Festive and Green

Fun times at Lake Bled

Fun times with friends (thanks for the photo, Clare) and a festive Slovenia made for a very special time when we visited recently. As you can see Bled was both festive and green, and being a garden blogger it's natural that I should celebrate both with this post about my travels there.

Let's see what I found...

Christmas lights looking towards the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation

We loved the Christmas lights in Ljubljana, with each street having its own theme. One had musical notes to accompany the classical music being played there; another had planets, comets and galaxies which made the crowd go 'Oooh!' when they were switched on in the early evening.

The pictured street was more intriguing, with it's double DNA helix, a sperm, a nucleus, and a female egg. Too bad we found out just a few hours before we were to leave that there's a guided walk around the lights, which reveals the artist Zmago Modic's intentions. I'm speculating that as a Catholic country, this represents the immaculate conception.

There are lots of different walking tours around Ljubljana - more than one a day for the length of your stay, no matter what time of the year you visit.

St Nicholas parades through the crowds in Ljubljana

Ljubljana also has lots of free festive events, from the lights switch on at the end of November to the fireworks from the castle which see in the New Year. We were there for the St Nicholas parade - like many European countries, St Nicholas is a key figure in the festive season, who brings presents on the eve of December 5th to children who've been good, and objects such as coal to those who've been bad. I used to work with a Dutch lady who insisted we leave a shoe out on December 5th, for us to find it stuffed with sweets and a small gift when we went into work on the 6th.

The angels ready to hand out their gifts

Ljubljana's St Nicholas parade is very dramatic with explosive fire at first followed by red devils rattling their chains at you and screaming in your face - a good way of keeping a pathway clear for the man of the moment! After St Nicholas's float are the angels who distribute sweets, biscuits and fruit to the crowds. The Slovenian language is unlike any other I know, but there was no mistaking St Nicholas asking the children if they've been good and the 'Daaaaaaa!' they yelled in response.

Decorative gourds

There are Christmas markets to explore in the traffic-free city centre (not as vast as those of e.g. Bath or Bristol, but more charming) with plenty of mulled wine and hot gin for winter warmth. The plentiful street bars often have heaters or fires to huddle around too, plus blankets and rugs to keep everyone toasty. It means everyone spills out onto the streets to have fun no matter how cold it is, and there's a most convivial atmosphere. The street stalls are decorated too and I particularly liked the pictured gourds.

A cafe's window dressing in Ljubljana

There's also plenty of stylish greenery adorning windows and doors...

Mistletoe adorned with festive lights

... and lots of mistletoe.

Lots of mistletoe for sale at the market in Ljubljana

Unlike the UK, mistletoe is sold on the market in whole 'balls' as you would see them on the tree. Judging from the trees we saw around the castle, there is still plenty of mistletoe left 'in the wild'

A collage of festive greenery, flowers and berries

There are also traditional wreaths like those we know and love for sale on the market, but I liked these more unusual variations, especially those being made on the spot using strawflowers.

Raw milk for sale in a vending machine - over 70 of these outlets available across Slovenia

The market had other surprises, such as this vending machine for raw milk. On our fab guided walk we were told the milk is supplied by local farmers. A friend told me this week a similar local scheme may become available in Dorset soon, subject to it passing food hygiene standards.

An attractive recycling area in a shop/cafe in Bled

We can learn a lot from the Slovenians about recycling, where it's enshrined in law and residents can be fined for not doing so. I liked this arrangement I saw in Bled, where the food clearance and recycling areas have been made to look attractive with a simple green wall of planters.

I can't wait to go back and explore the green spaces and gardens when they're at their finest, especially Ljubljana's botanic garden which contains examples of most of the 1,500 species that are endemic to this small country. That's a mind boggling number when you consider that's close to the total number of species which make up the native flora of the UK. The total Slovenian flora is around 3 times greater than our own.

In the meantime I'll leave you with some more of the festive lights and decorations to celebrate the season.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Festive lights and decorations collage from Ljubljana and Bled


You may also like:

  • My original postcard post which shows wonderful Lake Bled
  • A Friday Bench or two - also from Lake Bled
  • A Rhea roaming the streets of Ljubljana - a common sight on Fridays apparently
Dusk view of Ljubljana from the Skyscraper

Comments

  1. gz21 December 2019 at 18:16

    Wonderful and beautiful. A trip worth doing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP22 December 2019 at 12:17

      Most definitely! My friend who organised the trip went there in the summer and couldn't wait to go back again with three of us in tow this time :)

      Delete
    2. VP24 December 2019 at 09:55

      Lovely to see lots of friends here in the UK and USA are thinking about Slovenia for a holiday after seeing my photos on social media. I'm still smiling from our trip :)

      Delete
  2. Thinking of the days22 December 2019 at 07:59

    Going to Slovenia is on my wish list, as I've beeen very impressed by their wine. Looks as if a summer and winter visit is needed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP22 December 2019 at 12:20

      Oh yes, the wine is amazing! We went by the waiter's recommendation, white for me and red for another of us and each recommendation was wonderful. The local food and cake are excellent too, as was the local cider I tried. It's worth trying the local beers as well and the foodie tours! Summer AND winter visits won't disappoint :)

      Delete
  3. Anna24 December 2019 at 13:26

    Slovenia looks a most appealing destination VP. Wishing you and NAH a Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP26 December 2019 at 11:04

      Thanks Anna, and you too! I think you'd love Slovenia - perhaps a road trip destination for your camper van?

      Delete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

Comments aiming to link back and give credence to commercial websites will be composted!

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter,
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi
Read more