Gardening – Deborah Makarios

November 7, 2026November 7, 2026

Floral Senescence, the State, and the Ond of the Alphabet

A bright orangey rose just beginning to unfurl, against a background of blurry green foliage.

The season of roses continues with the Westerland finally chipping in. As mentioned in my last post, its ambitions have lain more in the direction of elongated stems than flowers, but as it has topped the latest elongated stem with approximately 20 buds, that may be about to change. In the meantime, here is a bloom on a stem which didn’t get the skyscraper memo.

Interesting Times

Those born into slavery are seldom free to make their mark on history (except sometimes in bloody revolts, as with Spartacus or Toussaint L’Ouverture). An exception is Marcus Tullius Tiro – better known as Tiro, since the Marcus Tullius bit came from the man who owned and then freed him, Marcus Tullius Cicero (better known as Cicero, since it’s shorter and easier to remember).

Continue & Comment

October 24, 2026October 24, 2026

Mortal Monarchs, Deep Secrets, and Missing Letters

A dark red rose bud just beginning to open, against a blurry background of various shades of green.

The Deep Secrets are beginning to open, thus continuing the accidental bloom succession begun by the kōwhai and continued by the crabapple. The Blue Moon is close behind (the buds are swelling but not quite open yet) and the Westerland has decided once again to concentrate on producing one very very tall stem to the exclusion of flowers. So far.

Interesting Times

For some reason, English uses the letters t and h next to each other to express the consonant that begins the word thorn. But it was not always so. We used to have a letter for that sound, and it was called…thorn. It looked like this: Þ
For some reason (which may or may not be the same reason) we use the same digraph (th) to express the sound which begins the word then. But it was not always so. We used to have a letter for that sound, and it was called…eth. It looked like this: ð and it was for some reason pronounced eÞ, not eð.

Continue & Comment

October 17, 2026October 17, 2026

Buried Treasure, Blunt Instrument, and Rodents of Unusual Size

A very muddy concrete trough approximately 25 by 25 by 100cm, lying among green grass and weeds, with a somewhat muddy trowel in it, leaning against one corner.

Behold my buried treasure! While preparing for the demolition of a derelict shed, I found a corner of something concrete in the ground nearby. Hoping very much it wasn’t more concrete slab to need demolishing, I dug (with trowel, shown above for scale) and behold! it was a concrete trough, which last saw the light of day…sometime between 10 and 80 years ago. Having extricated it (with aforementioned trowel, spade, and crowbar) I plan to transfer it to the front garden and use it as a combination planter and miniature retaining wall.

Interesting Times

Edward II died in 1327 in a Most Unpleasant Way – or did he? The history books state that he died at Berkeley Castle on the 21st of September. His son started spreading the news two days later, having received a letter from Thomas de Berkeley (baron of Berkeley Castle) which, in Parliament three years later, the said Thomas de Berkeley denied ever sending. Whether Edward II died or not, then or not, there or not, a red hot poker was almost certainly not involved.

Continue & Comment