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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Khartoum Garden

When I look through my blog posts about life in Khartoum, I see many titles: Khartoum Cats, Khartoum Laundry Services, Khartoum, Jo and the Dentist, Khartoum - oh I'm sure you get the picture! If you would like to see what I've done in Khartoum over the last year (I arrived here in August 2009), please look at the labels Life in North Africa - Local. However, this is the first time I have posted under the title of Khartoum Garden.

We've been back in Khartoum three weeks today. Of course, nostalgia for our family,  friends, pets  and garden in South Africa has set in.  I decided to plant a garden here in the flat to combat the feeling!

Well, I have a garden in Khartoum now and here it is...
Ten days ago I planted birdseed in pots and placed them near the window on the first landing going downstairs to the exit of our flat. Within two days the first seeds sprouted and now I have a whole pot of birdseed "grasses" . Note garden assistant in the corner!


Guess who is benefitting from fresh greens from the garden, every day?




As my garden chores take up so little time, I played around with photographing the birdseed. This is a Supersized Macro shot
  
My garden in Sepia...

and in Black and White!




How much is that Kitty in the window?


Bertram the Bull smelling the flowers instead of fighting the Matador? I do apologize: this is ANOTHER post with Shadow in the photos. But as he is my shadow (hence his name) he is with me as I sleep, eat, cook, blog, "garden" and take photos.

The Arabic for birdseed is aţ-Ţywr al-Bdhwr.

PS Thanks to all who visited my blog yesterday and wished said cat above well. He seems to be back to his old self today and should soon terrorise poor Shaun, the Sheep (who's had two days' peace) again!

20 comments:

  1. Your homes are truly in two different worlds, aren't they Jo?????? BUT--you are making the best of the situation. Love your new 'garden'---and I can tell that Shadow likes it also --in addition to the birdies..... How special is that!!!

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Thanks for sharing the photos Jo. I like how you played with the settings of your camera. Good thing that you can still plant there in Sudan. And I can see that it is so green. Like it. In here, I want to start gardening too but my place is not conducive for gardening aside from the ever hot weather.

    Good to know that your cat is back to normal :) Be ready Shaun hahaha.

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  3. Looks like everyone is benefiting from your mini garden. How about some catnip for Shadow. ;)

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  4. Hi Jo,
    You must have a green thumb to grow grass from bird seed and it looks so nice and green.
    The picture of Shadow smelling the grass is so cute. Glad to see he is back to his old self :)
    ☼ Sunny

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  5. What a cute cat Shadow is...love the name too! I'm sure he brings you a lot of happiness. Your little spot of green is thriving! Good luck with gardening...you can always dream of your lovely South African garden!

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  6. Thanks Betsy;) I do tend to be more positive than otherwise, in any situation. Life is good wherever we are! Thanks for visiting my blog - it's always good to see you. (((Hugs))) Jo

    Hi Misalyn;) I can only garden indoors with these fine plants, because we have coolers. I do tend to the shrubs, tree ferns and rose bushes outside (all in pots) . Yes, Shaun is taking a beating again now Shadow is up and about! Thanks for popping in.

    Hi Sunny;) seeing that pot of green whenever I go downstairs, brightens my day. Have a good day!

    Hi Linnea;) Shadow is blessings as he "stands in" for my other cats and dogs back home. Good to see you!

    Hi Gaelyn;) Shhh, the other pot beside the birdseed, contains the tiniest buds of... CATNIP. I don't know what will happen when Shadown notices it. He KNOWS catnip because we brought him Catnip Mice back to play with. He mutilates poor Morris the Mouse in between fighting with Shaun the Sheep. Have a good day, my friend.

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  7. It's good that Shadow is on your pictures, at least for me, as you know I always put them in my shots, lol ! He has become such a cute kitty. Have you also planted cat grass ? An inside living kitty needs this for digestion.

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  8. What a change from your magnificent garden in SA, Jo - but a garden, nevertheless ! Just think of all the things you could grow in pots, though ? I do like your garden assistant ;)

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  9. Is the grass a pot plant for it's greenness? It certainly looks very nice.

    Cat is happy to be home?

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  10. I knew you'd enjoy the photos, Gattina! Shadow eats this grass and it seems to help his digestion too. I have catnip growing in the pot next to this one and I'm sure he'll be into it as soon as the plants grow!

    Hi Lynda;) yes, what a difference, hey. I've planted tomato seeds and some more bird seed! I will try green peppers and Grant wants me to plant chillies.

    Hi Ann;) yes, this green patch sure cheers me up when I pass it on the stairs.

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  11. Kreatiewe vrou!! Wat 'n goeie idee - geniet dit!

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  12. Welcome to the world of garden blogging! Many of us have feline and canine gardening assistants or supervisors! You'll fit right in here!

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  13. Looks like an interesting way to occupy your time, I once planted birdseed in my front yard and had a little jungle. I loved it, I hope all is well, you are often in my thoughts!

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  14. Hi Jo! Isn't that shadow also the health and safety officer?

    Great little patch of green! When I moved out of the desert and saw green grass on a regular basis, it or I seemed out of place after seeing mostly red sand for so long... Almost 20 yrs.

    You should have something growing in every window to keep that cat busy. :)

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  15. That is so cute and inventive of you to have a little garden plot of grass in your flat...a bit of green to cheer you and provide some food for the birds. Well done!

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  16. I'll deffinitely start growing plants in my terrace once I'm back in Khartoum. Would be great to see how they develop : )

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  17. Those greens are cute. I think that would look great in front of your door step. Is that plant easy to grow? well, I think so. And it seems really tasty. Look, your pet bird and cat are enjoying their bite. LOL

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  18. Well, Isabella those greens are easy to grow. I mean, they don't need too much attention since they just need little requirements to prosper. but as for the garden on the first picture. It really looks exotic. And do I see the right thing? Is there a tiger or a cougar in the background? LOL

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  19. Wow! Your birdseeds are really perfect. I like that you planted this plant for an important use. It looks like that your bird really loves your own plant of birdseed.

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Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your feedback. Jo