A Creative Spirit
The temperatures this week are back to 'winter' normal so I can pack away my thermal underwear and stand down from fire duty. Remembering to feed the fire with logs all day to keep us warm, is a time-consuming and a labour of love. 1. Cats %&G&$$, CATS! - How Do You Deter Them? This... Continue Reading →
This week we were greeted with a rare and unexpected ground frost which took us by surprise. While it is common to have minus temperatures down in the valley, where we are upon the cliffs, not so much! We've just gone back into COVID lockdown but as we've become a pair of hermits it does... Continue Reading →
While daytime temperatures during the previous week were warm and sunny this week the sun has been replaced by mostly cloud and an icy wind driving temperatures down to as low as 9C. As well as the cold, we also have to contend with the humidity. Not the type of humidity usually associated with oppressive... Continue Reading →
It's been a while since I participated in Six on Saturday so with my 2020 personal challenges hopefully behind me I have decided to take up gardening with renewed enthusiasm and reconnect with my gardening blogging buddies! Raises spade to a 'Hopeful' New Year. Over the years I have been tempted to abandon my often... Continue Reading →
The temperatures this week have dropped dramatically as the autumn breeze brings an icy chill. Although our weather station still records temperatures in the low twenties during the day, step away from the shelter of the terrace then shorts and sleeveless tops are quicky replaced for warmer clothes. Night temperatures have also plummeted as low... Continue Reading →
This week has brought further gardening challenges as my lack of mobility still hinders progress working in the garden. Last week I made a 'muscle' job list of work that we would probably need to employ some help with lifting and heavy digging. But as I wandered around the garden I realized that was just... Continue Reading →
Thanks to time out due to replacement knee surgery this is my first Six on Saturday post for several weeks. My 'Gnome', aka OH, has made an excellent job keeping most things alive during my stay in hospital and subsequent recovery. Unfortunately, for Gnome, I now have a long job list to see us through... Continue Reading →
My Six on Saturday this week is another mixed bag of the joys of growing vegetables. We still have not had rain (apart from mizzle and sea mist) and I confess this is a cause for concern as I read unless we have rain soon there will not be enough water to see the Algarve... Continue Reading →
Over the last few months I have been meaning to undertake some general maintenance aka TLC to my expanding collection of succulents and cacti. Many have either outgrown their pots, are infested with woolly aphids and mealybugs, or have dead leaves and debris which is rotting between their fleshy leaves or at the base of... Continue Reading →
My six on Saturday this week focuses on some of my vegetable success stories which makes a change from my usual woes regarding blight, grey/white mold, and the rogue blackbird. While growing fruit and vegetables in containers are more challenging than growing in raised beds or directly in the ground it does have some advantages... Continue Reading →
I am curious. While removing and disposing of some tomato plants that had contracted the dreaded blight I wondered if I should dispose of the remaining soil in the pots or would the UV rays from the sun kill any blight bacteria? Apparently, high UV kills COVID-19 virus on surfaces so why not blight, especially... Continue Reading →
It was difficult to select six highlights for my garden diary 'six on Saturday' this week. There is so much going on in the garden, including projects, I am spoiled for choice. My Gnome has been busy working his fingers to the bone, cutting our huge Melaleuca privacy hedge, moving the contents from the old... Continue Reading →
The temperatures this week have almost made gardening unbearable but as they say: the 'early bird catches the worm' so the Gnome and I started work before 8am. We've not only been working in the vegetable area but have started a new project - more on this next week! Last week, a fellow six... Continue Reading →
While I aspire to achieve a certain level of vegetable self-suffiency, I am a realist and accept my limited mobility and available growing space dictates how much I can grow. The secret is probably to keep a constant supply of new seedlings in production and, unlike other years, the moment a plant becomes stressed or... Continue Reading →
This week I have mainly focused on creating colour in the living areas of the garden. aka, the terraces, pool and in the Gin garden. Although, if am honest, I have not had much time for 'chillaxing' in said Gin garden as there is always some area of the garden screaming for attention, especially as... Continue Reading →
My garden diary this week focuses on my efforts, given the COVID-19 lockdown, to grow as many fruit and vegetables as possible in an assortment of pots, containers and plastic crates as I can lay my hands on. The only problem is that I normally buy established seedling plugs from the plant guy at local... Continue Reading →
My garden Gnome worked his magic in the garden this week while I've been busy plotting, planning and repotting. I seek sanctuary and some degree of sanity from my garden endeavours as the craziness of Brexit comes to pass and Britain embraces the next phase of its history. 1. Raised Vegetable Bed My garden gnome... Continue Reading →
For my Six on Saturday this week I will focus on my vegetable and strawberry challenges. This week has brought another mixed bag of weather with temperatures ranging from 3C at night to 20C in the day on our sunny sheltered terrace. Northerly icy winds followed by heavy rain confirmed it was still winter rather... Continue Reading →
Top of the list for my Six on Saturday this week is my Sickly Epiphyllum Oxypetalum. It's dying and I don't know why. Any advice gratefully received. This week we've had a mixture of weather including heavy rain (at night) with the night time temperature from a low of 3C to a high of 15C.... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 