Hola. buen día ( that’s your actual Spanish) 

So  there have been no more embarrassments. No mishaps. Well I did break the sun umbrella but hey. Anyone can do that. I’ve  even been back to the petrol Station and all was ok, no laughing at me today  But I suspect that’s only because it was a different shift. I have a funny story about firemen and a different shift, but that’s for another day. And it doesn’t  involve me. 

Oh I nearly forgot. One of the lights on the terrace in the garden wasn’t working. I spent two days looking for the light switch indoors. As well as keys we have numerous light switches. And plugs.  All the other lights came on. This one looked different. But it wouldn’t work. Ok I thought. I’ll have to replace the bulb. So  eventually I lift the cover. No bulb. I then realised it was the hole  for the washing line pole! So hey ho. I did some washing. 

So I am now 6 days into our first visit. Ian’s been and gone. Flew in on the last flight into Malaga on Friday eve. From London City which has to be my favourite airport. Flew out again on  mon Pm. A real flying  visit. Me I leave tomorrow. On a jet plane. And I do know when I’ll be back again. In a weeks time. What’s bringing me back to London. RHS Chatsworth! 

So late Friday night we wound our way up the windey road at 2.30am. Ian hanging onto the car door as if he was scared. I know i was. It was dark.  The road is windey. Twists and turns more than Torvill and Dean in Bolero.   You need travel sickness pills at the best of times. And a clean pair of pants. There is only so many times you can sing the long and winding road for it to be funny. We arrived to total  darkness to get into Fort Knox. I know I’ve mentioned keys but there are 4 locks to get into the house. Try doing that when you are tired. In the dark. Not knowing which if the trillion keys to use. And in not exaggerating. 

Well not quite in the dark as the whole of the valley was illuminated with the path lights the wall lights the tree lights and all shining off the top of my baldy spot. To me it’s a bald spot. To others it’s a thumb print. 

The lights – All attracting the mozzies. Some men are babe magnets. Some men are bloke magnets. Me. A mozzie magnet. Lights go quickly off. I haven’t sprayed. Why can’t Hermes bring out a mozzie repellant cologne. 

We awake early on Sat. Just a few hours sleep. Excited to explore the garden. The town. 

The garden has been a delight. Each day finding something  new, something unknown and then going back to what Ian has described as the most expensive bloody book on plants to try and decipher what we have.  Little does he know. But it is useful. A book by Lorraine Kavvanagh on Mediterraneanean plants. With pictures. 

I like a picture book. Reminds me of Watch with Mother and other tv programmes. Of my childhood. Picture book was on a Monday. Then we had  Bill and Ben and Little weed  who must have been the first TV gardeners. As usual I digress back to childhood. I wont mention anything about Andy Pandy Looby Lou and Teddy bear. Or even the Woodentops as only people of a certain age will understand. Others will think I’m mad. 

Looby  Lou.  Sounds a bit like me meeting   –  The poo lady – Lou’s poo at RHS Chelsea. Even if she wasn’t holding a bag of compost tea with MY agapanthus pic on the label. I can’t  believe I didn’t bring some out with me, (I’d been paid in pooh for helping with the label) A poo smuggler. Anything to declare Sir – only a bag of s—t occifer! Oh and an awful pic of me to boot. 

Back to the garden. Now I don’t drink. I don’t smoke and I don’t go out with women. So I buy plants. Ian will say I don’t always plant them but I am getting better. So it was with some surprise he mentioned that we should go to the local garden centre run by the author of that ‘bloody book’. Did i want to go? stupid questions need no answers. But I wasn’t buying  anything. I didn’t. Ian bought two great big fat ferns,  two big pots. A 7 year old mandarin tree that will fruit this year. Anothger big pot. Which they kindly delivered that afternoon with soil, peat free compost  and some organic worm  fertiliser Despite Ian being confident we could get it all in our hire car. I said no. They said they deliver. They followed. 

So here for two days and already on the plant run.

  

Oh and we were given a copy of an interesting book on Citrus written by Lorraine.  She also does a garden consultation Which I think will be useful and hurrah. Ian agrees. It will enable me to write down what plants there are in the garden now. One for next time. 

So to the garden, The garden around the house itself isn’t huge but beautifully planted already. There is a slope at the back and a bit above the road but for now I’ll mostly ignore it. It has been ignored for years.  The direct bit behind the house is planted.Srought tolerant. Some succulents. A rogue bougainvillea. A couple of almond trees. Covered in almonds.  Need to look when to harvest. . 

The garden starts with a fabulous lavender path.  Trachelospermum at the gate, big succulents, a jacaranda and yucca. The jacaranda flowed are lovely. But you have to be at a distance or above to appreciate them. My appreciation is the flowers on the path. Fallen from the tree. . A bougainvillea which is just getting going. A big fat olive tree – which is full of flowers and will hopefully fruit. Quite what we will do with them is another thing. 

Some lovely Salvia  – which last well in a vase! 

Thwre  will be more salvia now i know that they will survive. I have my eye on two already for next week when i am back. 

We have a hedge. I was told what it was. But again I forgot. It needs trimming to keep it low for the view. To the mountains. On a good day to the coast. On a very good day Morocco. There is a hedge cutter in the garage. 

 The plant colours are bright. The ground hard as iron. You need a pick axe not a spade. I did wonder why there was a pick axe in the garage but I didn’t dwell on it! I will annoy Ian when I use it ~   as I put it on my shoulder and sing hi hi hi ho it’s off to work I go. Snow White I’m not. 

But I managed to dig a hole – usually I am digging myself out of one – to plant the lions  ears ( leonoris Leonurus)  I bought on Saturday. I lied. I did buy a plant. 

There’s also  a lot of sweeping. The flowers from the olive trees are falling. The leaves from everything are falling. So my exercise  so far has been tonsweep. Almost hourly. I’m getting a bit OCD. How many calories can I burn off with each sweep? Who knows. To be honest. Who cares. 

I have never really been into Cacti or succulents but the garden has loads and in the right place they look fab. Gawd knows what i do with them but for now I will just admire. 

I do love this prickly big ears though. A number of these were attacked by a bug last year and I have been tol;d that you can slice them right down to the base and they will come back again. I have visions of it attacking me when I do. So i may find a man that does. Cut back Cacti that is. 

There are things in the garden which I know nothing about. Like this succulent or cacti, It’s about to flower but I suspect that it will be in full bloom whilst I am not here. 

I was told today that there were wild orchids on the slope although they had finished blooming. Blooming marvellous . I have to wait another year and they are in an area that I want to strim. Do I want to do it or is there a man that can. It’s on a slope. I’m bound to fall over. I’ve learnt that I shouldn’t go up their in shorts. Not because I’ll frighten the neighbours. But the grass and weeds make my legs itch like crazy. Singularly unattractive red scratch marks  When wearing shorts. Along with big red mozzie bites.  Not a great look tonne showing whilst sitting on the square drinking a Diet Pepsi. 

 
There are a lot of orange and purples in the garden. On trend again then following RHS Chelsea last week. This is a gorgeous tree with very lovely flowers just growing next to the garden path. 

So I ventured back to the garden centre – this time alone  – Viveros Florence. Ian sent me.To get  some more compost. ,   They know what they are talking about..  Can give advice. I was here for compost.  But I also had to wander around too,, Didn’t I? I bought some strawberry mint to go in the alcoholic drinks some lemon balm – which we have numerous clumps of in Somerset  and some lemon grass. On a further look I find two huge clumps of lemon grass in the garden already. Great for my  coconut and lemon grass cake! 

Ian had said he would like a lime tree, What he  didn’t say  was what lime. A lime is a lime isn’t it. Nope,  there’s your lime. Then there’s your kaffir lime, three times  the price of the ordinary. The lime where your use the leaves in curry dishes , then there are the trendy limes used by TV chefs,  I was told the names. I forgot them,, What’s wrong with an ordinary lime.  For a bottle of Bud, oh I remember one. The Australian  finger lime – caviar lime fruit. A new one on me apparently being used by chefs. But I may buy one.  I see that you can get them in the uk Australian finger lime Uk – it doesn’t look like a lime at all once cut. 

I asked about tulips. Yes I can grow  them here. Was shown some of the ones they had last year and was told if I wanted anything in particular let them know in September and they will order them for me.  Yep. Brown sugar please. Do I have a list. Thanks to the recommendations and suggestions I have had uh. Yes. You know who you are who keeps adding to my list. 

They stock some beautiful Iris. A simply gorgeous iris burnt toffee and a  stunning dark blue. Heads home to look for space. They order daffodils. Hyacinths anemones. Lily’s , foxtail lilies. So I think that I will be back.  To plant for spring. 

There is wildlife in the garden though i am a bit of a wimp to go up on the bank too often , I don’t know what may be lurking in the vegetation. But there are bees a plenty,  birds a plenty. A couple of lizards. And a big  b—-r like this  came  buzzing past me as I was taking photos. 

I head back to London tomorrow. To my small lovely patio garden. So very different. But equally as lovely. But I will be back next week! Hopefully To more sunsets. 

So today has been about the watering. I have sat down with the plan of the formal garden bits and marked up the pots. The frequency of watering which I’m panicking about. And the frequency of the timers. But I’m back in a week. I’m also writing on copy no 2 the various plants that I know. To add the ones that I don’t when I do. 

So. That’s it for now on the Andalusian adventure. 

Adios.