Lemon tree - Lamaiul

Simona a primit de ziua ei de nastere un lamai. Na, o data face omul 30 ani, nu-i asa? Si m-a rugat pe messenger sa vorbesc despre lamai. Eu m-am conformat.

Simona received a lemon tree as a gift for her birthday. Hey, once in a lifetime has a person 30 years, correct? And she asked me on messenger to talk about the lemon tree. I agreed.

"I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree
I'm turning my head up and down
I'm turning turning turning turning turning around
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
And I wonder, wonder"

Denumirea stiintifica a lamaiului este Citrus limon, care deriva de la cuvantul grecesc "kedromelon" - mar de cedru. Romanii au prescurtat denumirea la "citrus", care s-a pastrat la majoritatea popoarelor, cu mici modificari: citron - in franceza si ceha, citrom - in ungara, citros - in letona, Zitrone - germana.

Scientific name of the lemon tree is Citrus limon, came from greek word "kedromelon" - cedar apple. The Romans shortened the name into "citrus", and most of the languages kept this name with certain changes: citron - French and Czech, citrom - Hungarian, citros - Latvian, Zitrone - German.

Lamaiul, dupa cum bine stie toata lumea, face parte din familia citricelor si este o planta originara - se presupune - din India. Varianta de apartament este relativ micuta fata de cei 6 metri pe care aceasta planta ii are in mod normal.

The lemon tree, as you all know, is a part of the citrus family and is native - it presumes - from India. Apartment species is tiny comparing with the 6 m. tall this plant usually have.

Acum sa va spun lucruri pe care nu le stiti:
- exista un gen de lamai originar din padurile subtropicale din Australia care poate atinge si 20 metri inaltime. Acest soi se numeste Backhousia citriodora si a fost denumit asa de catre botanistul englez James Backhouse. Australienii folosesc frunzele la mancaruri cum ar fi pastele, peste, prajituri sau inghetata.

- lamaiul are proprietati antiseptice

- in zona mediteraneana a ajuns in jurul anului 1000

- Columb a avut si cateva seminte de lamai cand a ajuns in America

- carnea marinata inainte de preparare in suc de lamaie are un gust mult mai rafinat, iar pestele isi pierde mirosul caracteristic

- ati auzit de Limoncello? Este o bautura alcoolica realizata din lamai, foarte bine cunoscuta in Italia.

- datorita ph-ului scazut, sucul de lamai este antibacterial

- lamaia verde (lime) este o varietate des intalnita in zilele noastre si este din ce in ce mai apreciata.

- un japonez a realizat prin altoire un lamai care produce 11 fructe diferite

- in acest articol http://blog-director-de-gradinarit.blogspot.com/2009/05/vitaminele-din-fructe.html am scris despre vitaminele pe care fructele le contin. Veti regasi si lamaia in lista.

- Eva a furat un lamai din Paradis si l-a plantat in Menton, azi oras pe Coasta de Azur. Acolo, an de an, se organizeaza "Festivalul lamailor". Peste 600.000 de turisti din toata lumea viziteaza acest oras intr-un an, datorita acestui eveniment.

- cea mai mare lamaie din lume a cantarit 5,265 kg.


Let me tell you some things you don't know:
- a lemon tree species native from subtropical forests in Australia can reach even 20 m. height. This species' name is Backhousia citriodora and the name was given by English botanist James Backhouse. The Australians are using the leaves in cooked meals such as pasta, fish, cake or icecream.

- the lemon has antiseptical properties

- in the Mediteranean zone arrived around year 1000.

- Columb had a few lemon seeds when he arrived in America.

- marinaded meat in lemon juice before cooking has a better taste, and the fish loses the characteristic smell.

- have you heard about Limoncello? It is an alcoholic beverage made by fresh lemons, well-known in Italy.

- because of the low ph, lemon juice is antibacterial.

- the lime is a common species these days and is highly appreciated.

- a Japonese man graft a lemon tree and right now it produce 11 different fruits.

- in this article http://blog-director-de-gradinarit.blogspot.com/2009/05/vitaminele-din-fructe.html I talked about fruits vitamins. You will find the lemon among it.

- Eve stolen a lemon tree from Paradise and planted in Menton, today city in Cote d'Azur, France. There, year after year, the "Lemons' Festival" is held. Over 600.000 turists are visiting the city in a year because of this event.

- the biggest lemon in the world was 5,265 kg weight.

Fiind o planta care iubeste caldura, soarele si lumina constanta, trebuie sa va ganditi de doua ori inainte de a adopta sau a cumpara un lamai. Daca l-ati obtinut din seminte, va dura multi ani pana cand va ajunge la maturitate, cam 5-6, ca atare nu veti avea fructe prea curand. Daca este deja marisor, va puteti astepta ca in doi, trei ani, sa aveti fructe de-o limonada.

Being a plant that loves the heat, the sun and constant light, you should think twice before adopting or buying a lemon tree. If you obtained your plant from seeds, it will take 5 to 6 years for the plant to reach maturity, so you will not have any fruits anytime soon. If it is a small plant, you can expect that in 2-3 years to have fruits for a lemonade.

Pamantul trebuie sa fie amestecat cu nisip, pentru a mentine umiditatea necesara. Dupa cum spuneam, pentru ca iubeste lumina si caldura, va sfatuiesc sa alegeti o fereastra spre sud sau sud-est. Daca il scoateti afara vara, sa aveti grija ca noaptea sa nu fie sub 15 grade, pentru ca lamaiului nu-i place frigul.

The soil must be mixed up with sand to provide the needed humidity. As I was said before, because the lemon tree loves the light and the heat, I will advise you to chose a south or south-east window. If you are taking it out in the summer time, be careful to have over 15 Celsius degrees outside at night, because the lemon tree hates the cold.

In Romania, lamaiul este crescut pentru ornament, este frumos si miroase extraordinar.

In Romania, the lemon tree is ornamental because is beautiful and smells divine.

A nice and beautiful storm - O furtuna frumoasa

O noapte furtunoasa... ce frumos! O noapte luminata de fulgere, cu ploaie, un pic de grindina, dar vreo 5 minute, niste vant mai puternic (noroc ca am legat ghivecele de balustrada terasei de zici ca le-am tintuit in cuie, nu alta!), noi pe terasa beam bere, Mariuca dormea de rupea, chiar daca mai erau si niste tunete din cand in cand. Am ramas fara lumina vreo 3 ore, dar, dupa cum spuneam, a fost superb. Pentru noi.

A stormy night... beautiful! A night like day, shiny from the lightnings, with rain, a little bit of hail, for about 5 minutes, some strong wind (lucky me I tied up the pots from the terrace's rail like I nailed them there!), we were on the terrace, drinking beer, Mariuca was asleep, although there were some thunders from time to time. We had a blackout for 3 hours, but, as I said, it was beautiful. For us.

Pentru altii a fost groaznic! In Bucuresti au fost copaci rupti, cazuti pe masini, oameni speriati, culturi stricate, flori si arbusti pierduti.

For others it was awful! In Bucharest were broken trees, falled on cars, nervous people, damaged crops, flowers and shrubs lost.

Noi, ca de obicei, parca ne aflam in zona crepusculara. Daca in Bucuresti ploua, la noi e soare, daca in Bucuresti e furtuna, la noi e o ploaie normala, daca oamenii se sperie si se baricadeaza in case, noi suntem pe terasa, vorbim si radem.

We are, as usual, like in the twilight zone. If in Bucharest is raining, here is sunny, if in Bucharest is storm, here is a normal rain, if people are nervous and close in their homes, we are on the terrace, talking and laughing.

Veniti la noi acasa, the land of choice!

Come to our home, the land of choice!
(For my friends outside Romania - this is a joke. Right now we have a new country tourism hymn, "Romania, the land of choice")

My photo camera is broken - Mi s-a stricat camera foto

As fi vrut sa va arat cum am legat trandafirii si cum am aranjat terasa, dar, din pacate, mi s-a stricat camera foto. Cu atat nisip in jur, de la lucrarile din fata casei, cred ca a intrat niste nisip la lentila si nu se mai deschide. Sunt asa de suparata de nu va imaginati! Ca atare, o sa fac o pauza de la fotografii si incerc sa vorbesc la general pentru cateva zile. Dar nu azi. Sper sa ajung zilele astea si sa nu dureze prea mult reparatia.

I wanted to show you how I tied up the roses and how I organised the terrace, but, unfortunately, my photo camera is broken. With all this sand around us, coming from the works we are done in front of the house, I think the lens caught some sand and right now it says that the camera has a lens error. I am soooo upset you can't imagine!!! So, I will take a break from posts with pictures and I will try to talk in a general manner for a few days. But not today. I am hoping to have a few free hours to go to the Canon shop and hoping to solve the problem fast.