MOSAIC URN.

This is the latest project that D has started and it's going to take some time. The tiles for the black swirls are tiny and he needs hundreds of them.




Here is the start of it, with the larger tiles in copper mirror in a single fluid line on either side of the urn. To break up the black swirls, we decided some ordinary mirror tiles will accentuate the design.
I'll do some updates as this progresses.

Meanwhile, it's gung-ho in the garden again as we've had regular rain and sun. The black fly have appeared in their hordes and settled on the apricot and nectarine tree trunks. Now if only I could encourage the chameleons over there they could have a banquet - a real good blow out, so much so they'd probably fall off the tree!

PALM TREE.

As promised, here is a good example of the artistry that goes into the trunks of palm trees. This one is about 8M high in the courtyard of a hotel where we go quizzing every fortnight.


It looks to me as if it's hand-sanded when the coir is removed from the grooves. I wonder if the age of the tree can be deduced from the rows of grooves, rather like the rings in other tree trunks.

PLANT IDENTIFICATION - help please.




This deep red leafed plant says "Euphorb Cotin" on the pot with no other instructions. Cannot find it anywhere. Euphorbias all look like succulents or cacti. This has a slender stem.

This is a close up of the leaves, which fan out into a kind of coronet, rather like poinsettia and minute cream flower in the middle.




Any ideas anyone. Click on pics for close-ups.

VOLCANIC GRAVEL.

We planted a palm tree 5 years ago in a block surround raised bed. The palms need regular trimming and the more you trim, the higher they grow.



This is the same tree last October and see how the osteospurmum was getting squashed and tatty.
Here's the palm a year before.

Recently we dug out the osteospurmum, removed the blocks and gave the palm a real good trim to properly reveal the patterns in the trunk. Today we placed the volcanic gravel round its base. It's supposed to retain moisture and provide nutrients, so most of the herbs grown in pots are now round the palm.....let's see how they do.

Caring for the palm tree trunks is a work of art here. When the exposed wood is mature enough it's trimmed back further, all the fibrous matter is dug out and the trunk sanded down to provide a smooth finish. They look really beautiful and I will look around the area and find a good example and post a picture here.

CAT MOSAIC POT.

Here is the recently-finished pot for our friend - a real girlie-girl, hence the pinks, lavendar and blue colours. The grout was a bit of a problem so in keeping with the colour theme, we used white with a blue dye. El jefe prefers doing abstract designs and found the cat extremely difficult. I've looked at many mosaics featuring animals and although they are good representations of the animal, it seems difficult to capture their individuality.

This pot is dedicated to Dermot (Dermy) a Burman, who has a shout like no other. He's getting old now and weak on his back legs but he lives in the lap of luxury with his own room, all his toys around him, steps up to the bed and we all hope he lives to an ever riper old age.....he is such a character.



VIVA DERMY.

BOLD LITTLE FROGGIE....

We'd rolled up the awning to give the patio plants a shower after the dusty wind (didn't do a good job by the look of it) and I went out later to have a chat with the bourganvillea. Look what I found sitting on a stephanotis leaf. Both plants are winding themselves around a bamboo pole.


Here he is in context
and again.....
We've had some lovely showers today and all the flowers, fruit and veg are standing up straight.

Would you believe it - I've not only got a handle on the date, but I'm a day
early for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. There's so much blooming at the moment, I thought I'd do a slide show for you. Enjoy.....

HOOPOE.

What a thrill.....I was just on my way out, early morning shopping in the car, and this little chap/ess was strutting along the unmade road at the bottom of the lane. I didn't dare get out of the car in case s/he vanished so got off a couple of quick snaps. So sorry, the quality is poor but you get the idea of this beautiful bird with the funny little crest on top.




The chameleon made an appearance too this week, plus little green frogs, lizards and centipedes. The snails are ever present, so the ducks can have a daily banquet and rush to the fence when they hear my voice. It doesn't seem to deter them that I'm speaking in English! Food is food, right!

There's not much going on in our garden that might be of interest to others, hence the silence here for a while. It's one long round of watering, weeding, dead heading and trimming up the palms.

El jefe has started his new mosaic work, about which I'll post when it's further along.