Sunday, July 28, 2013

Sunset over the rooftops

Algarve sunset over rooftops
Last night the sunset was special. This is what my camera captured from my first floor balcony.
Algarve sunset over the rooftops




Monday, July 22, 2013

Now you see it, now you don't

Now you see it...


Algarve hill -layers exposed
It was already only half a hill...

... now you don't!


Algarve hill -flattened
Disappearing hill?
The hill is going, going, gone!

I imagine that originally the hill that has now almost completely disappeared might have looked like the one in the picture below (in the distance) but I can't be sure. If anyone has some old photos, I'd love to see them.

Algarve landscape after clay extraction
Still there: the other end of the disappearing hill - much of it had already gone into the making of bricks
When I took these photos, some vegetation was beginning to cover the ugliness of the bare ground after the extraction of clay for the brick factory across the road.

Recently there was talk of building a theme park in this area but that project was taken to Spain. Now the bulldozers have flattened the land on both sides of the road and a monster depot for a chain of supermarkets is going up next to the brick factory.
Pingo Doce depot
View from the Guia-Algoz road
How will it look when completed?

Pingo Doce Algarve depot
View from Algoz - another small hill gone
I don't think it will improve the views from the village of Algoz. It has already changed the landscape by obliterating two little hills. I'm  hoping it will make up for that by creating some jobs and helping the local economy. I'll be posting updates in the near future.


Monday, July 15, 2013

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2013

Welcome to my garden in hardiness zone 10 on the south coast of Portugal.

Summer has arrived with a vengeance and after a heat wave, some of my July blooms are having a hard time.

The roses

Pink 'n white roses
The little rose bush I bought at Algoz market at the beginning of May is settling in nicely
  Red rose

Fragrant rose
This rose is starting to bloom again
Yellow patio rose
Surrounded by santolina
I had 2 rose bushes in pots, waiting for an opening in the garden - now I have four! I guess more lawn will have to go!

The lillies

Fragrant lilies
Heady scent for the veranda

Unperturbed by the heat

Lavender close-up
A hub of insect activity
Agapanthus
A blue flower, finally

Bougainvillea
Thriving bougainvillea
Nerum oleander
Peachy oleander still going strong
Variegated oleander
This variegated oleander is looking good
Alyssum and snapdragons
Colourful bed reclaimed from the lawn - a work in progress
I plan to plant two roses bushes in this new bed, as soon as I can take out some more grass.

The side and back patios look much the same as they did in June, so that's it, folks, time to visit May Dreams Gardens where the Bloom Day bloggers all link up.




Sunday, July 7, 2013

Urban Design

"Urban design is the process of designing and shaping cities, towns and villages."

I have never lived in a big city - I grew up in a suburb of Harare (Salisbury to me), lived for many years in a village near Portugal's second largest city, Porto (which is still tiny compared to London or New York) and now live in an even smaller village a few kilometres from the beach resort of Albufeira, on the Algarve coast. 

But my heart belongs to Harare, a well-organised city with lots of modern buildings, tree-lined avenues and well-planned green spaces.

Here are two photos by my friend, Judy Jane (I've posted the second one before).
ICL building, Harare

Green spaces in Harare

For many more photos, have a look on skyscraper.com. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the quality of Harare's urban design.

This post is part of the Sunday post challenge hosted by Jake. Check out more Urban Design at Jakesprinters.



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