An Algarve Garden 2020

@glengarry23

Hi Philip, thanks for stopping by. Nicholas the meerkat is hanging onto a solar powered lantern.

I'll swap you some heat and sun for a little rain.

 

I like those Meerkats,..Nicholas has a useful Lantern.

Oh i will be generous and give you half a days rain for a few hours of sun

 

Logging in for September, the trees have been "trimmed" ...

Jacaranda before ...



Jacaranda after. plus the Oleander to the left cut back, Callistemon on right (not cut)...



Almond before, (losing leaves already ready for blooming) ...



Almond after ...



Open view to lane now from front of house, Melaleuca bending on right which had all lower branches removed ...

 

Wow,.. some work carried out there,.. the change will give you lots more light for the present,..i remember that section of the Jacaranda growing on the left of the main tree,..looks better with it gone.

 

You have an eagle eye Philip ... I wondered if you'd notice that.

Today going to arrange for Gardener Ben to come and do tidy up of smaller shrubs, particularly the two Tecomarias, and ask him to trim back the left upper branch and the two right branches now that I have looked at things. I like form. Also the Oleander down maybe a meter more and the Bougainvillea trimmed back to the house (first picture). Everything blooms better on new growth.

In the first photo (where my Izzy is with the bonnet up because she wouldn't start to move for the tree cutting) the large shrub to the right of the Almond is one of the Tecomarias and is always in the shade. This is how it should look ...

 

@Victoria ,..beautiful when in bloom and it must almost glow in the shade.

Oh i do look into an image rather than just give a glance ,..i did notice Izzy had her bonnet up and presumed it was cooling off lol,..having a second battery charged and on stand by is a good idea,..its what i do in the height of winter when the car isn't getting a lot of use,..or even put one on charge overnight when one has to travel next day

 

Through the showers we found this little fellow (not sure what he is) on the water feature ...

 

I'm not sure either Vicky, it has Warbler features but looks too lage, could be a local bird or one passing through.

 

@strongylodon

I thought it might be the Iberian chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus). We have never seen birds on the water feature (which is running) but recently many sit on the top, the other day two at the same time, maybe they are cooling their tummy and toes. This has strangely all been since the tree were cut back a few weeks ago.

 

@Victoria It has a Chiffchaff look with the pale stripe over the eye, I wasn't sure of the size. They have black legs too which can't be seen in the pic.
Our Chiffchaffs are migrating South now and will come to stay in Southern Spain, Portugal or Morocco.

 

It's October so thought I'd get a couple of photos in.

The Brugmansia ..



The Baffarinha with pots in front ...



The Hibiscus'Petit Sunrise' planted in china sink on dining patio ...

 

The Brug is amazing Victoria, Mine has been hit by the weather, still got lots of flowers but most are brown round the edges where the weather and wind has battered them.

I think its best to take night pictures of Brugs, they come alive after dark.

 

Beautiful pics Vicky.....can't help but notice the beautiful blue sky too.

 

Thank you @pete. I agree about photographing it in different light, and they look so droopy when they start to bloom ... and all at once! Remember when I go this from Aldi as a B sanguinea in 2011 and was surprised by my first bloom? ...



A few pics from this morning before the blazing sun hits ... but the shadows are really no better

We are redesigning the one end of the Front of Casa Patio and have put up a trellis at a square angle to the one attached to the wall ...




... and I have planted up three concrete pots in the corner, one has a Portuguese Lavender, another a Crossandra 'Orange Marmalade' and the third trailing Geraniums of mixed colours and I am doing the two strawberry pots with mixed trailing Geraniums ...



We have moved the old bench from in front of The Jungle Room to the Kitchen Patio flanked by an orange Tecomaria on the right and Jatropha podagrica on the left ...




The Duranta erecta which is supposed to be a shrub/tree is rather large and sprawling (all dozen or so they had were the same) so we have just put it in a pot by the water feature for the time being ...



The top half of the Coleus looks good ...



Thank you too @Upsydaisy.

 

Yesterday afternoon looking out from The Jungle Room to the Dining Patio ...