Rayne Hall, Author & Publisher

Oval, bright orange-red berries hang from a twig, surrounded by narrow green leaves.

Goji berries in my #foodforest garden. Here in Bulgaria, goji berry shrubs thrive. Heat- cold- and drought-resilient, requiring practically no work, and producing tasty berries in late autumn, they're the perfect plant for me. #permaculture #Bulgaria

A light brown/ginger coloured puppy with floppy eaars sits on a wooden chair in the garden. She looks up at the fewer with a goofy expression. Next to her, on the chair's armrest, sits a black cat.

Isn't she cute? Young Leni, the #rescuedog I adopted. She fits right in with us. Everyone likes her - even the cats. 🥰

I've planted two olive trees. In the past, the climate of #Bulgaria wasn't quite suitable for olives, but the climate change brings milder winters and hotter drier summers, so olives will flourish. #permaculture #olives #foodforest

I've found her. 😍

A cute light brown dog with black nose and floppy ears sits in the grass and looks up.

Wonderful news! I have a new puppy! Leni, a 3 1/2 month old #rescuedog. After a one-week trial visit, I've committed and adopted her. Leni loves my senior dog Ginger, the cats and me! 😍 #adoptdontshop #puppies #pets #Bulgaria Full story on my blog.
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A twig with many bright orange berries and narrow dark green leaves.

Branches with dense clusters of bright yellow berries.

This summer, we had extreme #drought conditions in our region in #Bulgaria, and many plants suffered. On the plus side, this showed which plants in my #biodiversity hedge have the greatest drought resilience. The surprise winners were the pyracantha!
#permaculture #gardening

3-4 foot? That's bigger than here. I reckon it gets about 2-3 foot here. constant blue blooms - even in the afternoon? Ours bloom only in the mornings.

The right one will come, I'm sure. I'm currently spreading the word that I have a vacacy in my home and heart for a rescued puppy. I think a puppy will be the best solution for Ginger. Keep your fingers crossed.
#dogs #rescuedogs

Quite a different climate conditions from Bulgaria then. Remarkable that chicory flourishes in such different regions.

Where are you located? I'm in Bulgaria (southeastern Europe)

Sounds like a great name for a dog. :-)

Wow, I've never seen one that high.

Another of my beautiful roses. (I don't kow the name of the variety, sorry.) #Bulgaria #roses #gardening #flowers

A cluster of tiny purple bossoms with scarlet centers.

A cluster of tiny pale-lilac blossoms with orange centres.

An uneven cluster of tiny yellow blossoms surrounded by green leaves.

A section of a bush with spear-head shaped white flower clusters against green plants and a blue sky.

The buddleias in my garden are in bloom. I have several varieties in different colours, all with a lovely honey scent. On windless days, they're covered in #bees, #bumblebees, #butterflies & other #pollinators.
I recommend buddleias for #permaculture, #nature, #gardening, #wildlife.

Sadly, this dog who seemed so nice at first revealed his true nature after a few days. He bullied Ginger, he attacked me, he bit my guests. At the end of the trial period, I decided he was not a good fit. So I'm still looking for the right #rescuedog to adopt as a companion for Ginger and me.

He's a boy, and yes, he's gorgeous. He was mutilated by a previous owner - half his ears brutally cut off, leg broken. He still has a fear of scissors and sticks. But he had the courage to trust a human again.

A blonde woman's torso and hand. She is stroking the back of a black cat's neck. The cat, who has a tiny white heart on its chest, looks adoringly at the woman.

McCoy is a sweet black cat with a tiny white heart on his chest. I adopted him when he was a tiny kitten.
A ruthless person had thrown 3 unwanted kittens out of a car. I fostered all three - and McCoy made it quite clear that he wanted to stay with me forever. 😍 #rescuecat #Bulgaria #cats

A ginger-coloured dog, looking happy with his mouth open, lies in the grass under a yellow-flowering bush.

This lovely boy is Ginger, a former strayy who adopted me six years ago. We're a perfect match - and in our years together, he has saved me from three dangerous situations. He's a hero!
#rescuedog #dogs #adoptdontshop #bulgaria #gratitude

Pale pink roses against a background of green leaves

Pale yellow roses surrounded by green leaves and dry grass stalks.

After a quiet spell during the heatwave, my #roses are suddenly blooming again.
#permaculture #bulgaria #flowergardeningg

The cosmoses have started so late flowering this year, that I thought they had not germinated at all. But they were simply waiting out the heatwave and are starting now.

Small pale yellow flower spikes on green plants amidst an uneven, patchy brown-green meadow.

Mignonette (Reseda) is one of my favourite #wildflowers. I have a few of them in my #foodforest orchard. Not many. I hope they'll spread.
#Bulgaria #foodforest

A beautiful rose blossom in shades of pale pink amidst a sea of smaller, star shaped white clematis blossoms and lots of green leaves. The effect is lovely, healthy, romantic.

In my veranda trellis, the #clematis Early Snow has interwined with the #rose New Dawn. The combination looks so lovely! Bees love it, too. (Though this clematis flowers for only three weeks per year.) i #permaculture #bulgaria

In the city centre in Yambol. (Yambol is the capital of the province where I live in southeast #Bulgaria.)
the flowering tree is a lagerstroemia.

Thanks. We don't have those in Bulgaria (yet).

Thanks, I'll find out about this. It may not be the cause, because it really isn't humid here at night. But I'll check it out.

A pale green leaf, speckled with brown, white, yellow and grey

A question for the experienced fruit growers among you. What ails my apple trees? They all suddenly have leaves like that. Is it a fungus, a parasite, a mineral deficiancy, or simply a reaction to the heat and drought?
#permaculture #Bulgaria #foodforest #orchard #fruitgrowing #agriculture

Pale pink rose blossoms surrounded by green leaves

Pale yellow rose blossoms surrounded by green leaves and dry grass stalks

My roses are suddenly flowering again - perhaps because the terrible heatwave is over. (Though one rose bush didn't survive.) #Bulgaria #permaculture #flowers #roses

Our picturesquee little village church.
Our village is rich in authentic traditions. Today, we had a Bulgarian Orthodox Christian ritual for sacrificing a sheep and blessing holy water for healing.
(Kirilovo Village, Yambo Province, #Bulgaria)

This grapevine grows on an abandoned property near my home. Over 10 years of neglect - no irrigation, no chemicals, no pruning, nothing. It flourishes despite heavy frosts, heatwaves droughts, thrives on neglect. Ideal!
I'll take cuttings for new plants.
#permaculture #Bulgaria #foodforest

Chicoree flowers in my #foodforest orchard meadow. In the early morning hours, the flowers are delightful, shining like tiny blue lanterns. In the afternoon, the blossoms vanish, and only knobbly stalks remain.
Pollinators enjoy chicoree.
Do you have chicoree in your meadow?
#permaculture #Bulgaria