EU October RR has started

Sorry folks I've been remiss in keeping you all informed.

The two packages went out Thursday (due to unforseen disasters early in the week where time was at a premium). We now have Gwist as a member so there is an extra stop in Switzerland for the well travelled seeds.

Philomel has already received and sent the UK starting packet, DPMichael should get the EU starting packet by mid week at the latest.

Have fun!

Baa

Packet arrived yesterday. VERY IMPESSIVE !!!

thank you very much Baa, it is very good in terms of variety
and I promise to improve in terms of shrubs / trees, as I have plenty of them at the moment.

Will proceed to Gerddi on Saturday, as tomorrow here is a holiday.

Dimitri

Thank you Dimitri! Trees and shrubs will be most welcome.

I hope you enjoy your holiday, what is it celebrating?

Baa - November 1st is a holiday in a lot of Europe (All Saints Day); it is a holiday in the catholic part of Switzerland (where we live) but not in the protestant part (Geneva, Zurich, Basle, Berne).

Snow's arrived, our "conservatory is being erected right now, the oleander is out on the unheated landing and it looks like I've stopped gardening until garden planning in January/February and seed-sowing time next March.

Am waiting avidly for Dimitri's seed parcel! Snow is irrelevant to seeds - I can still dry,sort and store them in the fridge and choose new ones and dream of next year's garden!.

gerddi,how high up are you? I can see the snow on the hills here(Jura),but we are just cold and damp! I hate the months of fog in Biel,but sunshine is usually 20 minutes away..higher up,lol

Thanks Gerddi and how true. No snow here, hopefully there won't be any!

Hi, Baa !!

here we do not celebrate All Saints today. The holiday is purely local in Rethymno, and is the remembrance of a sacrifice in the war for freedom against the Turks at the end of the 19th century. I presume you don't want more details on that. But if you want to read something about Crete and the Cretans of that time, try "Freedom and Death", a novel by Nicos Kazantzakis (he also wrote "Zorba the Greek"). If you can't find it, let me know and I will send it to you.

Dimitri

Dimitri

Hi Gwist

500 metres in the Engelberg valley, half way between Lucerne and Engelberg. The sun came out and it had gone by lunchtime and hasn't been back - the snow line has gone back up to over a 1000 metres. I've stopped gardening and gone back to weaving - anybody else out there into weaving (on a loom, not basketry)?

Hi Baa !!
I sent the EURR to gerddi this morning!! I expect he wil lhave it by Wednesday.

From what I found, I kept for myself:
agapnthus dk blue
salvia splendens tall red
physallis edulis
cardiospermum
helichrysum
verbena officinalis
penstemon
galtonia candicans
hollyhocks pink
sunflower
blue forget-me-not
MG misc
dianthus

For them, I substituted the seeds below:

papaver rhoeas (wild poppies, upto 50 flowers per plant)
ceratonia siliqua (carob tree)
alcea pallida ssp Cretica (wild hollyhock, native to Crete)

styrax officinalis (tree, with abundant white flowers, many new branches every year to practice pruning, and wonderful aging of old scarred branches with knots etc)

ferulago nodosa (wild, my favorite from the fennel group, with excellent dried knotted stems and spicy seeds)

gladiolus byzantinus (wild bulb, I am not sure if it is byzantinus or italicus, nevertheless beautiful flowers from 2nd - 3rd year)

alcea rosea var. nigra (maroon hollyhock, found growing wild, but considered in literature to be an escapee from cultivated species)

ipomoea alba (moon flower vine)

celosia argentea (cockscomb, gives one giant bright purple-red brain-shaped flower, plant tall to about 1.7meters)

urginea maritima (wild, forms a big onion-like bulb and gives a single flower stem every September - it is more than 1 meter high and the plant will take 2 - 3 years to flower)

lavatera trimestris (this is from purchased seeds that bloomed, not the wild one)

cistus incanus (wild, beautiful perennial with deep purple flowers)

dracunculus vulgaris - black (wild, forms a tuber and has the most ornate leaves, and a black arum, plant about 1m. high, arum about 20 - 40 cm long. Attention: the seeds may take upto six months to germinate - plant now and avoid overwatering.

since these plants seem very unusual to the average gardener, please note that if you don't find them later on in the EURR I have some more - send an email and nag me as well, I am very busy and lost several hard disks this year due to power surges.

Baa, I have a special batch for you to put in the second EURR when it arrives.

MANY THANKS !!!

Wow, Dimitri those look wonderful additions! As I'm next to last on the round I'll doubtless be pestering you LOL

So sorry to hear of your electricity supply problems. Can you not get a device to protect against surges? I have one on my system, but don't know anything about them or how effective they are.

OOhhhh... Styrax officinalis. I have been wanting that tree since I saw it in my Mediterraenan Plants book. :) I just love your native plants there, wish I could spend a few weeks in some lonely island in Greece ;)

I'll come Evert .........
Oh, then it wouldn't be lonely LOL

If you don't find it in the EURR Evert, I will send you some.
Actually, they say this tree is a native of California..

Let me know. And you did not say anything about the lavatera, so I didn't pick any seeds.. next year perhaps ??

Dimitri

Well, where ever, it is a great looking tree ;)

Lavatera? Hmm... you sent me some Alcea seeds earlier, and yes I think I asked for Lavatera maritima. The wild one you know? Also looking for Malva cretica.

I'm with you there Evert, I could just do with a nice peaceful, sunny island somewhere warm and laidback. In fact my daughter and her boyfriend have just gone back to live in rhodes over the winter, they've been working there this summer, but next year they want to move onto Crete, or one of the other islands,wish I could have slipped into their case un-noticed!:-)

Thank you Dimitri!

Wow what a wonderful bundle of seeds you have contributed! Does the Urginea grow wild in Crete? The Galtonia should do well for you, it's hardy here on the south coast.

I will look out for the book, I love history.

Yes Baa, urgineas are one of the local wild flowers. I love them, and i have a few photos to show - hope to scan them and upload them soon.

I qm wiaiting for the other half of the RR to arrive.

It has been a wonderful experience, and I would very much like to see it again. Only next time, please pack seeds so as they don't spill out of their envelopes. There is a small potpourri in the bottom of the envelope, LOLOLOL.

Dimitri

I would love to see those photos Dimitri!

Sorry about the seed spillage, unfortunately the home made paper packets don't hold up to long journeys very well. No amount of taping seems to keep the seeds from escaping.I almost always use the little plastic bags for that very reason :)

I've no idea where the other package is as yet, if I don't hear by Thursday I will send out an email or two!

Dimitri's parcel arrived today (so took 5 days) - like a birthday!

I've taken out 10 and put in 10 and replaced like for like as far as possible.

The ten I've taken out are:

Brittlewax French Bean
Sweet Rocket (I'm assuming this is hesperis matronalis)
Ipomoea Alba
Red cabbage
lavendula viridis
Scorzonera
Red Maroni Sweet pepper
Pansies, blue
Romand bush bean
Bronze fennel

So 5 vegetables, 3 herbs and 2 flowers (I class sweet rocket and lavender as herbs - they're all flowers)

I've put in:

Phaseolus vulgaris "Cherokee Trail of Tears"
Agastache foeniculum
Bottle Gourd "Calebasse"
Chioggia beetroot
Woundwort (stachys)
Myrrhis odorata
Lupinus, mixed
Brassica olereaca - Calabrese Atlantic
Papaver somniferum "Planète Rouge du Jura"
Coriander

So 4 vegetables, 3 herbs, 3 flowers (one of them wild and very pretty)(here I've classed agastache foeniculum and myrrhis odorata as herbs, again, both have attractive flowers as well)

Will be posting it on to Gwist tomorrow or Monday.

I'm looking forward to this lot reaching Kent - wonder if the ones i have my eye on will still be there LOL You and Dimitri have done us proud Gerddi - and it looks as if you made the original packets up with very different contents to start with Baa :D

Yeah I will probably get the envelopes almost same time... :}

LOL - you'll have an amazing choice all at once then 8o)

Well, that's true ;)
Baa - heard of Arsenic lately? I asked our customs about seed exporting to Norway but they didn't know.. told me that the people in Norway could ask their customs :}

Thanks Gerddi! Great stuff.

One thing folks, beetroot from Britian can't leave Britain, nor can Berberis, Sorbus or Pyracantha among a few others that aren't likely to be put in. (hence my Chioggia remaining in it's packet :( ) If I can find the restricted lists (import and export) I'll post them up.

Philomel

I did make up the individual envelopes with the first few people in mind. The numbers of Veg/Herb and Flower/Exotic packets were equal but of different sorts. I think it makes it a bit different for us all as it goes around, besides I have a lot of seeds but not a great deal of anything in particular.

Evert

Thanks for asking customs :) I've emailed Arsenic again, if I don't hear back from him (and I've written this in the email so I'm not saying anything behind his back *G*) by next Wednesday, I'll have to miss him out of the order and send the packets on after the RRs have come back to me.

I'll let you know :)

Spoke too soon! Arsenic is fine, thank goodness.

The package from Dimitri was opened by Swiss customs but they just taped it up and let it in. I didn't notice till I was parcelling it up that the tape was Swiss customs.

I hope all the packets get to the rest of you safely.

Always when sending things to a Non-Eu country you should put a customs label on the parcel/letter.

Hmm... where are the envelopes going right now?

Lorny75 has sent her envelope on last week but I haven't yet heard from Lilith.

Gwist is next after Gerddi.

Has Arsenic emailed you Evert?

OK, thanks for update :)

Yes, I emailed Arsenic and he said something that he is moving and haven't had much time posting anything.

Well, I have most of my seeds packed already, I hope the RRs arrive soon ;)

I hope to post the package on to Gwist tomorrow - my plan to post it today failed when I finished work an hour and a half after the post office closed.

Will try and do better tomorrow

Hey.. Next time I'm in for a EURR too. I've missed this one, so close to home. I'm in a RR in the USA now. My first one.. never did this before. Looking forward to it.. seems fun when I read your postings here. I'm still finding my way in DG, now I've found Eu-forum on DG. Great..! Nice to meet you all.

Hi Saya,welcome.R.R's are good fun,bit like christmas,you never know what's coming throught the door.

Welcome to DG Saya!

Hi saya and welcome to DG :)
I'm last in the line for getting one of the packages of the EURR, so if you'd like to email me your address, i'll forward the package to you and then it will have the info inside for you to be able to send it back to Baa.

You have to join the european RR after all, being european!
:o)

Hi Saya and welcome! Where do you live?

I have posted the RR on to Gwist today - and Gwist, when you see the internal Swiss postage you'll realise why I now recommend putting it in a smaller envelope because the Swiss PO go by size and the envelope it's in is a big one and costs more to post. If the next round comes in such a big envelope, I shall substitute a smaller one!

Hi,
Already posted my addy to Philomel. That is so great that I still can join in! I live in the very south of the Netherlands very close to the German and Belgium border (only 1/2 hour driving for me). So this RR really goes round Europe! Thanks to you all! I'm looking very much forward to receive the RRpackage.
Saya

Thanks Gerddi

Ahh envelopes again! Will Baa ever get it right *G*.

Thank you for bringing the envelope size to our attention and for changing it! It may just mean that someone else has to change the envelope to suit their postage conditions and to cope with the amount of seeds in there. I did choose the size with postage costs in mind, potential amount of seeds and ease of posting in a normal post box ... honest! :)

Evert had trouble last time posting a fat envelope and gave us all a smile. I'm sure at the time it was very frustrating though ;)

Thanks Philomel!

Saya

Welcome aboard the good ship EURRobin, it's been going for a few months now with a break for summer. If you have any problems reading my hand writing (most people do, including and especially myself) just let me know and I'll try and remember what the name was :)

One day I'll fork out for printable labels.

LOL Baa, your writing's very legible. You'd never have made it as a doctor ;)

Gwist should have received the package today - I sent it A post.

The Swiss PO is expensive, Baa, and goes by size as well as weight. More than once I've wanted to post things abroad and the postage has been more than the goods so I haven't sent them! You probably couldn't choose an envelope size and get it right for eveyone!