Well, gardeners, if we ever had a doubt whether winter was here to stay, last week's storm made it clear to us, didn't it! I guess one good thing about all that snow; our perennials all have a great winter blanket now!
But let's you and I leave the snow and cold behind, and take a quick trip to Barcelona, Spain; another stop on our recent holiday. What a beautiful city! In spite of being very large city (1.6 million people), and being a very busy city with intense traffic, Barcelona has many green spaces and parks. The weather was perfect when we were there, about 22 degrees, and it was wonderful to stroll along and enjoy the palms and beautiful trees that grew on the boulevards.
While we are lucky enough to enjoy nature at every turn, and wide open spaces almost right outside our doorsteps, the people in Barcelona don't have that luxury, and that is why parks, tree, and green spaces are very special.
Let's make our first stop Las Ramblas, the most popular street in Barcelona. Las Ramblas is really a series of streets that meet on one large, wide, tree-lined boulevard. This is the street where people go to shop, to stroll, to visit, to sit at the cafes, to see and be seen. Though it is crowded with people, it is still beautiful, with plantings of large palms, areas of lush green lawns, sparkling fountains, and all kinds of statues. Palms were the most prevalent trees that I noticed, as well as a compact-growing tree with beautiful mottled bark like eucalyptus, but leaves that were the shape of a maple leaf. I was sorry that I never found out what they were. Some leaves seemed to have turned brown and were on the ground, but the trees didn't look like our autumn trees at all. There were planters along the sidewalk, and guess what they contained? Little bright yellow marigolds! It was very comforting to be so far away from home and yet see a flower that we know so well! The plants were loaded with blooms, so I am assuming that even though it was fall, the growing season was far from over.
Hungry yet? After all our strolling in the dappled shade of Las Ramblas, let's stop for tapas. Tapas means "little plates", and the many tapas restaurants downtown offer a wide choice of all kinds of snacks. Though the restaurant may be on one side of the street or the other, they also have tables set up under the trees on the boulevard in the middle of the street, so that guests can enjoy the outdoors. Our favorite tapas was patatas bravas: cubed, fried potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce. It was delicious, and reminded me of home and the yummy produce that we enjoy from our gardens! Obviously, the Spaniards also enjoy their tomatoes and potatoes, because some variation of this dish seemed to be on different tapas menus. I guess comfort food is comfort food, no matter where you are!
So there we were, thousands of miles from home, and enjoying the sight of cheery marigolds, and the taste of potatoes and tomatoes! It made me think that somewhere near the city, there were gardeners just like us, growing and enjoying their gardens! It would have been fun to meet with them and talk about our gardens. Maybe next time!
Members of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society are reminded that the Annual General Meeting is on Wednesday, November 28 at St. Gerard's Parish Complex. This is a members only meeting, with meeting, banquet, silent auction, and presentation by Ed Sek on Mexico. For more information, please call Liz at 782-2830.
That's it for this time; stay warm and cozy and have a great week!
