Well it looks like I'll be leaving Bristol after three years here. Two of those years have been in a flat above the Bristol Music Store where I sort of let my need for plants go a wee bit out of hand.
Our living room / kitchen had plants in every window and then some in a corner that got sunlight. I never turned the heaters on in my bedroom because they were situated infront of the windows and were covered in plants as was the wardrobe which is close enough to one of the tall windows to get lots of light.
Then since there was a flat area of roof out side that I put a few pots out on and then a few more. My bedroom windows were the designated "Fire Escape" although once onto the flat roof there was no way down and as that flat area was surrounded my higher roof areas ... no one on the ground can see you unless you managed to scramble up onto sloping roof and get attention while making sure you did not slip and fall from three story height.
In any case although I had battles with marauding seagulls who pulled up seedlings and scattered them with malicious calculation and searing heat during summer I did manage to get some strawberries as well as some Siberian Irises, Lilies and Agapanthus to flower as well including onions.
The Lilies were pretty cool because they started of orange and then changed to a Deep red. I cannot remember what the variety was. The flowers of the first year were pitiful and I almost threw them all away in annoyance because as with some of the other plants I had gotten the actual flowers did not come anywhere close to the ones in the photo on the label.
For example the Calla lily which was supposed to be a brilliant yellow came out green. And when I say green I mean it was the exact same colour as the leaves abd stems so unless you noticed that it was not a leave due it's shape being different you would not even know there was a flower there.
The red onions I planted were actually intended for the kitchen but although they all flowered for two consecutive years none got to the size they were supposed to be so although I did harvest a couple and use them it seemed pointless although at least the flowers were intriguing and quite beautiful so it was not a waste of time.
I was disappointed that the giant garlic did not grow much either. Some just grew huge leaves and then vanished. I think at least one was stolen by the seagulls with whom I have a running feud because of their malicious destructiveness. One more than one occasion when I heard sounds outside and went to check and found one up to no good the pestilent creature glared at me when I shouted at it It looked like it was challenging me too, before it decided I was beneath it and flew off very casually.
Our living room / kitchen had plants in every window and then some in a corner that got sunlight. I never turned the heaters on in my bedroom because they were situated infront of the windows and were covered in plants as was the wardrobe which is close enough to one of the tall windows to get lots of light.
Then since there was a flat area of roof out side that I put a few pots out on and then a few more. My bedroom windows were the designated "Fire Escape" although once onto the flat roof there was no way down and as that flat area was surrounded my higher roof areas ... no one on the ground can see you unless you managed to scramble up onto sloping roof and get attention while making sure you did not slip and fall from three story height.
In any case although I had battles with marauding seagulls who pulled up seedlings and scattered them with malicious calculation and searing heat during summer I did manage to get some strawberries as well as some Siberian Irises, Lilies and Agapanthus to flower as well including onions.
For example the Calla lily which was supposed to be a brilliant yellow came out green. And when I say green I mean it was the exact same colour as the leaves abd stems so unless you noticed that it was not a leave due it's shape being different you would not even know there was a flower there.
The red onions I planted were actually intended for the kitchen but although they all flowered for two consecutive years none got to the size they were supposed to be so although I did harvest a couple and use them it seemed pointless although at least the flowers were intriguing and quite beautiful so it was not a waste of time.
I was disappointed that the giant garlic did not grow much either. Some just grew huge leaves and then vanished. I think at least one was stolen by the seagulls with whom I have a running feud because of their malicious destructiveness. One more than one occasion when I heard sounds outside and went to check and found one up to no good the pestilent creature glared at me when I shouted at it It looked like it was challenging me too, before it decided I was beneath it and flew off very casually.
Notes:
- I am using the taxonomical classification system used by ITIS (Intergrated Taxonomic Information System). I have decided to use this system in order to avoid confusion as well as because it offers a comprehensive hierarchy from kingdom right through to subspecies whereas other sources only go as far as order or provide the names of some of the higher taxonomical ranks but only indicate "unclassified" rather than providing the rank.
- When and where possible I will endeavour to include alternatives classifications although I may limit this to occasions where an opportunity arises to discuss the reason for the different classifications.
- Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.
My other blogs
· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/
· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/
· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/
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