An Algarve Garden 2020

@Victoria ,..beautiful blooms as always,..image of the Freesias is a winner,..as are the Arbor blooms,..alas nothing like your weather here,..rain and more rain

 

Thank you Philip. Nice to see you back from a short sojourn I assume.
Sorry about your weather ...I'll send some sunshine your way.

 

Some more Freesias and the Cercis is starting to bloom. The garden smells heady as the Freesias are seeding everywhere, the Brug is blooming and the orange blossom is all around us.









To give a vague idea how many orange trees are around us, we are the little house at the top (the other is 3 attached homes) ...

 

@Victoria

Beautiful images Victoria and a welcome sight to see on our dull rainy day,..wow you really are surrounded by Orange Trees,..just curious as to whether on a warm sunny day can you get the scent of Oranges.

 

Than you Philip. On a warm sunny day you almost can't breathe ... and that's when you are driving down the road! It is why we bought this house ... we wanted with the orchards around us but don't want them ourselves. The scent goes on for about two months. On our lane there are also lemon, tangerine, plum, loquat and apple trees. All are free to us ... courtesy of the neighbours. The oranges are called Encore ... they bloom, fruit and still have ripe fruit on all at once. My avatar is one bordering us.

Lidl Germany has just agreed to take on Algarve oranges from Algoz, a small town 6kms from us ... look out for it ... it is very sweeeeeet.

 

@Victoria ,

Oh you are very lucky to experience that scent it must give a feeling of well being,..then the bonus of not having to care for the fruit trees and fruits but get the produce for free,..a life of leisure ,..i must look out for those 'Encore Oranges',..for a very long time i am on 'Pink Lady Apples',..i eat about 10 per week i would manage the 'Encore Oranges' as well being a big fruit eater.

Like the Avatar as well.

 

Morning Philip. It is natural air freshener with the windows open.

Love Pink Lady apples too, probably my favourite. Jonagold, Braeburn and Fuji are okay too, Gala at a push. Granny Smith for pies (well, streudals). Can't abide pithy pasty ones!

Actually, I was told donkey's years ago they were called Encore ... but I can only find links to Encore Tangerines of which there are two trees across from my gates. Now they are sweet!

Here's a picture of a residential street in Paderne, a village near me ...

 

@Victoria ,

Morning Victoria,..now that's a sight to see,..views like that make one want to travel to Portugal and Spain,..i was given the chance to purchase an Apartment in Nerja Spain,..very reasonable price close to the beach and facilities,.. what held me back was no garden,.. plus at that time i had two dogs and the latter were top of the list for their comfort,..so here i am at home.

Just relaxing in the house today as i am waiting on a courier delivery,..so the order of the day is relaxing Spanish Guitar music,..extracted from a YouTube Video into Mp3,..then sent to a Flash Drive which i stick into my Stereo,..1 1/2 hours of free music.

Aha so you found 'Pink Lady Apples',..well done,..i have not tried anything else here as good and of course we get a lot of fruit and Veg from Portugal and Spain,..we can trust produce from there and tend to avoid anything from America,..they have 85% of their Corn Genetically Modified not forgetting their Dairy Products which on last count were banned in 40 Countries,..meat in particular.

 

The Queens Tears (Billbergia nutens) are blooming in the three boundary wall planters, two one side of the gate and one the other...





Geraniums on other side of planters ...





T'other Half has it on his "to do" list to paint the walls and stain the wood ...

 

@Victoria ,

Hi Victoria,..you have the right climate for all those Geraniums,..i was admiring your path passing alongside the Geraniums,..it looks really nice,..beckoning one to follow the path and beyond.

First time for me to come across Billbergia nutens,..are they scented?.

Ah a hint for the OH with a paint job,..wood oil would do a great job

 

Philip, it is strange, the giant Geraniums look lusher on the lane where they only get evening sun. In the garden centers here household ones are displayed outside under cover. I learned a lot here by emulating how the garden centers displayed them. The likes of Petunias, Begonias and Busy Lizzies prefer shade from the midday sun too.

We have a special stain that is used on decks. I'll believe it will get done when I see it along with the double wood front doors and windows.

Like so many flowers, Billbergia's beauty outweighs any scent it may have so sadly they have none. They also prefer shade here.

 

This is a houseplant, a container plant but for me an outdoor exotic.

Aeschynanthus radicans, the Lipstick Vine. We had it last Autumn in a sunny spot which it did not like. So we moved it to the Arbour/Pergola and it has rallied around and started to bloom ...

 

After posting the above, T'other Half changed some trellis to how I wanted them and put the arch up for my Sunseeker Rose which was somehow hanging loose.



On the opposite orchard side is my Angel Wing Cane Begonia planted in my old Bristol sink from the house we renovated in Bucks. I snapped some stems and planted them in the base to fill the bottom out. The main stalks are about 5-6 feet tall.

 

Photos from yesterday ...

Bougainvillea ...



Melaleuca (Tea Tree) starting its white bottle brushes ...



Hibbertia scandens climbing over outdoor living room ...



Myrtus 'Tarrantina' on right, Strelitzia nicolai on left, Iochroma cyanea centre front (drastically cut back),Plumbago behind (again drastically cut back) and Viburnum in the back. In between these shrubs in a sand garden for the cats ... they roll around in it and sleep, rarely pee .. they rush indoors to their litter boxes for that.



Peeking through the Jacaranda trunk(s) you can see the lemon tree in the orchard across the lane. There is a Tangerine tree on either side of it and horrible Loquat trees on either side of those ... Easy Pickings ...



Missed out the Geranium Rosebud ...

 

@Victoria ,

Hi Victoria,..beautiful plants and blooms from a Tropical Garden,..giving one the feeling of warm and scented and enjoyment,..so your Drizzle looks to have stopped,..its arrived here all day yesterday making it cool today.

Amazing performance from your Cats,..i can picture them rushing indoors to the Litter Tray instead of using your sandy spots,..one of mine kept up that habit of using the Litter Tray long after the others found more interesting drop spots.

Aha i can see T'other half makes great use of wood hammer and nails,..Trellis and Arch work deserve a pat on the back