March 2019 – Gardens. Travel. Life.

Posted on March 28, 2019March 28, 2019 by happyretiredblog · 6 Comments

Garden and Wildflowers – Spain

I know I’m lucky to spend a fair bit of time here in Spain. We first visited here in March ’17. We spent most of our time in March ’18 on a road trip to Northern Spain – it was Semana Santa – but we have been here in Southern Spain for a fair chunk of March this year.

As well as being able to enjoy and work on the garden which with a spot of rain and some heat has run away with itself it has been great to see the start of a lot of the wildflowers on our own bank and the roundabout which isn’t a roundabout and round and about the area.

The colours and scents in the garden have been amazing. The freesia and the orange blossom together with the jasmine have filled the air daily.

The alliums are running away with themselves and everything is in a mad dash to grow. There has been a plethora of mimosa this year with the colour yellow as far as the eye can see.

The olive tree has started to form blossom and it looks that unlike last year there will be plenty. The same with the orange blossom now and the almond blossom before.

The almond blossom has now gone and the almonds are growing very nicely thank you very much.

I have repotted. Moved pots. Planted bulbs. Had a general tidy up. There is constantly things to do – not that I am complaining.

But I have ventured up and down the access road. Down to the bins on the road and up to a house at the end of the access road. Trust me. Going down the hill is fine. Coming up to the house and beyond – I need an oxygen mask and a lie down. You can hear my breathing from afar. Well. Gasping really. But it is worth it. There are wild flowers a plenty.

Last year I scattered about 2000 poppy seeds on the bank. We had. None. That’s right. Not one. This year we have three. Not thousand. Three as in 1.2 3!! bit I am not convinced these are the ones I sowed. Who cares. I have three poppies.

Excited. You bet. Excited for next year. And the year after.

But the wildflowers are the gift that keeps on giving. They have started and will continue for ages. New ones will appear. The ones now in flower will form seed-heads. It goes on and on. Last year I bought a book – Wild plants of southern Spain by Tony Hall which with my book on Mediterranean plants by Lorraine Cavannagh have been my go to books for the garden and the wild plants.

Most I have been able to identify.

The bank is overflowing with these beauties. A very pretty flower and a heavily scented leaf. If I’m right in its identification then the leaves should smell strongly of bitumen. They do smell strongly but I don’t quite get bitumen.

Now this yellow flower is everywhere. On the bank. On the drive. All over the slope as you drive down the wiggly road. A really pretty flower head. But so you think I have been able to find it’s name? Nope. I know someone will tell me.

Echium plantagineum and mallow

So this is an Echium plantagineum. Who knew? I didn’t. Well I think it is. I called it the pretty little purple flowers on the bank.

Not as many on the bank as I would like. Not yet. But there will be.

I was excited to see these pretty pea like flowers in the garden. A friend said ‘ wait a few weeks and you won’t be saying that.’ They were right. They spring up everywhere. Through the plants. On the ground. Stand still too long ( not a chance here) and they will be using you as a climbing frame.

Yes. They are pretty. Very. Small flowers. But and it’s a big but. They are pretty prolific.

These little pale coloured lupins were a real eye opener. I saw them first on our access road and pondered if they were actual lupins. Small. All of a similar size and colour. But they are. And lovely they are too. I shall be off to collect some seed when they go over.

This pretty bunch is not mine – not this year but I’m trying for next. It’s close by to the house and is full of little lupins. In the Uk I have never been able to grown Lupins. Slugs. Big fat slugs always got them.

Last year we had a few of these on our bank. One in a tub with a pretty spiky agave. And one under the hedge on the drive. This is one of the ones on the access road to the house. Why? Because only one of the others has appeared this year. We have leaves but as of yet no flowers. Fingers crossed. We may yet.

The roundabout which isn’t a roundabout is full of mallow. Pretty little ground hugging mallow. Add some yellow and purple of other plants and it makes a pretty damn good patch.

These are spiky little blighters. The leaves rather than the flowers. Pretty variegated geeen and white leaves with a lovely lilac to purple. They grow like weeds on the bank.

My go to book also mentions Cistus. The grey leaved cistus. We have one large plant in the garden. But I realise now that last year I was pulling these plants out of the area where the almonds grown – so far this year I am leaving them be. They are so pretty then can spread as much as they like.

The flowers are produced each morning and as the day goes by they look more and more like crepe paper. I don’t think I have seen crepe paper since my school days! But they are pretty damn fine flowers to have in the garden.

I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the bee orchids that come up in a neighbours garden. For my few orchids.

Oh. And of course for the 1,997 poppies.

I may be a long time.

Posted on March 23, 2019 by happyretiredblog · 8 Comments

Six on Saturday – Spain again

The sun has been out. There has been little rain. And the flowers are running away with themselves.

You can tell it’s warming up and the sun is bright. Though early mornings and evenings are still chilly. But the succulents are starting to flower. These are on the dry bank and in a small circular bed under the olive tree. I forget their name and as I’m in a hurry to meet the Saturday deadline I’ll have to leave it there! .

The banksia rose is such a small delicate thing. But climbing through the jacaranda it’s lovely handing down with its small but pretty little roses. The bids are teeny tiny. And this year there are a lot of them.

Last year I had one quince on the quince tree. Just the one. This year the tree is in full flower so I am hopeful. The flowers start a deep pinkish as they are in tight bud and then open to this lovely pink.

We have two orange trees in the garden. One produced some decent oranges this year. The other none. But. And a big but. The blossom this year is amazing. Both trees are full of blossom and the bees are a buzzing. Hopefully like the quince we will get a good crop.

The bank and the campo are full of yellow. The mimosa is in full bloom now as is my hay fever. There is pollen everywhere. Sadly the trees are getting a bit straggly on our bank and will need to be cut back pretty hard after flowering.

I think the wild orchids we have at the back of the house are growing towards Oz this year. There are some leaves about but this time last year the flowers were out. Fingers are still crossed that they will flower. This is one from the banks of the access road to the house. There are also bee orchids suddenly showing their leaves.

Posted on March 14, 2019March 14, 2019 by happyretiredblog · 5 Comments

A tale of three gardens. Hola

It’s amazing how fast things grow when you turn your back on a garden. Weeds especially. I think we have the national collection of bind weed in Somerset.

I hadn’t done a winter clear as the ground had been too wet. We hadn’t been around much. And I’ve picked up a bit of mañana syndrome. But needs must and last weekend I knew I had to do one thing. Prune roses. They weren’t pruned last year at all. A fail I know but the year before was a good pruning. Especially as I had Mrs Shouty as a guide and mentor for pruning the apple trees and the roses. Mrs Shouty -= Sara Venn.

So I hacked the roses. Some are old. Some probably need to be replaced. I will review at the end of the summer to see what’s what after flowering. But I pruned. I got attacked by the curse of the thorns. I have had my tetanus jab.

I tidied up a bit – well I cut the perennials back to the ground and then the rain came. Lots of it. So it’s still there to be taken away. On top of the bind weed.

Yes. There is smoke. But it’s Ian burning paperwork. Old bills. There is a bonfire there ready to start next time. A great big bonfire.

We bought a mirabelle plum a few years ago. It has fruited. Now great at the beginning. Some years the frost got the blossom and there was little or no fruit. But they are delicious. This year there is blossom a plenty. But watching what ever storm was passing through on Saturday shaking the tree and scattering the blossom filled me with gloom. If it’s not the frost that gets the blossom it’s the wind. Hopefully there will be plenty of fruit this year.

There are benefits of leaving last years flowers through Autumn and Winter . The colour of this sedum is great. And I haven’t cut it back. Not yet anyway.

Oh. I was also distracted. By a dahlia talk at the local horticultural society.

It’s a different tale back in London. The only cutting back I’ve done is to the Melianthus major which was tall and leggy. So armed with information and a decent secateurs I cut it low. Fingers crossed I’ll get flowers.

The garden in London is different. It’s small. More a courtyard garden and is sheltered. We have a typical London micro climate. I still have geraniums flowering from last year and are gaining growth at a rate of knots.

The Bowles Mauve is budding up well and will soon have a lovely scent when it opens. It’s a solid little plant and does really well

I can’t believe we have blossom on the citrus in the garden. And lots of it. Hopefully a bit more sun. A bit more warmth and these lovely flowers will open and there will be an orange blossom scent above the chair. Not that I can sit and read there. It’s there for one reason. Well three reasons. It’s the cats chair. Well one of their chairs.

If I was surprised at the blossom I am even more surprised to see a couple of tiny small fruits developing. Fingers crossed they will get bigger. I’ve been out and poo’d my plants including the citrus. The first feed of 2019. Using Lous Poo – alpaca feed

There is growth on the clematis. Early I think but never the less welcome. It’s only in the last two years that it’s done well.

Ian’s not a gardener. But he knows what he likes. Tree ferns for example. It was Ian’s ides to have tree ferns in the garden. I didn’t expect to have 5. But we have and I love them. I need to feed these once I take out the straw from the crown!

But they have survived in the garden for about 12 years and last year I didn’t fleece them or put straw in the crown when the the beast of the east arrived suddenly. But they survived.

One of my plant loves is agapanthus and I’m lucky to have them in both the London garden and the one in Spain. Again they need a feed if I’m going to get a great big show off spectacle of flowers.

I have just bought agapanthus black Buddhist from Farmer Gracy for the Spanish garden which was delivered last week.

We have a lot of blue and white in the garden here and there. There and here depending where I am – but I’d like to introduce some different ones. The ones in the garden have self seeded here and there and spring up everywhere.

The tulips in the window boxes are through – I planted them late but are growing pretty fast. There are new colours this year. I didn’t grow any in Spain as the ones I tried last year were pants. That’s not a variety. It was the outcome.

The jasmine is almost to the top of the downpipe and is heavy with flower buds. You know those pinky red little buds that open to a fabulous white scented flower. Add a bit of Trachelospermum a bit later and you have a succession of scent. I lost one last year but the other two are doing ok. Add the scent of my straggly honeysuckle to next door’s rampant one poking over the fence and we have the summer scents sorted.

Spain is weeks ahead of London and Somerset. In Spain the jasmine is out already as the weather has warmed up. Though I see we have two weeks of rain coming. Last March was wet. Very wet. So far we have had a dry spell since October when the reservoirs filled to the top. Great for the garden. Great for the reservoir and our storage tank. But…..

The freesia are brilliant again this year. Bought from Peter Nyssen and shipped to Spain – they look and smell fantastic. I must try some in pots in London next.

It is such a contrast between the three gardens – which I will admit is one too many. Somerset is at the end of a season and the start of another. It needs a good cut back. London had a central city micro climate and its small and sheltered. There is no way I could grow tree ferns in Somerset or Spain.

Spain is obviously very different. Whilst we are 650 m above sea level in the cooler mountains the season is well under way with colour and scent in March already. Plus we have plenty of green with the agave dotted around the garden.

The almond blossom continues. Ours had been and gone and they were pretty heavy with flowers. The mimosa is starting to come out on our bank. In other gardens it’s over already. I’ve seen the leaves of the wild orchids poking through and the bee orchids in a neighbours garden. We had thought we may have lost some as we had

There’s enough to keep me going for now. There are lists. And lists of lists. My lists. Ian’s lists.

I have some more things to plant Colocasia Black Magic. Bessara elegans, Watsonia peach glow, Roscoea purpurea, Anomatheca laxa, Lycoris radiata to start and some Canna. These are for Spain and came from Farmer Gracy – great find.

I bought , on Ian’s instruction a big colocasia at the localmspsnish garden centre to add to the Mojhito that I bought last year.

Don’t tell Ian but I’ve got Canna on order from Todd’s botanics for London as well as some new white agapanthus.

There’s no peace for the wicked.

Posted on March 2, 2019March 2, 2019 by happyretiredblog · 5 Comments

Six on Saturday 2/3 Spain

The weather has been good this week. Some chilly nights and early mornings but the daytime temperatures have been good.

Things are suddenly shooting up and there are buds forming and new flowers opening. But we haven’t had any rain here in Andalucia for weeks. And there is only a drop forecast for next week. Which as we know can change daily.

The Strelitzia Reginae continue to delight. The one in a large pot has one open flower with four more in various stages. The ones planted in the garden are not as large and flower less frequently. This is one of those that is flowering now. There are a further four spikes in various plants to come so there should be a succession of flowers for a few months. They are such a beautiful flower. The Strelitzia Nicolai shows no sign of flowering yet. But that flower is not on a spike it just appears from the side of the plant.

We saw this Colocasia at the local garden centre stuck in a corner where we were getting a coffee. Asked if it was for sale. It was so home it came. For now it’s still in its pot on the terrace. But the leaves are large and very lovely. It may just stay there.

The flowers of the cistus have started to come out slowly this year. A lovely colour and they look like crepe paper. Eventually there will be seed heads. But for now I’ll enjoy the flowers!

Now I have to admit I’m not a huge lover of the Swiss cheese plant. We always had one of these and a rubber plant as houseplants as we were growing up. But this one is planted in the garden. It’s doing well so it can stay and I’m getting to like it more. There are massive ones in La Conception gardens in Malaga ( Botanical Gardens) which are growing in the shade. I don’t expect this one to get that big.

We have two orange trees in the garden. Last year one had no fruit. The other had a moderate crop. There is blossom on both trees this year. One more than the other but there are loads of gorgeous white flowers. The scent is already lovely but when the majority opens it will be awesome.

This one sadly isn’t mine. It’s a photo I took when we were at the beach yesterday. But we have three Foxtail Agave in the garden. Two in pots and one in the garden and they are a big favourite of mine. But I was instantly struck by the flower. I have seen them dotted around but haven’t be able to get this close to one. It’s simply stunning.