Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - Feb. 2014

Welcome again to my garden in the Algarve. This lavender is the star this month, the only plant that seems oblivious to the cold, wind and rain.

Scruffy is the word for my garden at the moment. I am now sure that I can have blooms outside every month of the year but I cannot keep the garden looking immaculate unless I have professional help in winter. I am allergic to the cold and get ill at a drop of a hat so the garden goes straggly and wild.

My gardener surprised me yesterday by popping in to prune the roses and nearly got bitten by Pandora, my newest dog, who didn't take too kindly to finding a strange man on the property. He couldn't, however, do anything about the grass overrun by common yellow oxalis because everything was too wet.

By the gate, the rosemary is looking good together with another lavender. I wish I had taken a better photo before the gardener pruned it a bit more than I would have liked.

My yellow orchid has taken a bit of a beating from the rain and wind. Next month I'm expecting more orchid blooms from other pots.

I have a daffodil... or two. In this pot there are other bulbs (not exactly sure what I planted there, oops).

 There's too much happening in this container, too (must avoid that next time).

This is one of my attempts at growing succulents. There are more pots around the place but I forgot to take photos.

I find that my strawberries don't do well in this pot (the soil dries too fast) so it has been planted with succulents, too.

And here is the sweet potato vine with the jasmine just waiting for some sun to burst into bloom and add scent to my back patio.

See you next month!

I'm off to May Dreams Gardens to look at what is happening in gardens around the world.