Choosing a rose
How to choose a rose? Not just any rose, but one with delicate flowers and colors, one with a blush in the early summer sun.
Designing a garden
Gardens are special. If they didn't exist, someone should invent them. Depending on the country you visit, gardens are different. No, of course not the botanic gardens that exist in nearly every capital and university city with some self respect. I am talking about ordinary gardens, made by people who own a small (or not so small) property with sufficient space for a house and ... a garden.
Jahorina
De regenboog begint in Jahorina
Sarajevo
Alsof het hier steeds oorlog is…
De lindeboom van opa Fatmir
Er was eens een linde. Hij stond in Stara Charsija, in het hartje van het oude Skopje, vlak naast het atelier van opa Fatmir. Met het verloop van de jaren was de buitenmuur van het atelier een beetje weggezakt, hij leunde nu gemakzuchtig tegen de met de tijd vergroeide knoesten
In the garden: the start
The weather is changing again: less cold, but still some frost at night. In the greenhouse, you can already see the difference. There is a lovely smell of plants that start growing again.
The taste of tomatoes
I have a greenhouse and as is the case for many gardeners, the number one harvest there are tomatoes. No, not the ones you usually buy in the supermarket, which are often not ripe yet, big and with no taste. My idea that there is a problems with the tomatoes in supermarkets just got confirmed by an interesting article in Science: Why tomatoes got bland and how to make them sweet again.
Winter is over?
Time to get back at work in the garden, now that the winter is over - or so it looks like. The first job is to start pruning fruit trees and prepare for planting new ones if you are in for that.
The orchard
In 2018, we created on orchard on a piece of sandy agricultural soil with a surface of a bit less than 1 acre. A small part of it is occupied by birches and other trees. The rest was grass - in the past used to feed horses.
Plants and flowers in the Balkans
It is one of my favorites, Euphorbia. I was quite surprised to discover it in Kotor (Montenegro) late February. With striking yellow, surviving in rocky conditions and a very poor soil, amazing.
Flowers in Ivory Coast
A few years ago, in early February, I visited Ivory Coast. During my stay, I still had some time to enjoy the many flowers I discovered.
Climate changes?
Strange weather this year. Nearly no winter, then an early spring, followed by severe night frost - killing all the blossoms on pears, apples and quince. And the fresh shoots of the Buxus sempervirens also died - but the plants restarted growing later on.