Apple harvest is counted

Local farmers have produced over 4,500 metric tons of apples, despite a difficult growing season, which should be enough for christmas stockings this year.

Phlomis lanata - Jerusalem sage

Phlomis lanata or Jerusalem sage was an introduction to the garden this year it's sage coloured leaves are hairy like many Mediterranean plants a useful mechanism for capturing moisture when the humidity is high. Although this is a tough plant and can tolerate the hottest and driest conditions it is none the less a showy plant with many bright yellow blooms. The flowers which appear in two stages are held above the plant by almost leafless stems. First a ruffled collar of flower blossom opens, the stem continues to grow several inches before producing a more compact flower at the shoot tip. This plant is attractive to pollinating insects too.

Who ordered lamb!

With the 'pincheon' removed it is safe for the sheep to cut the grass for us. Some days we get two flocks grazing the land one on a morning and the second in the evening, each flock consists of five hundred head of sheep.

They have developed a taste for my seedlings and even climbed onto the patio to polish off my ginger lilies, and I now have little or nothing left to grow! A varied Mediterranean diet if ever there was one. Should make for some tasty lamb though!