It has been over 30 degrees Celsius here in Germany, and since there has been not much rain, I was watering the plants diligently this morning. This year we have had repeated hot weather and thunderstorms, so it was the first time this season that I have watered the plants this much.
While watering, I looked around the plants and found strawberries. This year, they didn't produce many fruits in early spring, and I thought they were taking a break since they did so well last year, but in the past few weeks, some plants have started to bear fruits. I didn't notice it at first because they were popping out from my balcony 😅 I think it was one of the plants I planted last year with a mix of different types that starts producing fruit late in the summer.
The bitter melon plants have started to produce male flowers, and every day I look at them and wonder if they have female flowers or not, like a parent asking insensitively, “when do you have a kid?” Sorry bitter melons if it's too stressful ... Since it is so hot every day, I cannot help waiting to eat bitter melons 😉
In the same planters as the bitter melon, there are Malabar spinach plants, which also seem to be happy with the summer heat and has been growing bigger and bigger recently. When they grow more leaves, I will put it in miso soup or use it in curry to enjoy its sticky sliminess.
I only did a little bit of planting work today because watering was a chore and I wanted to go berry picking on my bike while it was still cooler. I planted spring onions and edible chrysanthemums for fall and winter.
When it cools down in the evening and if I have energy, I'll plant fig trees in larger pots I bought yesterday.
When I stopped by the DIY store to buy the pots for the fig trees, I bought a watering can for indoor plants. I had been using the small watering can on the balcony, but it was a bit stress to have to go out to the balcony to get it, and vice versa. I also felt a little uncomfortable having a plastic green watering can in the house. So I bought a gold watering can, which is stylish and seems to bring me good luck. I enjoy watering with it.
The whole balcony looks like this. I love the lush foliage. Yes, it's summer!
That's it for this week's garden journal. Have a nice summer Sunday and happy gardening!
ドイツでは30度を超える日が続いています。kokの珍しく雨が降っていないので、今日は朝からせっせと水やりをしました。今年は暑くなっては雷雨の繰り返しで、こんなに水をやるのは今シーズン初めてです。
水をやりながら植物を見てまわると、いちごがなっていました。今年は春先はそこまで実がつかなかず、去年いっぱいがんばってくれたしお休みかなと思っていたら、この数週間で実をつける株が出てきました。バルコニーの外に宙ぶらりんに実をつけていたので最初気がつきませんでした 😅 去年いろいろな種類を混ぜて植えた中の、夏に入って遅く実がつく種類の株だと思います。
ゴーヤは雄花をつけ始め、日々「雌花ないかな雌花ないかな」と眺めつつ、「子供はまだ？」と無神経に聞く親みたいだななんて。ゴーヤにはストレスかな、ごめんね。毎日暑くて暑くてゴーヤを食べたくてしかたないのです。
ゴーヤと同じプランターにはツルムラサキが植わっていて、これまた夏の熱気がうれしいようで、最近どんどん大きくなっていっています。もう少し葉っぱが増えたら、夏のお味噌汁に入れたり、カレーに使ったりしてネバネバを楽しみます。
今日は水やりが一仕事だったのと、涼しいうちに自転車でベリー摘みに行きたかったので、植えつけ作業はちょっとだけ。秋冬用にネギと春菊を植えました。
午後涼しくなって元気があったらイチヂクを大きい鉢に植え替えようと思います。
イチヂクの大きめの鉢を買うためにホームセンターに寄ったときに、屋内の植物の水やり用にじょうろを買いました。今までバルコニーの小さいじょうろと兼用していたのですが、バルコニーに取りに出たり、逆にバルコニーで使いたいときに探し回ったりするのがちょっとしたストレスでした。あと、プラスチックの緑のじょうろが家の中にあるのがちょっと間抜けで気になっていたというのもあります。ということで、おしゃれでなんとなく金運が上がりそうなゴールドのじょうろを買いました。
バルコニー全体はこんな感じ。青々と葉っぱがしげっていいですね。
それではみなさん、素敵な日曜日を。Happy gardening!