#Aster sedifolius ‘Nanus’

[kevinscottgardens]

27 septembre au 3 octobre 2021

Monday I started cutting back the Iris unguicularis (below: before the chop, right; after the chop, left). Matt and Will headed home around 9.30. It was great having them visit. I’m looking forward to playing more Catan this winter. James showed up around 10am and I spent the morning with him and Mme. Monday was Quinta book club, this time Fernando Pessoa was the author of choice.

Tuesday I continued cutting Iris then Alejandro showed up with a student so we had a good look around the garden and picked out a better spot for the future dry garden nursery, at the very top of the property. In the morning M. prompted me to speak with Adam to agree where I could put my nursery, as it is currently part of the potager.

Tuesday evening I joined James, Alejandro and Alek on a Zoom call to talk about seeding the prairie. I led the meeting with photos I’d taken throughout the year and Alejandro described how we seeded on the day. It went on for an hour and a half and it was so nice to talk about it and look back over the project.

Wednesday morning I asked Adam and he is happy for me to use the spot, and there are fantastic views of Nice up there. Later, Ronie helped me measure out the area and I will come up with a couple suggestions for a layout. I continued cutting back the Iris and then collected seeds after the sun dried every thing out. There’s been a lot of dew in the mornings, so I have to wait to collect.

Thursday I found the first Crocus in bloom. I continued cutting down the iris and then I spent a few hours blowing all the pine needles and other debris off the gravel and the paved areas around the house.

Friday I finished chopping down all the grass and iris that I want to; next week the general big chop will commence. I made a delicious red lentil stew for dinner and I made enough to enjoy it all weekend.

Saturday was beautiful so I had an early start in my garden. I did a bit of weeding my small veg patch, which has just a few more tomatoes and an abundance of chillies. Sara-Jane and Kahlil saw me as they were leaving the domain in the Fiat and asked if I’d like to go to the flea market with them. I said yes so after a quick change, we all headed to the flea market next to Antibes Land. SJ bought a lot as usual. I bought a book in French; I really must start putting in effort to learn the language. From there I walked to my hairdresser and then walked home. I had lunch with Ronie and Julietta; it was our last together for the season. 

I came home to tackle my meadow. I first strimmed the paths as low as possible. Then I went bed by bed and cut them to around 200mm. I went around the nicely flowering Gaura. That took over an hour. Then after a snack, I started raking up the cuttings. I started again with the paths. I only was able to get one bed raked before it was getting dark and the mosquitoes came out in force. The beds take a very long time because I’m trying to remove as much debris as possible. I want to give any flowers that may be there a chance to compete with the overwhelming grass.

Sunday I raked two more beds before it started raining. Ronie brought me a Pelargonium x fragrans in a broken pot. I repotted it and took the opportunity to take some cuttings to propagate it as well. I then started cleaning my house for Susie who is coming next week. I took a much needed hot bubble bath and turned in early.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

Je m'en fiche. - I don’t care.

Et alors ? - So what.

Je ne suis pas sûr. - I’m not sure.

Je ne sais pas. - I don’t know.

Quel est le problème? - What’s the problem?

Ce n'est pas important. - That’s not important.

Je suis pressé. - I’m in a hurry.

Dépêche-toi. - Hurry up.

Allons-y. - Let’s go.

J'arrive, J'y viens. - I’m coming

Plant of the week

Asteraceae Galatella sedifolia ‘Nanus’ (syn. Aster sedifolius ‘Nanus’)

subspecie(s) - Galatella sedifolia subsp. biflora (L.) Sennikov; Galatella sedifolia subsp. dracunculoides (Lam.) Greuter; Galatella sedifolia subsp. illyrica (Murb.) Greuter; Galatella sedifolia subsp. rigida (DC.) Greuter common name(s) - dwarf rhone aster synonym(s) - Aster acris L.; A. canus subsp. punctatus (Waldst. & Kit.) Soó; A. hyssopifolius L.; A. punctatus (Cass.) Parsa; A. punctatus Waldst. & Kit.; A. punctatus subsp. rossicus (Novopokr.) Soó; A. sedifolius L.; A. sedifolius f. sedifolius; A. sedifolius subsp. acris (L.) P.Fourn.; A. sedifolius subsp. sedifolius; A. sedifolius var. sedifolius; Galatea punctata (Waldst. & Kit.) Cass. ex Less.; G. hyssopifolia (L.) Nees; G. insculpta Nees; G. punctata (Waldst. & Kit.) Nees; G. punctata subsp. punctata; G. punctata var. punctata; G. rossica Novopokr. conservation rating - none native to - species is endemic from Europe to Iran location - Domaine de l’Orangerie leaves - lance-shaped, medium green flowers - flowers are slightly smaller than the species with ray flowers that are a darker blue habit - herbaceous perennial habitat - garden origin pests - generally pest-free disease - powdery mildew hardiness - to -10ºC (H4) soil - well-drained, moderately fertile; thrives in alkaline soil sun - full sun propagation - division pruning - cut down after flowering nomenclature - Asteraceae - aster - star; Galatella - perhaps refers to Galatia in central Anatolia; sedifolius - with leaves resembling Sedum

References :

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [30 Sep 21]

Missouri Botanical Garden [online] https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=256523&isprofile=0& [1 Oct 21]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:70029022-1 [30 Sep 21]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/340673/galatella-sedifolia/details [1 Oct 21]

Shoot Gardening [online] https://www.shootgardening.co.uk/plant/galatella-sedifolia-nana [1 Oct 21]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galatella_sedifolia [1 Oct 21]

Ibid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galata [1 Oct 21]

World Flora Online [online] http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000027814 [30 Sep 21]

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