I have an itch to paint!

Flowers upon the wall?

That could be an idea!

Lily at Baby Taj

You know I love painting as well as gardening. I showed you one’s my “Topiary upon the wall” painting I have done in one of our rooms and after the trip to India I’m so inspired to do some more painting!... perhaps a “flowers upon the wall” room. This is one of the places in India that truly put some ideas into my head. Look at this.

Itmad-Ud-Daulah - It has the nickname BABY TAJ – much more easy to say.

Shoes are not allowed so you have to wear special slippers

Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb is a Mughal mausoleum in the city of Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Often described as a 'jewel box'. the tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daulah is often regarded as a sketch of the Taj Mahal. I love this place it is so beautiful and the morning I was there we were alone there, so peaceful.
Along with the main building, the structure consists of numerous smaller buildings and beautiful gardens. The whole place has a most fascinating water system I can’t describe it now but it takes care of all the rainwater in a “canal system”. The tomb was built between 1622 and 1628. Commissioned by Nur Jahan for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg who had been given the title Itmad-Ud-Daulah meaning “pillar of state”.

On this picture you can see some of the water canal that I mentioned above, though dry now.

Itmad-Ud-Daulah’s walls are made in white marble from Rajasthan, and the walls are covered with semi-precious stone decorations - Onyx, Cornelian, Jasper, Lapis Lazuli and Topaz in wonderful patterns and images of flowers, trees and other decors like fruit or vases containing flower arrangements. Light to the interior passes through delicate Jali screens of exquisitely carved in white marble. Like laces in marble it is so beautiful. I don’t know how they manage to do it. I think the jali is typical for Arabic architecture as well, I've seen similar jalis in Alhambra, Spain.

Almost 400 years old, semi-precious stone decorations.

What do you think, shall I have a go? Lilies and Papaver upon the wall, I dont know what the "tree" is but it's pretty.

TYRA

Are you potty?

My babies are all over the place!

Seeds, soil, seedlings and pots, pots, pots everywhere. Now is the time of the year that I occupy most of the windowsills in our house and the veranda I place an extra table for all my babies. This year I have promised my self to take it easy……and that promise is so dreadfully hard to keep. In this cold climate you simply have to start early indoors with vegetables like chillies, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, physalis etcetera. My favourite flowers in my vegetable garden are the Zinnia, Dahlia and Calendula and of those are the Zinnias the only ones I have to sow indoors. Sometimes I test out seeds from my own Dahlias and then I have to sow then indoors as well.

Calendula photo: Odla.nu

I found for me a new sort of Calendula Officinalis, ‘Triangle Flashback’ height 60 cm, pink and yellow, very exciting to see how that one will turn out.

Have I nice weekend.

Potty TYRA!

Flowers of India - The Lotus Flower

The biggest flower in India and probably in the world! I stumbled on this magnificent Lotus flower in New Delhi. It is The Bahá'í House of Worship. Isn't it fantastic?

Built in 1986, 40 meters tall and it is capable to hold 2,500 people. It's number of visitors per year 4,5 million or 13 000 everyday!

More about the Bahá'í religion below.

The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.

TYRA

I'm back!

Fascinated, dead beat and 6 pounds less of me I’m back after a journey to India.
What a country! 1 billion people and it feels like I met at least half of them. This was my first time in India and I hope I will be able to go back, there is so much to discover.

Delhi India

Taj Mahal Agra India

Whenever I go abroad I always look up the botanical gardens, this time was an exception, the nearest I came to a botanical garden was at Taj Mahal, Agra. They had a Tree of India Garden. Not a lot of people there and a shady and cool place to walk through, very nice.

I really enjoy "world music" and India has so much interesting music, fascinating instruments songs and dancers. I had the benefit to go to a traditional music and dance performance in The Amber Palace in Jaipur, I also went to the Cinema in Jaipur and watch a movie in Hindi! In Jaipur I also had the pleasure to attend a Hindu wedding. Most fascinating, all those absolutely gorgeous women in their saris, young as old they were all stunning, I felt very pale!

I still feel pale and weak, trying to recover from whatever I brought with me from India, this is the first day by the computer.... and it's nice to be back!

TYRA

Potager in Africa

If you’re interested in growing your own veggies look at these absolutely wonderful pictures from Louis. The picture are taken in Koudougou and that is in Burkina Faso. I just love these pictures with beautiful people and there Potager, there enthusiasm really shows. I wish I could be there and share the joy. Meet Marie Thérèse, Marie Riene, Innocent, Yannick, Ousmane and Sylvain and there work in the garden in Koudougou.

Look at this magnificant Potager. Un jardin exemplaire!

This is the potager of Marie Thérèse and Innocent. It doesn't look very green just now but the fence looks great. Le potager de Marie Thérèse et d'Innocent

Time to plant the small seedlings in shallow holes.

Houses in Koudougou and I think it is maize growing there.
Proud gardeners

The nursery, la pépinière reçoit toute l'attention qu'elle a besoin.

Le potager...une histoire de famille: la mère d'Innocent et de Marie Reine donne un coup de main!
Marie Riene is looking after the small seedlings.

Thank you Louis!

Have a wonderful day, TYRA

Vaccinium mytillus - Superfruit

Vaccinium mytillus a Superfruit

Blueberry is not the same as the Swedish Blåbär but they are closely related. The wild Bilberry Vaccinium mytillus is the same as Blåbär and it is a low-growing shrub and the wild or cultivated Blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum is a much taller shrub. I took this picture in the woods near my summerhouse, do you know I read somewhere that there are 250 miljon kilos of wild blueberries, bilberries in the Swedish woods each year and only 7% är picked and the rest are left for food to the wild animals or just fall to the ground.

Bilberry, blåbär or blueberry, these close relatives are all very rich in vitamins, antioxidants and minerals they are real Superfruits or perhaps we shall call them Superberries.
We ought to eat a lot of them – they are good for the hole body/system but perhaps mostly for our sight/eyes. It says to the hold back the degenerative diseases of the retina, AMD (age- related macula degeneration) and to give you better night vision and we all need that.

As always the best thing is to eat them fresh and they are so delicious as they are but here are two recipes with blueberries/bilberries.

Blueberry pie

Blueberries/bilberries 6 – 8 dl (about 25 oz)
Sugar 1 dl (3,5 oz)
Flour 2 tablespoons

Roll the berries in sugar and flour blend well and put them in a pie dish

For the dough:
Butter 100gr (3,5 ounces)
Sugar ½ dl
Flour 2 dl (7 oz)

Melt the butter I a saucepan and stir in the sugar and flour. Cover the berries and bake in 200 degrees for 30 minutes. Picture from Systembolaget

The next recipe is a Blueberry Jam with Apples and Cinnamon

1 liter blueberries, 3 apples, 6 dl. sugar with pectin and a cinnamon stick. Peel the apples and cut them into small pieces, add a small amount of water and bring to boil together with the cinnamon stick, stir well and boil until soft, mash the apples and then add the blueberries, boil an additional 5 min. add sugar (after taste) and boil 1 minute. Leave the Jam to rest for a while and then pure them into clean jars. This jam doesn't contain any preservatives so keep it refrigerated.

Now I'm hungry after writing down those recipes....I think I have to get a snack, perhaps a Blueberry smoothie.....

Tyra

Recycling an Old Dead Tulip

This very mature tulip has certainly seen it's best day's. Sometimes I like dead flowers especially tulips they really ages gracefully. This morning I took a picture of this very, very old dead flower (I think it's from last year) :-) Recycled tulip - I added some light, color and ops.... Revived!
This is even more colorful version - 'Tulipa colorfullus vulgare'
Have a nice week/ Tyra

Topiary - Thai style

A few years ago I visited Thailand and on my way down to Koh Chang (Elephant Island) I met these wonderful Topiary Elehpants at Trat Airport. Aren't they cute? And the shuttle too, look at that absolutely wonderful decorative painting of the shuttle.

Topiary the art of creating a sculpture of a plant More Topiary in Tyra's Garden

Colourful shuttle at Trat Airport in the province Trat, Thailand

Topiary elephants saluting all visitors.

Decorative topiary elephant and look even the airplanes are colorful and decorative....amazing

Love to here from you/ Tyra

Trädgårdsskribenten Lena Israelsson

One Saturday last summer I got a visit from a person I really do admire a lot. It was the famous Swedish authoress Lena Israelsson. She contacted me one day about a visit to my garden, Tyra's Garden, overwhelmed with joy I said yes of course. She came on a sunny morning and we had a great time. Photos were taken of my garden, she made an interview and she was very kind to sign and write something in my books. She told me about here latest project the book called 'Monastery Gardens' (direct translated) so extremely exiting, what a day! Thank you!

Interior, the Greenhouse in Tyras Garden

En lördag i somras fick jag ett fint besök i trädgården, det var inte en ny spännande fågel inte heller någon exotisk fjäril nej det var Lena Israelsson. Min 'trädgårds guru', jag har alltid gillat Lenas böcker, speciellt Jordens Täppor. Men Lena har skrivit många fler böcker, exempelvis Odla Orientaliskt, Cityodling och Köksträdgården. Köksträdgården är en bibel för oss som gillar grönsaksodling.

Lena kontaktade mej och ville komma och besöka min trädgård, Tyras Trädgård. Jag blev överlycklig och en lördag kom hon min stora trädgårdidol. Vi hade jättetrevligt tillsammans, Lena fotograferade min trädgård, gjorde en intervju och hon berättade om sitt pågående projekt och det var Klosterträdgårdar som inom kort finns i handeln. Så här skriver förlaget om den.

Klosterträdgårdar - Trädgårdsskribenten Lena Israelsson har förverkligat sitt drömprojekt: en bok om klosterträdgårdar och om de munkar och nunnor som passionerat och uppfi nningsrikt för en unik odlingstradition vidare.För 500 år sedan var klosterväsendet motorn inom trädgårdsarkitektur, botanik och örtlära. Men hur ser det ut innanför murarna idag? Odlar man med samma skicklighet och lust? För att stilla sin nyfikenhet besökte Lena Israelsson ett tjugotal kloster i Sverige och utomlands, från Sankt Antoniusklostret i Egyptens öken till det välbärgade Valamo i Ryssland och broder Birgers dynamitodling i Östanbäck. Överallt släpptes hon generöst in i trädgårdar och täppor som annars är hermetiskt tillslutna.Klosterträdgårdar är en oemotståndlig blandning av kulturhistoria och inspirerande trädgårdsbok, försedd med mängder av förföriskt vackra foton. Boken avslutas med tips för den som själv vill besöka eller kanske till och med bo några nätter på kloster.

Have a nice Weekend TYRA

Skriv en rad!

New Years Concert, Ivanhoe and a slight hangover

The same procedure as last year! I celebrate the 1st of January 'comme d'habitude'.

A concert, a good movie and a slight hangover!

New Years Concert in Vienna

Maestro George Pretre 2008

The 2008 New Year's Day Concert, conducted by the eminent conductor Georges Prêtre for the first time. What an honour, Prêtre is the first Frenchman that concucts th New Year Concert. Maestro Prêtre has a special association with the Wiener Philharmoniker dating back to 1966. He became Honorary Member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna - the highest decoration an artist can obtain in Vienna. The concert programme for 1st January 2008 will be the customary cornucopia of Strauss delights, but this time with a French theme.

The ballet ensemble, Vienna 2008

För baletten och kostymerna svarar Nicolas Musin. I en direktsändning från Musikverein skickar Wienfilharmonikerna traditionsenliga och välklingande nyårshälsningar. Dirigent är Georges Pretre.

Afternoon Movie:

Ivanhoe from 1982 with one of my favorite actor Sam Neill, Sam plays 'Brian Guilbert'....very nice. James Mason as 'Isaac of York' and Anthony Andrews as 'Ivanhoe'. Perfect movie on the New Years Day. I think this is the best version though the one that was made 30 years earlier, 1952 with Elisabeth Taylor and Robert Taylor isn't bad either.


Elisabeth Taylor and Robert Taylor.

Roger Moore
and then we have the jerk.....sorry Roger!

Gott Nytt År! Happy New Year!

TYRA