July 2013 – Expat Blog Carnival

This month’s blog carnival is all about flora and fauna. My brother has been sharing photo’s of his allotment/small holding in Spain, and I’ve recently joined a community garden in sunny LA.

When you’re an expat, how do you make a new house feel like a home? A simple step of adding a plant to your windowsill, can start to make you feel a little bit more settled.

If you plan on sticking around your new location for a while, and are lucky enough to have a garden (or even some plant pots on your patio) nothing says, “I’m putting roots down here” like getting mud under your nails, and planting a selection of flowers or vegetables.

Let’s welcome this month’s Carnival Bloggers, and find out how their garden grows:

Tomatoes and Tortoises

Expat Blogger: Ayak moved to Turkey from England in 1998 and married her Turkish husband in 1999. They’ve moved 15 times to date.

“This is the second year we have grown tomatoes here.  Last year’s crop were disappointing.  There were plenty of them but they were tough, woody, and not juicy at all.  I made chutney from the best of them, but wasn’t keen to attempt growing them again.

However, not to be deterred, Mr A planted more tomatoes this year and they are absolutely fantastic.  I would take a photo, but my camera’s on the blink again.  I cannot believe the volume of tomatoes that keep appearing on about 10 plants, over and over again.”

Read the rest at Ayak’s Turkish Delight 

From Little Acorns…

Expat Blogger: Jack moved to Bodrum, Turkey with his civil partner Liam, and have since returned to England, for the flat lands and big skies of Norfolk.

“When Liam and I first pitched our yurt in Anatolia, we bought a olive sapling in John’s memory and put it in a patio pot. It did remarkably well and bore fruit in the first year – a lean harvest but a harvest nonetheless.

After we decided to wade back to Blighty, I asked Annie of Back to Bodrum fame if she would take care of John’s little twig in her Bodrum garden.  Annie went one better and offered a sunny spot in the olive grove of her fabulous country pile.”

Read the rest at Perking the Pansies

Beware of Pepper Trees

Expat Blogger: Annie aims to reflect on Turkey’s past through her experience of re-settling again in modern day Bodrum, after more than a decade.

“The last time our pipes got blocked socks! were found in the pipe. (Yes, washing machines really do eat socks). This blockage was refusing to budge and as it got dark, work had to be postponed until Monday. 

After much more digging and drilling, the cause of our problems emerged.”

Read the rest at Back to Bodrum

Enjoy your Expat Garden

Expat Blogger: Expatfinder.com is an Expat website which aims to to “make life abroad easier” .. this article appeared in their Blog section, and it caught my eye because it includes options for a “virtual” garden”.

“As an expat you might think it is too hard to maintain a garden with your space restrictions, travel commitments or busy schedules. However if you have a bit of a green thumb or just want something to brighten up your home, there are some great ways to get around the challenges of expat life.

If you still think gardening is not for you and you really don’t have the time, you can always try virtual gardens. Here are a few of apps you might have fun with:”

Read the rest at Expatfinder.com

What I miss about Ireland – Daffodils

Expat Blogger: Mairead came to the States over 20 years ago, and her blog is simply one woman’s scattered, whimsical view of her path to becoming an American Mom, all the while, reminiscing about the beauty and warmth of the land of her birth.

“I may be Irish, but I am afraid I didn’t inherit my mother’s green thumb. Perhaps, one can be cultivated, so in Backyard Tales I will recount my gardening efforts this year. I consulted the Gardening with Kids website for daffodil planting instructions. A quick refresher course was definitely in order, my mother’s childhood lessons fading away with the passing yearsAs an expat”

Read the rest at Irish American Mum

My Garden

Expat Blogger: Clare left the UK and moved to South Carolina with her husband, 3 boys and a cat about a year ago, and she’s been blogging about her expat adventures ever since.

“When we moved here, I loved the fact the house has a vegetable patch.  The owners had some success growing things, but the previous tenants did not.  As we moved in in October, I have had plenty of time to plan what I wanted to do.  Pinterest has been very helpful in this.  If you want to check out my gardening board on Pinterest it can be found here. “

Read the rest at Clare Gosling 55

Zucchini 101

Expat Blogger: American expats Jason and Ashley, blog about local seasonal Italian recipes, organic gardening, food festivals & markets in their adopted home of Italy.

“The female plants have a little zucchini attached, whereas the males just have a stem. You don’t need that many male flowers to pollinate all the females, so we pick them to eat!

Not only is this an edible treat but by picking the flowers this helps redirect the energy of the plant towards the females producing zucchini.”  

Read the rest at La Tavola Marche

Here’s a link to my first attempt at making stuffed zucchini blossoms

Cultivating the Good Life

Expat Blogger: This entry is from me, Roving Jay. This blog post was my inspiration for creating a garden theme for this first Expat Carnival. My brother is a British Expat living in Spain, and he’s got very green fingers.

“Nearly a year ago I asked how I’d become Margo and my brother had become Tom Good from the Good Life ….. back then he was clearing and rotovating a rough strip of barren land in Albondón, Spain, and setting up an irrigation system.”

Read the rest on Roving Jay

[warning]Click here to find out more about my Expat Blog Carnival. If you want to be included in a future Carnival, just fill in the submission form.  There’s no set themes each month, it’s just wherever the mood takes me.[/warning]