A Creative Spirit
While we were vacationing in France, the weather Gods graced us with rain after months of drought. Lots of rain. Apparently, it rained every morning, and the sun broke cover in the afternoon. Needless to say, we returned home not only to a greener garden but also to a proliferation of mosquitoes! The usual suspects,... Continue Reading →
Last week, I shared an overview of the South garden and pool area in my post April Garden Diary – A Tour of My Garden (part 1). This week, I focus on the east, west and north gardens, which include a small terrace and vegetable area. We try to keep it tidy, but it is always... Continue Reading →
At times, I want to throw up my hands in despair. Gardening is a constant challenge. If it's not munchers eating my succulents, Kale or cannas, it's sickly plants demanding my attention, roots breaking through a wall to access the raised vegetable area, and then there's lichen. Poorly Orchid - I ignored this outdoor orchid... Continue Reading →
My six gardening pictures for this Saturday feature some of the plants flowering in my garden at the end of October, taken while dodging the showers. YaY! Rain, glorious rain. It seems one or more of my hibiscus plants are always in flower, and today was no exception. Flowering Hibiscus in October Flowering Hibiscus in... Continue Reading →
I am addicted to succulents and committed to creating a drought-tolerant garden, which is just as well because we will have a hosepipe ban this summer. The drought situation is critical, and restrictions are already in place in the Eastern Algarve. Let's just hope all the tourists who arrive in their hoards this summer refrain... Continue Reading →
I continue to be delighted by how well my succulents grow in pots. During the heat of the summer, I moved many of my succulents into the dappled shade to give them some respite from the scorching temperatures of the mid-day sun. Pot-grown succulents do offer greater flexibility, especially when temperatures soar to the high... 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 →
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 →
My gardening six this week focuses on a new project to extend one of our succulent gardens and identify ALL the succulents. Research seems more labour intensive than the physical aspect of digging, moving rocks and planting. Is anyone else confused by all the different names? 1. Succulent Garden - Work in Progress I originally... 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 →
Gardening in Portugal may seem like a gardener's paradise but my plants are plagued by far more pests and diseases then they ever were in the UK. Or maybe it's just my garden and the bugs arrive to dine on my plants as they would at a Michelin star restaurant. My six on Saturday for this... 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 →
Growing succulents and cacti has become my passion. Unfortunately for the plants in my care, I am still relatively new to the sport so have much to learn with watering being the biggest challenge, until now! Imagine my despair when I discovered my prize Crested Eve's Needle (Austrocylindropuntia subulata f. cristata) was covered in a scaly... 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 →
Piglet in Portugal 