This photo sums up the week nicely - a lot of raking. I’m not convinced that I won’t go over it again with a motoculture to try to get a better tilth and rake it all over again. It needs to be sown by Wednesday next week. I also did more pruning and weeding. I also did some much needed editing of overly successful planting. My left arm is still hurting quite a bit though this needs to be done.
Thursday the first peony bloomed.
Friday, on my walk to my masseur, I came across this building in Antibes. I’d love to see what’s behind that blue door and how this tiny space is used.
My amazing masseur also does cupping therapy which pulls blood into muscles. The darker the circles afterwards, and how quickly they disappear, indicates how much they need it. It feels like I’m a marionette when all those suction cups are pulling my skin.
Alek, my predecessor, and his girlfriend Monica flew in from Barcelona Friday and we met up in Antibes after my massage. We invited Sarah-Jane and Kahlil down for apéros. Monica made a delicious pasta dinner.
Saturday morning we headed to Cap d’Antibes and jumped into the sea. It was bitterly cold. Alek showed me some interesting plants that I had previous not seen, as I usually come from the opposite direction, so they were behind me. There is a botanic garden at the top of the escarpment, so this Cyclamen persicum (?) may have escaped from there.
After the swim, we treated ourselves to some delicious pastries then did a bit of shopping before returning to the domaine. Alek prepared a delicious minestrone soup for lunch. We then did a tour of the garden. Alek approved of how I’ve been caring for it, which was a nice complement and a huge relief.
In the evening we headed to Bar-sur-Loup for dinner at Helena and James’ new place. Alejandro returned from Uruguay earlier in the day, and Vincent joined us too. It was a fun evening.
Sunday, after breakfast, we went on a nice long circular hike from Bar-sur-Loup to Gourdon and continued around, back to the house. It was so nice to be able to walk out their front door and just go on a really nice hike. We followed the Chemin du Paradis for a lot of the way.
We spent most of the day on the hike. It was a really nice way to spend a day with friends.
Cours de français hebdomadaire
Lamiaceae Leonotis leonurus (L.) R.Br.
common name(s) - lion's tail, lion’s tooth, lion’s ear; wild dagga
synonym(s) - Hemisodon leonurus (L.) Raf.; Leonurus africanus Mill.; Leonurus grandiflorus Moench; Leonurus superbus Medik.; Phlomis leonurus L.; Phlomis speciosa Salisb.
conservation rating - none
native to - South Africa
location - Domaine de l’Orangerie
leaves - semi-evergreen, medium-dark green 50mm to 100mm long, aromatic when crushed; branching from a thick woody base
flowers - tubular orange in tiered whorls, typical to the mint family, that encircle the square stems; they rise above the foliage mass during the summer season, with flowering continuing into winter in warmer climates; the mainly orange to orange-red colour and tubular shape are indicative of its co-evolution with African sunbirds, which have curved bills suited to feeding from tubular flowers
fruit - nutlets, brown, distal surface conspicuously oblique, glandular and without distant delimitation against the two ventral sides
habit - broadleaf, semi-evergreen, large shrub to 2m tall and 1m wide
habitat - damp grasslands of southern Africa; locally common at forest margins, often on river banks, on rocky hillsides or in tall grassland; mesic grasslands
pests - generally pest-free outdoors
disease - generally pest-free outdoors
hardiness - to 1ºC (H2)
soil - well-drained chalk, loam or sandy
sun - full sun
propagation - seed, greenwood cuttings in late spring or summer
pruning - diseased, damaged or dead shoots
nomenclature - Lamiaceae - gullet, the name in Pliny refers to the gaping mouth of the corolla; Leonotis - lion’s-ear; leonurus - lion’s-tail
NB - main active component marrubiin has both antioxidant and cardioprotective properties and has shown to significantly improve myocardial function; leaves, roots and bark are used as an emetic for snakebites, bee and scorpion stings; dried leaves and flowers have a mild calming effect when smoked; the effects have been noted to be similar to the cannabinoid THC found in Cannabis, except that it has a much less potent high; has also been reported to cause mild euphoria, visual changes, dizziness, nausea, sweating, sedation and lightheadedness; sometimes used as a Cannabis substitute by recreational users as an alternative to illegal psychoactive plants
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 [13 Mar 22]
Plants of the World [online] https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:449133-1 [13 Mar 22]
Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/41821/leonotis-leonurus/details [13 Mar 22]
Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonotis_leonurus [13 Mar 22]
World Flora Online [online] http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000224580 [13 Mar 22]
SARS-CoVid-2 update (incidence rate per 100,000)