green days

My schooling was in fine art painting rather than horticulture. After graduation I began working in a flower shop and free-lancing for a window-dresser, painting backdrops for his weekly displays. He taught me how to iron a dress shirt and how to try and be a lady. Told me off-color stories with a debonaire finesse and called me Kitten. Furthermore, he showed me how to see and adore the color green.

Fabulous. Love the green flowers and moss but still lost without the plant bible (something to do with the book-ness of it) to guide the identification process.

Many snails occupy the yard. I am considering to think we could raise them for market. Among the moving boxes recently arriving from our shipping company will be a Mediterannean cookbook containing quite a few recipes that could be handy here... would eating escargot affect my „pescatarian” (vegetarian who eats fish) status; and will I be heartless enough to get through preparing them or brave enough to taste it afterall?

Sedum growing along the road next to our house has replaced its winter burgandy blush with blue and yellow greens. Nice, low-care groundcover for a dry and sunny patch of dirt, hundreds of varieties to choose from. Other plants from the rock garden/greenroof repetoire that I’d like to get my hands on are: Saxifraga cochlearis, Sempervivium, Lewisia cotyledon, and Aenaria balearica. While finding these tempting new goodies in the Hungarian gardening book (thank goodness for the Latin names I am familiar with) which my mother-in-law lent me (and thank goodness for her!), I came across a picture of Corydalis solida ujjas keltike and can now put a name next to this plant I could not identify a few posts back:

Are those flowers or pink dragon hatchlings emerging from a forest nest? (Not green but definitely fabulous)

The silver vareigated, delicate leaves of Dead Nettle Lamiastrum galeobdolon growing near a stream. This plant works nicely as a groundcover for shady spots. Not to be confused with another, stinging, Nettle nagy csalan (a rather abundantly-rooted, uncooperative weed) which is rampant here and stings you like a jellyfish. Didn’t encounter much Urtica dioica back in the NE and am glad to learn that it possesses medecinal properties to treat a score of ailments which sort of balance out the downsides.

2010 marcius 11

Átutazva Baskón a múlt hétvégén megálltunk, hogy megcsodáljuk ezt a klasszikus magyar falusi házat. Az építészete mellett a homlokzatot díszítő átgondolt, természetes dekoráció ragadott meg igazán. Paprika és egyéb kerti termények gondosan készített és felaggatott füzérei kukorica kötegek és díszes flaskák társaságában. Szép munka. Ennyit az eko-sikkről!

Driving through the village of Baskó last weekend, we stopped to admire this classic Hungarian country house. Beside the architecture, what really struck me were the thoughtful, natural decorations adorning the façade. Garlands of peppers and other garden goodies lovingly crafted and hung alongside bunches of corn and ornamental gourds. Nice work. Talk about eco-chic!

Addig is, amíg a tavasz bújócskát játszik, külön öröm ehhez hasonló, lelkesítő szezonális díszítéseket találni (bármennyire is ritkák) a néma tájban. De a föld alatt megindult a mozgolódás és már nem kell sokat várni a nagy tavaszi show-ra. Megjöttek a hóvirágok, és látom, ahogyan a tulipánlevelek hegye kikandikál a földből.

With spring is playing hide-and-seek it’s a pleasure to find seasonal decorations like this (however rare) occupying the muted landscape and inspiring us. Things are stirring underground though and it won’t be long now until spring starts its big show. The snowdrops are here and I can see the tips of tulip leaves are starting to peek out of the soil.

A mohának (az egyik kedvenc növényem) jót tett a téli nedves időjárás és még mindig felvidít szerény szépségével. Akár smaragdként csillog borult napokon...

Moss (one of my favorite plants) has been benefiting from all this winter’s wet weather and continues to cheer me with its humble beauty. Whether shining brilliant like emeralds on overcast days…

akár punkosan virít, a sporofitákat a délutáni nap hátulról világítva meg – nem tudok betelni velük.

or rocking a punk style, sporophytes backlit by the afternoon sun, I just can’t get enough.

2010 februar 22

Tegnap úgy döntött a nap, hogy megmutatja magát. Az olvadó hó megindult, a patakokat és a levegőt csodás zenével töltve meg. Mindenfelé moha zöldül: egy régen várt színfolt, amely még több eljövetelét ígéri.

Ma reggel találkozom először a városi hivatalnokokkal, hogy a közösségi kertről beszéljünk, és lehetséges helyszíneket nézzünk neki. Olyan jó lesz közelebb kerülni ennek a kertnek a megvalósításához!

yesterday the sun decided to show his face causing a rush of water from the melting snow, filling the streams and the air with a beautiful music. everywhere moss is glowing green, a welcome brightness and promise of more to come.

this morning i have my first meeting with town officials to talk about the community garden and look at the possible sites available for this project. it will be so nice to get closer to the reality of this garden and start to make it happen!