A Creative Spirit
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 →
You certainly reap what you sow! I've devoted hours tending my vegetable garden this month and I'm now reaping the benefits with an abundant crop of tomatoes, lettuce, radish, carrots, peppers, red cabbage and French green beans. The crops are fed at regular intervals with the MiracleGro kindly donated by a friend. However, I can't... Continue Reading →
My monthly garden diary continues with my ongoing attempts to grow fruit and vegetables in pots and various containers. After various gardening disasters in May I learned some valuable lessons such as a basic understanding of soil nutrients, watering (under and over) and the size of the pots I should be using to name a... Continue Reading →
Shame on me. I completely forgot to write my monthly vegetable diary for May and I only took one photograph of the raised vegetable area. In my defence, I was away for several weeks so my garden was left very much to its own devices. Unfortunately this created problems with bugs and of course my... Continue Reading →
On Monday, I met up with Joan a fellow "container" garden enthusiast and a regular visitor to my blog. It was great to not only see all her wonderful pots of fruit, vegetables and flowers, ask numerous questions ranging from types of compost, worm farms to problems with insects, but also discuss our successes and... Continue Reading →
There's certainly never a dull moment when you attempt to grow your own fruit and vegetables, especially on Piglet's plot! One minute they are all fine and the next... Before we returned to France I went to our local plant and hardware shop to buy liquid fertilizer for my fruit and vegetables. After performing various... Continue Reading →
April 23rd 2012 - My monthly diary for April continues with my ongoing experiment to grow fruit and vegetables in pots and various containers. This year I planted some orange and red peppers seedlings which I bought from São Teotónio Market in March. At 25cents each they were quite expensive, but still easier and cheaper... Continue Reading →
My diary continues... Despite earlier problems with white cabbage mold Piglet's plot continues to yield a modest crop of lettuce, carrots, leeks, cabbage, spinach and radish. The brocoli and cauliflower have now finished, and it was rather a challenge to eat them all before they ran to seed! I like them but not THAT much!... Continue Reading →
Piglet is going green! No, that's not green with envy of EC's wonderful zucchini and squash. But I do feel I can at least make a small contribution to help reduce global warming by cutting down on my personal carbon emissions. How? By not growing zucchini (courgettes) What...has Piglet gone mad? (probably...) How will not growing... Continue Reading →
The monthly diary of growing my own fruit and veg continues... - What grows well (God grant me the serenity to accept dispite my best efforts SOME vegetables will not grow well in my garden) - What to plant and when. (Next year I must leave space for broad and green beans and NOT fill... Continue Reading →
I want to scream, stamp my foot in anger, have a mardy and then curl up into the fetal position and have a good cry. I'm normally a positive person and if I don't succeed I keep trying until I do. For example you may recall when I discovered roots from nearby trees and hedges... Continue Reading →
My monthly diary continues. Over the next year I'm keeping a monthly diary of the fruit and vegetables I grow in my urban garden here in the Algarve. Gardening is one of my passions, and although my efforts are not always successful my tenacity makes up for what I lack in knowledge. Despite a couple... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 