THAT doesn’t translate well into Italian, any more than fox-and-cubs, love-in-a-mist, snapdragon or traveller’s joy!
I wonder if Chokri thinks I invent these outlandish names.
Johnny-go-to-bed-at-noon has appeared in a number of guises around the place – last year I found only the purple type.
Today I found an orangey one and a lemon yellow one growing side by side.
It was just starting to rain and they were open. By lunchtime the yellow one had drooped, and the orange one and a purple one elsewhere were still open. I guess they got confused.
The purple one was full of water and looked like an amethyst brooch.
‘Foxgloves’ translated into Italian doesn’t sound very convincing.
Also the gloves apparently aren’t for the fox but for the ‘folks’ – that is, fairies.
We’ve managed to get a few foxgloves going from the seeds we brought over from Britain – not as many as I’d like, though.
I hope this will be a little patch where they keep coming.
The Italian for butterfly is ‘farfalla‘, one of my favourite words. To say ‘moth’ you just add ‘di notte‘ – of the night!
Last night Clive pointed out to me that moths were crowding onto the outside of the window, like they do in the warmer weather.
We have to be careful not to let them in if we go outside because it’s not a nice experience to have a moth flap against your face in the night.
I found this Emperor Moth, and the drab one in front of it, already dead.
But this dark and beautifully patterned moth was on the windowsill, very much alive.