On 3/4/05 17:08, in article
, "Totty"
wrote:

Is that Ipomoea - morning glory which I think of as purple but I
*think*
there's a pink one as well. It grows like a weed, literally, in Med.
Countries.

No Sacha, not the bright blue, large flowered Ipomoea. This rampages up
telephone poles and smothers anything it can get a grip on. *My*
bindweed is more like the lesser bindweed of UK, but with hairy leaves.
Flowers are about 1" in diameter. There is also a white flowered
version, but I don't have it....yet.

I think I know what you mean but it sounds lovely - even if a weed with you!
It would probably be a carefully nurtured, hovered over tender thing here.

I think this is what we call Polygala? It's a lovely plant but not
hardy
here.

There was a single speciman in the garden when we bought the house
twenty years ago. About 5 years ago, it suddenly started to seed
itself around the garden. I now pot a few of these up just after
germination as they will not happily stand transplanting later. They
are expensive to buy here, so I give them away as pot plants. They can
be trained into attractive standards.

"Seed itself around".....sigh......! ;-)

But what is a nispero - I don't think I know
that at all?

I first came across it in Portugal back in 1966, then didn't come
across it again until came here to the Costa Blanca. I think it is a
type of medlar - I know it is grafted onto quince, and the latin name
is Mespilus Germanica L. and it belongs to the rose family. If you put
the word 'nispero' into an image search engine you will get an idea. I
use it to make chutney, as it is the one fruit that I can't eat raw. It
is very sweet, but at the same time acidic.

Ah - we planted a medlar a couple of years ago, and I'm waiting happily for
it to fruit. AIUI, with medlars you wait for them to be almost rotten
before eating them. I have at the back of my mind that you eat this year's
next year, sort of thing.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)