My garden isn't as nice as it has been in previous years. It got too hot this spring, and water has been a problem. And to tell you the truth, I have been neglecting it on purpose for the last year and a half or so because we were talking about moving. When the wall went up and they made a checkpoint on the only way out of our little area, my husband started talking about moving. My kids all thought it was a great idea, especially the older ones, so they wouldn't have to cross the checkpoint every day to go to school. My first reaction was to panic. I didn't want to leave my garden! I mourned my garden as if I had already lost it, planned which plants I would dig up and take with me if our new place had a yard, and which ones I could grow in pots if it didn't. I got used to the idea, I got comfortable with it, and then my husband decided we would stay. He decided we should stay right when I decided I wanted to go. My life feels very confined these days. I hate that checkpoint, I hate that wall. I only leave our little enclave once or twice a month. Anyway, I didn't plant any annuals this year, but there are still some perennials hanging on.
There are hollyhocks all over. They are hard to get rid of actually. They self-seed themselves, and they have a foot long taproot that is hard to pull up. They are beautiful, but I wish they would stop growing in weird places like in the crack between my front steps and the sidewalk.
I love how the light makes the petals glow.
The oleander bushes bloom prolificly.
The flowers are large and showy.
Even the mess they make on the sidewalk is kind of pretty.
We have several varieties of geraniums.
If (or rather when) they don't get enough water they lose their bottom leaves, but if I cut them back they grow right back.
I love this purple one. We add a leaf from it to freshly made lemonade. It gives it a wonderful taste.
These pretty bells are blooming now too, although this picture is from a couple years back. I have no idea what they are called, but the plant is a succulent and tolerates a dry soil.
I have exactly one carnation blooming now. They are not at all happy to tolerate the lack of water this year. That's an old picture again.
The only wild flowers that bloom at this time are thorny and dangerous looking.
That one is pretty weird, isn't it?
How did he get in here? This cat follows me all over the yard while I am taking pictures. But he is hard to get a clear picture of, since he is always moving.
There are hollyhocks all over. They are hard to get rid of actually. They self-seed themselves, and they have a foot long taproot that is hard to pull up. They are beautiful, but I wish they would stop growing in weird places like in the crack between my front steps and the sidewalk. 
I love how the light makes the petals glow.
The oleander bushes bloom prolificly. 
The flowers are large and showy.
Even the mess they make on the sidewalk is kind of pretty.
We have several varieties of geraniums.
If (or rather when) they don't get enough water they lose their bottom leaves, but if I cut them back they grow right back.
I love this purple one. We add a leaf from it to freshly made lemonade. It gives it a wonderful taste.
These pretty bells are blooming now too, although this picture is from a couple years back. I have no idea what they are called, but the plant is a succulent and tolerates a dry soil.
I have exactly one carnation blooming now. They are not at all happy to tolerate the lack of water this year. That's an old picture again.
The only wild flowers that bloom at this time are thorny and dangerous looking.
That one is pretty weird, isn't it?
How did he get in here? This cat follows me all over the yard while I am taking pictures. But he is hard to get a clear picture of, since he is always moving.
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7 comments:
What you put in your lemonade (citronella) is also nice in rice pudding. I kid you not. And, of course, it's a natural mosquito repellant. We have it growing out back, too!
Assalaamu 'alaikum
I have heard of it being used in pudding, but this is the first time I heard anyone call it citronella. I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it says that while this plant is sometimes called citronella plant, it is not true citronella, which is a grass like the lemon grass that is used in cooking. It also said that it is not an effective mosquito repellent, but I wish it were! I would plant them all over, because we have a huge mosquito problem in our house.
Wow! What beautiful pictures masha'Allah. Love the geraniums!
Thank you Umm Ibrahim, and thank you for all your other comments today too.
Salam... ur pictures are lovely... this is the first time I have come across your blog... and its very interesting to see the day to day life of someone living in Palestine. My heart is with you... and its lovely to see such colour blooming around you!
Hmm. It seemed to work for my son's room when we had the citronella plant outside of his window; hardly a bite did he get, while the rest of us were eaten up. Maybe it was just mind over matter.
I took pics today of those clock-shaped wild flowers. My kids and I went on an excursion (albeit in the car) and found them. Will post inshaAllah.
My mom-in-law calls that plant
"3outerah" and has always put it in her rice pudding. Gives the pudding a lemony flavor. I can do without it, but will eat it if I must. :)
Thank you for stopping by and ahalan wa sahalan! Glad you like my pictures. I finally found something to do with them besides fill up my hard drive. :-)
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