Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - Jan. 2014

It was a grey, drizzly day today. My Algarve garden in hardiness zone 10a needs sprucing up - shrubs need cutting back and the grass, overrun with common yellow oxalis, needs cutting. I only prune the roses in February or March. If I do that job now, the frost may damage the new growth. Some are still flowering.

The lone bloom on the aloe I showed you in December looks like this now.

My little lemon tree is still sharing the same planter as the lobster flowers and cheering up the back patio.

The creeping rosemary continues to produce its little pale blue flowers.

Then there is the lavender, my favourite plant of 2013!

This one has been flowering for ages but now it is begging to be cut back. In recent months it has attracted more wildlife than any other plant in my garden.

This one is in a corner of the garden. It was cut back drastically in August and is looking fantastic now.

This one is in full bloom.

This is the newest addition to my "collection". I am planning to have more in the rose bed if my cuttings take.

Next month I hope to have yellow orchid blooms, among other things.

I guess the garden looks very similar in December and January. In southern Portugal it is surprisingly easy to have blooms every month of the year! I have learnt a lot from reading garden blogs and I hope to make the colder months even more colourful next year.

Now I'm off to May Dreams Gardens where Carol hosts GBBD. Why don't you join me?

Reality

In the early 60s this was my reality.

 
My mom was beginning the daunting task of turning a bare plot in the suburbs of Salisbury into a garden. That must be where I get the passion for gardening from.

This is my first Sunday post of 2014 for Jake's challenge. Click on the horse and see how others have interpreted REALITY.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - Dec. 2013 - long overdue!

There were very few blooms to photograph on the 15th of December, but the foliage at the gate looked quite interesting. There were some pale blue flowers on the creeping rosemary.

December was a difficult month for me. It was cold, wet and windy and I had a virus and then a bad, persistent cough. I couldn't do anything in the garden. The grass was looking bad and the beds were full of weeds, common yellow oxalis mainly. Fortunately, I had some help from a gardener who came on the 14th to cut the grass and remove some weeds. I was so relieved! Finally I could relax knowing that the garden would no longer look abandoned at Christmas.

There were some roses and lavender.

Again, a rose and lavender.  Lavender was, in fact, my favourite plant of 2013. It just keeps on blooming.

If I had a big garden, this aloe would be in the ground and I'd allow it to spread. As it is, I can count on one glorious bloom a year.

A few years ago a friend and colleague who was teaching music on the Island of Madeira brought me three plants. The only one that survived was this orchid. But it wouldn't flower! Now, finally, it has! Why only now? I have no idea!

In a few days it will be time for another GBBD post. Until then, I'm sure you'll find a way to enjoy your garden.

Meet Pandora

Two days after I got her from the shelter - doesn´t she have the face of an angel?

I love her, she loves me but it turns out that she is suffering from separation anxiety, which is quite common in dogs from shelters, apparently. She gets really stressed and is stressing out her canine and human companions. As a result, I have been reading up on the problem in an attempt to turn the situation around while at the same time trying to limit the damage she can do around the house when left on her own.

If you have ever had to deal with a similar problem and have any suggestions, please share them with me. We need all the help we can get.

Shades of grey

Have I mentioned I miss the tropics at this time of year?

The view from my car window this morning (just south of Porto)

 It won't come as a surprise to you that grey is not exactly my favourite colour...

The view from my favourite cafe, at lunchtime (Praia da Granja)

This was as blue as it got!

If I had to attribute a colour to the year I am leaving behind, it would definitely be grey.

Here's hoping 2014 will turn out more bright and colourful in every way.


I am going to use a word that special blogger, Carol, uses often (hope she doesn't mind):

I wish all my visitors and fellow bloggers enough of the good things in life in the New Year! Happy 2014!