A Creative Spirit in Portugal
My SoS (Six on Saturday) for this week is a bit of a mixed bag. I've been more active in the garden and we are more or less back on track planting vegetables, clearing weeds etc. I've yet to scratch the itch of walking around a garden centre so perhaps we can add that to... Continue Reading →
Where has this week gone already? It seems like only yesterday I was writing last week's SoS (Six on Saturday). My Six on Saturday this week focuses on vegetables. Temperatures at night still hover between 4C and 12C and daytime temperatures usually above 14C to as high as 20C. Probably higher if I measured the temp... Continue Reading →
Looking back through some of my garden photographs for January, I am amazed just how many plants were in bloom. With this in mind, I thought it would make a good point of reference to keep a month-by-month pictorial journal.Hibiscus Flowering in January Cacti and Succulents and in Flower - January **** January Perennials BromeliadBougainvillea, Lavender and Rosemary Orchids The Bird... Continue Reading →
This week's Six on Saturday will be brief. Photos are limited as balancing on crutches and standing on one leg is not conducive for taking the best shots. My OH gives me a daily update re what's happening in the areas of garden I can't access at the moment. Apparently, he's been busy weeding! 1.... Continue Reading →
Last Monday the overnight temperature dropped to 3.5C and we had our first light frost on the roof of the car. However, while we were away at the hospital in Coimbra neighbours reported on Facebook that temperatures plummeted to -4C. This is the lowest (in our area) in over a decade so hopefully my plants... Continue Reading →
I know the OH will run and hide when he reads this but a gal has to have a plan, and my restricted mobility has meant I have had plenty of thinking scheming time to formulate ideas into a concrete gardening 'plan of action' for 2019. So my #SixOnSaturday for this week are six gardening projects... Continue Reading →
My six for this Saturday will focus on succulents in flower this week. I have several more in bud but not in time to share on this post. Maybe they will hang on until January. 1. Cotyledon orbiculata Pig’s ears or Elk’s horn This is one of the few succulents I have planted directly in... Continue Reading →
So what what does my garden offer this week? With high humidity and salt winds a coastal garden in the Western Algarve presents its own challenges and this week has proved no exception. Strong winds, sun, heavy rain and temperature from 7C to 20C. Fortunately no snow or frost. On the plus side some amazing... Continue Reading →
Fellow gardeners I need your help, please. The leaves on my hibiscus are not only turning yellow but have brown patches and the veins in the leaves are exposed. I've checked the moisture level and it's fine so I doubt it's overwatering. I must also mention that another hibiscus is also showing similar signs of... Continue Reading →
My #sixonsaturday this week is to suggest six effective ways to upcycle plastic in your garden rather than disposing in the recycling bin, or trash. Come on fellow gardeners, get creative with plastic! 1. Recycling Water Water is a precious resource. When practical I recycle grey water from the house (washing machine, bath, showers etc)... Continue Reading →
A new week, another Six on Saturday and a great opportunity to connect with fellow gardeners. The temperatures have dropped significantly over the last week with a low of 6c at night. Daytime temperatures range from 13C to 19C but at least the rain has stopped for now which means my cacti and succulents have... Continue Reading →
Planting Daffodils and Narcissus brings back memories of gardening in the UK and the arrival of Spring. William Wordsworth's poem captures the moment perfectly. I wandered lonely as a Cloud That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden Daffodils; Beside the Lake, beneath... Continue Reading →
'A Tour of My Garden (part 1)' included photographs of our main outside living areas and garden which is south facing and as I said in my previous post: When I think of the various areas of our garden I try to plan them as different rooms, or a transition from one room to the... Continue Reading →
Gardening is one of my passions so I am delighted to discover #sixonsaturday as a way to link up with fellow gardeners across the world. When I think of the various areas of our garden I try to plan them as different rooms or a transition from one room to the next. Each room has a... Continue Reading →
Just over a year ago some new friends inspired me to start collecting cacti and succulents. I'd always admired the different species but only as a passing interest. However, once they showed me their incredible collection, I was hooked. Have you ever studied these plants? Structure, leaves and flowers? They are beautiful! Okay, I concede... Continue Reading →
... That's the million dollar question. I've never had any inclination to grow roses until an unusual striped variety growing in a friend's garden, caught my attention. It was love at first sight and I wanted one! A woman on a mission I went in search of this mystery rose. Armed with a picture of... Continue Reading →
In the Western Algarve growing strawberries in January is relatively easy. Dare I say we do not have ground frost and temperatures can reach a high of 18c during the day and from between 2C to 12C at night. I have found the best method of growing strawberries during the winter months is in containers... Continue Reading →
In my quest to use as many natural products in the garden as possible I consulted Google and found this informative article by Backyard Boss who kindly gave me permission to repost some of the article here. WHAT ARE EPSOM SALTS? To begin, I should probably explain what Epsom salts are. Epsom salts are... Continue Reading →
Imagine eating your own home-grown organic cucumbers. Hmmmm... delicious! Why not challenge yourself to grow cucumbers in pots or indeed any container which has adequate drainage. Even if you only have a small garden or sunny balcony give it a try and let me know how you get on. I usually buy about six seedling... Continue Reading →
When I bought my geraniums at the beginning of March they were healthy and produced lots of repeat flowers. I religiously dead-headed the plants on a regular basis and fed with MiracleGro to encourage growth. and by April the flower stalks had started to rot. I sprayed with a fungal spray but it did not... Continue Reading →
You name it, my fruit and vegetables probably have caught/will catch it. I was a sickly child and my fruit and veg seem to be following in the family tradition. With this in mind I literally love my plants to death, or so I've been told. In December I added rotted horse manure to the plot,... Continue Reading →
I don't know the name or variety of these tomatoes but they sure are HUGE!!! (I've since been informed they are 'Rosa' tomatoes). This year I bought several baby tomato plants from Silves monthly market which is held on the 3rd Monday of each month. This is an excellent market for vegetable plants, fruit bushes... Continue Reading →
About six months ago I noticed some strange sort of fungi, as I thought at the time, growing on the branches of the Melaleuca hedge, Olive tree and Bottle Brush bush. I took a sample to our local garden-cum-hardware shop where you can by everything from garden hoses, seeds, garden tools etc. to chemicals to... Continue Reading →
There is a popular phrase: Third time lucky. And as this is my third attempt to grow vegetables in my ill-fated raised vegetable bed due, to problems with hedge roots, let's hope it's true and I am lucky! Just to backtrack to my previous post, Gardening IS a Labour of Love!, there were various options.... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago I bought a peach tree. I planted the baby tree in a large pot, talked to it daily and it thrived. This year it flowered and the flowers, to my delight, turned to peaches. After months of waiting for the peaches to grow and then ripen, I decided today was... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, I was pegging out the washing when I heard a persistent clicking noise coming from the general direction of my vegetable area. "Tick...tick tick... tick... tick tick... tick.." (You get my drift) The ticking, sounded almost like Morse code. Intrigued and thinking it could be a bird in distress, I went to investigate. The... Continue Reading →
It's now September and here's me wittering on about my garden activities in July. I'm so far behind with this year's "Vegetable Diary" I was almost tempted to abandon the idea. However, as I have all the notes and photographic evidence I thought it would still prove useful to other Algarve gardeners and a reminder... Continue Reading →
This year I’m keeping a photographic diary of my humble vegetable garden; what’s growing when, where and how well. Despite being away for nearly two weeks I'm pleased to say my friends did a sterling job looking after all my fruit and vegetables. Everything was just as I'd left it(alive), but almost twice the size!... Continue Reading →
This year I'm keeping a photographic diary of my humble vegetable garden. In theory, if I take photographs on the 19th of each month they will offer a direct comparison as to what’s growing when, where and how well. The purpose of the exercise is to provide a record for next year so I can... Continue Reading →
This year I plan to photograph and record what's growing in my humble vegetable garden on the 19th of each month. This will give me a better idea of what’s growing when, and how well. Hopefully, it will act as a record for next year and I can learn from my successes and failures. The... Continue Reading →
This year I plan to photograph the plants in my humble vegetable garden on the 19th of each month. This will give me a better idea of what's growing when, and how well. Hopefully, it will act as a record for next year and I can learn from my successes and failures. The broad beans... Continue Reading →
Better late than never! I don't know whether the excitement of our imminent trip to the UK for several weeks was sapping my enthusiasm, or just the December blues due to the long dark evenings, but I really had to dig deep (pardon the pun) to motivate myself to work in the garden. I'm not... Continue Reading →
On the 15th of each month bloggers from all over the world take part in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day organised by May Dream Gardens. What is blooming in your garden? In the UK gardening in January like the weather, was depressing.. However, here in the Algarve I'm amazed there are so many plants, shrubs and... Continue Reading →
On the 15th of each month I participate in a gardening blog hop called Garden Bloggers Bloom Day where garden bloggers all over the world share what is currently blooming in their garden. So what's blooming in Piglet's plot? The temperatures here in the Western Algarve have not dipped below 3C at night and have... Continue Reading →
My passion for gardening has taken a back seat during November due to my trip to France, illness and of course the National Novel Writing 30 day challenge. However, much to my surprise everything, bar the cucumbers growing in pots, survived despite being unloved and neglected. Temperatures in the day hovered around 18C and 12C... Continue Reading →
I usually always wear gloves when I'm gardening because of all the little beasties lurking in the soil or on the leaves of my plants. Guess what? On this occasion I got sloppy and I put my naked hands into my strawberry bed to do some weeding. I saw something lurking among the dead leaves... Continue Reading →
Here we are hurtling towards the end of October enjoying the sun when autumn arrived quite suddenly. One minute we are swimming in the sea and enjoying temperatures of 25C while the cloudless blue sky suggested not a hint of rain and then it turned cold and wet... I should have known better, our wedding... Continue Reading →
August passed with a blink of an eye and before I realised, it was September. Unfortunately, I failed in my personal challenge to record my "August" gardening "ups and downs" along with photographic evidence. Fortunately I made some notes, which I've recorded below, but photographs are like hen's teeth (non-existent) A bug called citrus leaf... Continue Reading →
Hibiscus are my favourite plants (shrubs) because they are SO easy to grow and reward me with an abundance of beautiful flowers throughout the year. Unable to grow them in England I was naturally delighted to discover not only did they grow well in the Algarve, but also the amazing different varieties to choose from.... Continue Reading →
My container gardening diary continues... The temperatures in July, after scorching winds, soared into the 30Cs and certainly tested my tenacity and ability to grow fruit and vegetables in containers. Unlike cacti, succulents, hibiscus and the other variety of plants I grow, container grown fruit and vegetables are certainly more challenging for the novice gardener.... Continue Reading →
