 不知名的紫色野花

幾個月前花園後頭的走道長了一棵很大的 weed, Katy 說她會開紫色的花，因為我們幾乎沒有走那一個地方，所以也留著沒有抜掉。看看這個紫色花（Katy 也不知道其名字）我說野花也是花, 你一定會同意。難怪 Emily Dickinson 非常喜歡野花. 她在 Holyoke Female Seminary (Mount Holyoke College 的前身）時寫了一封信, 其內有, “There are not many wild flowers near, for the girls have driven them to a distance, and we are obliged to walk quite a distance to find them, but they repay us by their sweet smiles and fragrance.” 我們這個紫色花也 repay us with her beauty.

我在 Emily Dickinson 的詩有讀到一句：”From just a Purple Flower beyond”.  所以不是只有我們不知道 Purple Flower 的名字。

The unknown beans happen to be the one we like the most, 誤打誤中

朋友給 Katy 一些 翼豆種子, 我們不知道是什麼豆, 開紫色花時非常好看 （我說豆好吃比花好看更重要）Katy online 一查, 看它的花的確叫翼豆, 但豆長出來後, 越長越長, 有一天 Katy 讓美玉看，美玉說這就是他們家種的長豇豆, 這下子可真是誤打誤中了，因為美玉楊錚幾年前給我們的長豇豆是我們最愛吃的。這種長豇豆煮稀飯是上品.

Yin tsai (water spinach) galore

We planted yin tsai (water spinach) in two ways: from the stems and from the seeds. We bought yin tsai in Chinese grocery store in mid June. After eating the leaves, we put the stems in the water and planted them when the roots came out.

The first attempt to plant the seeds was met with no success. Katy came up with a good idea by immersing the seeds in the water for a day or two before planting. It was a resounding success. We then transplanted them at an optimal time. It ended up with more than a dozen “yin tsai zones” scattered all over the garden.

Celosias in our garden: My “old flames”

Celosias live up to their name. The name is derived from the Greek word ‘kelos’which means ‘burned’. The beauty of celosia comes from the bright colors (red, pink, golden and yellow), looking like a burning flame when they are in glory. All the celosias in our garden are volunteer come backs, my “old flames”, so to speak. Some of them were moved around, pursuing the neatness of a design garden, some were left alone, aiming for a chaotic beauty.

The unknown melon in our garden

我們在附近的一個 green house 買了四棵 cucumbers, 看著他們長大也沒發覺其中一棵的葉子看起來有點不同, 等到有一天結果了, 但是越看越不像 cucumber. 再仔細觀察其葉子, 確是不同。目前真的不知道那是什麼瓜 (photo below)。

不過我們自己知道莱園內除了義大利瓜, 葫蘆瓜, 絲瓜, 南瓜, 西瓜, 冬（東？）瓜 （沒有北瓜）小黃瓜, 苦瓜 外還有兩個儍瓜（fools).  只是希望我們是 Shakespearean plays 𥚃那樣的 fools, 小人物 with wits.  They are usually very lovable characters, loved by the theater goers, especially Queen Elizabeth I.

We got four plants of cucumber in the local green house.  Watching them grew up, we didn’t notice one of them having somewhat different appearance of leaves. One day the supposed ‘cucumber’ came, but the more we looked at it, the less it looked like cucumber.  We now has no idea of what kind of melon it is.

In addition to the 義大利瓜, 葫蘆瓜, 絲瓜, 南瓜, 西瓜, 冬（東？）瓜 （沒有北瓜）小黃瓜, 苦瓜, we also have 兩個儍瓜（fools).  I'm hoping we are the kinds of fools seen in Shakespearean plays, little guys with wits.  They are usually very lovable characters, loved by the theater goers, especially Queen Elizabeth I.

No social distancing for our egg plants

We grew egg plants some years ago, it was not too successful.  We tried again this year and it has been a resounding success.  They were planted in two different areas. 

 

We under estimated its potential growth and size and planted them too close together in one area (photo above).  I used to say “not enough living space”.  To say it in line with more contemporary term: “not keeping social distancing”,  consequence of which is that they produce fewer egg plants than those in the area that social distancing was kept (photos below).