Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - October 2013

It's lovely to welcome you back again to my Algarve garden. 

I know it's almost the end of the month but I was too busy and sad to take photos on the 15th. I finally took these shots on the 20th. The nights and mornings are cooler and it has rained quite a lot. You can see the earth is a darker brown where I have been removing grass to make my beds wider. 

In the photo above the iceberg roses are thriving next to the yellow hibiscus. We put Mimosa's grave in front of the hibiscus. That dog loved this garden!

Moving along the same wall, here we have the red oleander (the only one with blooms at the moment) and the red hibiscus.

Here is another shot that shows how much grass is coming out for wider beds, by the front gate. It's still very much a work in progress. I try to work on this project after rainy days because digging dry Algarve soil is a very unsuitable job for a woman. In this area I have been trying the smothering method but it is taking sooo long! I might have to move that lavender...

The rain has done wonders for the roses. This one bloomed again after a few months' pause.

There are some red blooms near the gate.

Here is a bloom from my other white rose and you can see the orange tree in the background, heavy with fruit.

These roses are from cuttings a neighbour gave me a couple of years ago. The wetter weather brought some undesirable pests to the roses, unfortunately. Ecological solutions didn't get rid of them. In the end I had to resort to chemicals.

Finally, this shrub, called "Dama da Noite" in Portuguese, bloomed again, releasing it's sweet scent into the cooler nights. Does anyone know its English or Latin name?

Looking back over my blog I've just realized that I joined Carol's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day in September last year. How time flies!

I'm off now to link to Carol's May Dreams Gardens. Do visit my garden again soon!

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: All one colour

Oranges from the local monthly market, not from my orange tree this time

Almonds start off green and peach-like

Autumn fields

Memories of summer

It's been a long time since I've entered Cee's Fun Foto Challenge. Check it out.


Oh, I've updated Cee's link.

Autumn

Autumn is the theme for Jake's Sunday post challenge. Although it's mid-September and I live in the northern hemisphere, in the Algarve people are still enjoying magnificent beach weather. The only sign that autumn is on its way is that the sun is setting earlier.

The photos I found for this post were taken about fifteen years ago at the beginning of September when I visited Celorico de Basto in northern Portugal.

Now it's time to visit all the other blogs that have joined Jake's challenge. Won't you come along, too?