A Creative Spirit in Portugal
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 →
For this week's Six on Saturday, I have focused on a selection of 'quirky' plants. Yes, I am running a little close to the wire timewise as I decided to wait to include pictures of the glorious Epiphyllum Oxypetalum (Queen Of The Night) which only flowers in the dark. Each sweet-scented bloom only lasting one... Continue Reading →
My Six on Saturday this week is a roundup of garden challenges. I am now officially at war with the blackbird who thinks he reigns supreme over my vegetable garden. After several attempts to grow lettuce from seed, I finally managed to persuade some to germinate and the seedlings moved to my large lettuce pot.... Continue Reading →
My six for this Saturday focuses on different seating areas around our garden. Perfect places to catch the early morning sun and enjoy breakfast, to write, read, sample a Gin and Tonic at the end of the day or just ponder the meaning of life and the COVID crisis. While others enjoyed a heatwave the... Continue Reading →
Where has this week gone? It seems impossible it's Saturday again! I have been so engrossed in helping my Gnome build our new composter (more on this project in a separate post) that I nearly forgot to post my weekly gardening update. This week we were blessed with heavy rain on Tuesday night which gave... 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 →
It's been another strange week. This morning I was informed we need to adapt to the NEW 'normal' - or words to that effect. I'd just woken up but I've already embraced 'normal' to stay safe. On a positive note, hopefully the garden centers will be open from today as Portugal moves from State of... Continue Reading →
In these uncertain times we all need an anchor in our lives to help keep us sane, so the commitment to grow all my fruit and veg from seeds is mine. The seeds and compost may have cost a small fortune, which will make the produce gold-plated if and when it grows, but this is... Continue Reading →
It's been a long week and as I watch the cases of COVID-19 rise across the Algarve, I've now accepted we are likely to remain in lockdown until the end of the summer. To help me stay focussed I have moved from panic into survival mode and have decided that instead of growing the usual... Continue Reading →
While we've been enjoying beautiful weather we have followed storm Denis, which is ravaging parts of the UK, with horror. It certainly helps to put life into perspective when you see the devastation it has left in its wake. My thoughts are with you. This week's SOS focusses on the progress of my little horta... 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 →
A new year brings a plethora of resolutions one of which is to actively participate in the Six on Saturday garden challenge once again. I am sad to say I have neglected my garden for several months due to a persistent knee injury, so on hobbling around my plot the number of flowering plants came... Continue Reading →
This week the sun pushed its way through the clouds and once again temperatures reached the high twenties. At least the heavy rain we enjoyed for a couple of days replenished the water-butts, gave the shrubs and hedge a much-needed drink, and brought some relief to the scorched landscape - fire risk downgraded from high... Continue Reading →
Good news! After months of drought, we finally have rain. Yep, Friday and Saturday ... and maybe more to come. I had to nip out between showers to take these photographs and as I write this it is still raining! The smell of rain is wonderful and you can almost hear the plants singing as... Continue Reading →
While I have taken a rest from writing about my garden and gardening in general due to visitors, my plants have laboured on left to the mercy under the watchful eye of the OH. The abundance of sea mist offered no compensation for the much-needed rain to deep water the shrubs and plants. Even the cacti... Continue Reading →
This time last week I was preparing my Six on Saturday when we lost our telephone line. We had a wildfire start quite close to us but thank God the wind sent the smoke, fire and ash in the other direction and across into the next valley. Thanks to the swift response of the Bombeiros... Continue Reading →
My six for this Saturday focuses on unusual garden ideas such as alternative planters, pebble art I discovered in local gardens. I feel inspired to try some of these ideas! 1. Pebble Art Ladybirds 2. Pebble Art Animals 3. Rock Village ** 4. Boots Upcycled to Plant Containers What a great idea! Rummages through cupboards... Continue Reading →
YaY! We had some rain this week. Only a couple of heavy showers for about an hour but better than nothing. Here is my Six on Saturday (SoS) for this week. 1. New Hibiscus I ONLY popped into the garden centre to buy some strawberry plants (see post 3 below) but I could not resist... Continue Reading →
Unlike the UK we've not had any rain other than the odd shower to quench the thirst of the scorched countryside. Unfortunately, this means we are on high alert for fires. Consequently, we try to conserve and reuse every drop of water when feasible. So far my plants in pots are holding up well as... Continue Reading →
There's a lot happening in the garden at the moment so it is demanding a lot of care and attention. This week I did not know where to start for the Six on Saturday garden update, so I decided to show how some areas of the garden are evolving as we head from spring towards... Continue Reading →
This week I've been planting up pots to bring some much needed vibrant summer colour to the garden. Shrubs, cacti and succulents make a great low-maintenance backdrop, but the displays of annuals really make the garden pop with colour. I usually go to the garden centre and select a range of annuals but this year,... Continue Reading →
It's been a busy week in the garden with everything demanding my attention at once to the point I've been spinning on the spot. We managed to cut the olive hedge which had grown to around 12ft as it was casting a shadow over the pool sitting area as the sun dipped lower after 18.30.... Continue Reading →
Mother's Day came with a monetary 'allowance' to spend on plants. Needless to say, I was like a kid in a sweetie shop when the OH drove for over an hour on Wednesday to visit my favourite garden centre, Qta Ataboeira. If you want succulents and cacti, for me, they are the 'go-to' place. They also... Continue Reading →
Where do the weeks go? We desperately need rain but despite the forecast showing a shower or two, we have only been gifted 1cm since last Sunday. If it does not rain soon, we have already been warned there will be a shortage of water in the Western Algarve. Sitting in the garden eating breakfast... Continue Reading →
