Another Garden Diary
I wrote about my spring garden the other day, and here's my May update. More plants are blooming now that we've stopped having morning frosts.
I've noticed that some bumblebees are returning. Last year, we didn't have enough bees due to heavy rain and cold days during spring and summer. This spring, the weather has been pretty mild so far. Hopefully, we won't experience any extreme weather.
My husband told me he won't mow our lawn for a while, to give the bees enough grass, plants, and flowers they need.
These are daylilies. I have more spots, and everyone is doing well so far. Hopefully, I will have beautiful orange daylilies in the summer. My grandmother loved eating boiled lily root meals. I didn't like it much, though.
This is a cherry tree. I can enjoy fresh and tasty cherries every early summer. However, I couldn't have any cherries last year... We didn't have enough bees last spring. Additionally, the tree became too big because I didn't trim it. Finally, I pruned it with my husband. It was very hard work. I really want the tree to become healthy this year.
These are juniper trees. The big one looks great since I trimmed it. The smaller, skinnier one seems to be recovering a little bit. A bug attached itself to this tree. After removing the bug, the tree started recovering, little by little. The greenery has been returning slowly but surely.
This is not a tree outside. It's my Money tree, Fuku-kun, inside my house. His name, Fuku (福), means "luck" in Japanese. Fuku-kun is growing very well. However, I need to fertilize him soon because some leaves are becoming yellowish.
Forsythia is blooming very well. The smell of these flowers is very gentle and elegant. I live in the mountains, so full blooming is a bit slower than in town. I already miss this beautiful moment.
This is an Alpenrose, which belongs to the heather family. It's a very resilient plant, often seen emerging in the cold season just after the snow melts. The mine produces white flowers, known for their elegant beauty. However, this time I'll have to trim them after the flowers have bloomed.
These are rhubarbs. They were damaged by heavy rain a few years ago, so last year they also didn't seem very healthy. However, this spring, they look pretty healthy so far. I can't wait to use them to make jam or umeboshi paste someday soon!
This is a pine tree that has suddenly grown on the corner of the deck area. I didn't want to dig it out because it's quite pretty. However, I don't want it to grow larger in this spot. I'll need to trim the top part soon. Despite this, they are still pretty and healthy.
Japanese 日本語
庭日記ふたたび
先日、春の庭について書きましたが、今回はここ最近の５月の庭の記録です。朝の霜がおりなくなってから、かなり庭の植物が育っています。
最近、ミツバチが戻ってきたようです。去年の春と夏は大雨と冷夏のせいで蜂がかなり少なかったです。今春は今の所穏やかな天候が続いています。このまま極端な気温の変化がないことを願います。
主人が蜂のためにしばらくの間芝刈りをしないと言っていました。
これはユリです。他にもユリがさく場所がいくつかあって、どの箇所も今のところよく育っています。夏にはきれいなオレンジ色のユリが咲きますように。祖母は百合の根の煮物が好きだったな〜。私はちょっと苦手です。
これはさくらんぼの木です。初夏にはおいしい新鮮なさくらんぼを堪能できます。しかし、去年はまったくさくらんぼがなりませんでした。去年の春は蜂が少なかったせいでしょうか。また、剪定をしていなかったので木が成長しすぎたせいもあるかと思います。去年主人と一緒に頑張って剪定をしました。とても大変な作業でした。今年はおいしいさくらんぼがなりますように。
これはイブキ（ビャクシン？）の木です。大きな方は剪定してからずいぶんと元気になりました。小さな方は少しずつ回復しているようです。虫が原因で病気になっていました。虫を取り除いてから少しずつ回復しているようです。ゆっくりですが確実に元気になっているのだと思います。
これは外の植木ではありません。パキラ・金のなる木の福くんです。福くんは家の中で元気に育っていますが、葉っぱが黄色になっている部分があるので、栄養剤が必要なのではないかと思います。
レンギョウの木も元気に満開を迎えています。レンギョウの花はとても優しくエレガントな香りがします。私は山の中に住んでいるので、町の中と比べると開花時期が少し遅いです。もうすでに今の満開の時期が終わってしまう寂しさを感じています。
これはツツジ科のアルペンローゼです。雪解け後、割とすぐに育ち始めるとてもタフな植物です。美しい白い花をつけます。少し伸びすぎているので、花が終わったら剪定しようと思っています。
これはルバーブです。数年前の大雨で傷んでしまったので、去年まではちょっと元気がなさそうでした。今年の春は、今のところ元気そうです。食べごろになったらジャムや梅干しペーストを作るのが楽しみです。
この松の木は突然デッキ近くの隅に育ち始めました。かわいいので掘り起こしたくないのでそのままにしてあります。でも、これ以上大きく育っては困るので、しばらくしたら剪定します。それにしても元気でかわいいですね。
Thank you for reading!
お読みいただきありがとうございます。
I haven't seen Forsythia for many years already. We had it in the yard and it was my grandma's favourite flowering shrub 😍
I guess Forsythia is originally from Asia and Europe, but somehow, I see Forsythia almost everywhere in North America. I am glad to hear that Forsythia was your grandmother's favourite flower. I often remember my grandmother when I see my garden as well. I hope you will see Forsythia someday in the near future!
I read they are originally from Asia, yes. But there is one European type and several other types. Nowadays many plants get to grow all over the world.
Just one interesting example. There is a little river not very far from us. There are so many reeds that eat up the whole area around the river... I thought it was normal, that it was an autochthonous type of reed, but it was not. It is an invasive one, and actually causes more damage now than good right now as the autochthonous plants don't have space not to grow 🤷♀
Everything is looking good. That's nice that you guys are trying to support the bees. I always teach my kids to be nice to bees and don't be scared of them.
It's nice to hear you tell your kids that nature is not scary! Some parents never experienced nature much when they were young and told their kids to react and scream when they see bugs... 😂🐝 Then, kids copy that attitude from them... Bumblebees are very pretty and important beings for us for sure! We have too many Suzumebachi here as well though!
Thank you!
Everything is amazing 😍. Learnt a lot of new vocabulary but the sad part is this that my visa is refused twisely and now I have no power to apply anymore and don't know what to do with this language skill but still learning.
Thanks for sharing your content is amazing like always. I hope you wouldn't mind me being too personal.
Thank you! ありがとう@mojiko-blog. Oh... I am sorry to hear that your visa was refused twice. I feel that you must be so disappointed. I truly understand that you felt powerless at that moment, as you said.
You mentioned that you are 'still learning.' I think it's a wonderful thing that you are continuing to learn day by day. Your reading and writing skills are very good, so hopefully, you will find your way someday in the near future 🙏
きっとあなたの努力は報われるはず。そして道が開けることを願っています！(Surely your efforts will be rewarded. And I hope that the way will open up for you!)