Friday, February 23, 2007

Spring Has Almost Sprung in Trastevere

My other Roman cat, Pavel, was jealous that Betsy got all the attention yesterday, so he wanted to show you his private jungle of cat grass on the roof. Speaking of which, remember when Finny did a complete overhaul of my rooftop? That was back in October. Well, I am happy to report that I have managed to keep *almost* everything alive. Just the two plants that needed hand-watering went to that big greenhouse in the sky. (Sorry! Shame on me.)

Well, I'm sure you've been hearing about Europe's unseasonably warm temps this year, and next-to-no snow. Some bulbs that Finny advised me to just bury in the soil and forget about are already making their appearance. I'd say it's just about starting to feel like spring around here. So I now invite you to sit back and enjoy some shots taken during this afternoon's sunset (chilled glass of white wine helpful, but not necessary):

No, we still haven't picked them for the limoncello. It's on our list of things to do ASAP, maybe even this evening. Remember when they were green?

I love lavender, which we planted in nearly every basket (here in the foreground) and this rosemary plant (thanks, Ash, you're the best!) has just started to bloom with little purple flowers.

A newborn bulb making its way up in the world.

I can't wait until this one is fully in bloom...the scent is heavenly!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It`s gorgeous, all of it. I`m so jealous of the weather, the lemons and last but not least, the cool cat!

First time visiting.

Annika said...

Oh the photos are so beautiful!! I'm so jealous, as you can see on my latest photos we're far from spring here...

Anonymous said...

Lovely photos! Especially the lemons! But ... that's a rosemary, not a lavender from what I can see. Break off a few leaves to be certain.

Shelley - At Home in Rome said...

Grazie! And Ash, thanks for the tip, see how my complete lack of green thumb-ness is showing? I've made the clarification and given credit where credit is due! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Ciao Shelley,
you continue to amaze and enlighten me with your discoveries and talents.

When are you going to talk about the confetti per il tuo matrimonio?
Time is getting close!!

Anonymous said...

It's a pleasure! Maybe someday I'll visit Rome and come and see your garden for real :)

erin said...

beautiful!!!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

molto gelosa. What a view!

Michellanea said...

What a difference a few hundred miles makes! Our lemon tree has been camped out in the living room since November-ish, and I think it's still too cold to put out on the balcony. And it's definitely nowhere near blooming. Gorgeous view.

Jeff Gromen said...

a01I see your lemon tree doesn't have a lot of leaves on it either. I was worried about mine being thin but it must be normal this time of year. I can't wait until mine is big enough to produce 15-20 lemons and I can make limoncello. I got about 6 or 7 small lemons this year. I also love the cat in the cat gass. I should get some growing for Nello and Mara. I may come up to Rome for a random weekend in March.

Jeff

Shelley - At Home in Rome said...

Carole: Soon, soon!

Ash: Open invitation! Keep an eye on Ryan Air flights and you could come out for a weekend.

Chris & Erin: Grazie!

NYC: Could be you someday... ;-) Looking forward to meeting you this week.

Michellanea: That's great that you brought the tree in from the cold though... I have no doubt if I lived up north I wouldn't be able to keep anything alive. I'm really awful with plants.

Jeff: You definitely have to make limoncello with your own lemons, you will be amazed at the difference in how good it comes out compared to stuff you can buy. If you're in Rome in March let me know, the last weekend will be a bit busy with this whole wedding business ;-) Other weekends we'll be around! Put some pics of your cats on your blog one of these days...

FinnyKnits said...

LOOK AT THAT GARDEN!!! What a great job you're doing :) I have an idea about how to keep your hand-watered plants alive without you having to hand water them all the time. We'll chat...

Pavel looks so handsome in his grass :)