An Algarve Garden 2020

Hu @Victoria ,
Probably a silly question.... Are you allowed to pick any of the fruit, I bet fresh Tangerines are gorgeous.
Why are Loquat trees horrible ?

Hi @glengarry23 , not meaning to ignore you and hijack your thread.
Hope you are keeping well in your beautiful part of the World.

 

Stunning!

 

Of course. When we moved here the neighbour across the lane (and his property goes behind us too, another has the orchards to the front and other side) they left carrier bags full of fruit at our gate. People do not walk onto other people's property here without an invitation. After a while we were told ... just go help yourself. The Tangerines are SO sweet as are the Oranges.

Loquats are called Nespera here. I just do not like them. They are sweet, have a tough skin, stone and rot quickly.

This is our gate to the right and there are fruit trees all the way up the lane ... the big tree on the left is a Loquat, Tangerine hanging over the wall, big tree on right is our (sadly bitter) Almond ...



Early pic of our house before things grew up but you can see the various trees, olives behind us ... you can also see how small our garden is ...



Early photo of our deck which just houses solar panels now but you can see the orange groves ...

 

I love it!!! What a lovely place to live!

 

@glengarry23
Philip, my cats are well trained in the garden, they have unique special places ...

Here is Magic Sam (Boo) one of my cats who came from England with us (sadly departed aged 20) in a pot ... this is a favourite place for Munch now ...



Cal & Candi ...



Puschka preferred hiding in shrubs ...



Skwij liked the bread oven ...


Puschka and Skwij came from England too.

Van & Munch (current furries) like being up high ...



and Rasputin preferred the grill ...



None of these, nor others who have owned us, have ever destroyed our gardens

 

@Victoria ,

Victoria that's a nice sized garden and you have made the most of all its space,..really you are in a smaller garden of interesting trees and flowers surrounded by a huge garden of fruit trees,..i love that image of your house before everything grew up around it.

Very nice seeing your Cats and each ones likes ,..you certainly brought a lot to Portugal when you moved there,..apart from the Cats you even brought the Kitchen Sink and made good use of it.

 

Thank you Philip. Our mission was to find a house/ruin in the orchards but not owning the orchards and we found it in 1997 ...

... you know that old phrase .. "everything but" ... well I had my own thoughts!

 

@Victoria ,

That old phase will never be the same to me again,..now that i know someone who did bring the Kitchen Sink

 

These old cottages are deceiving. It has 60cm thick walls made of stone and clay. It is about 100 square meters containing a large kitchen/diner, large living room/fireplace room, two bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a large foyer. The ceilings are 5 meters tall. Where the rubble on the left is, that was a chicken run, now a 20 square meter outdoor room. Paid £25,000 for it, have about £65,000 in it. Being an old property in the country our rates are 38 Euros a year. Love it here.

Portugal is famous for it's chimneys and it's roosters ... here's our country chimney with our Cata-Vento (weather vane).

 

On a sunny wet day (yes, sun between the showers) I've been going through photos. I didn't get a camera until 2006 when I joined GC so all me garden photos from 1997-early 2006 are on film ... remember that? Anyway I found some photos to put up, all from 2006-08.

 

@Victoria ,

Hi Victoria,..you did well with the purchase price and there is a surprising amount of sensible space,..38 Euros per year Rates is not going to hurt your pockets for sure,..thick walls for keeping cool in Summer and warm in Winter,..great peace of mind also considering your surroundings,..i can well see why you love it there,..warmth,..sunshine and oranges,.. yep you have it all

Roosters,..i have some as well.

 

Victoria,..i was called away for a few mins,..(my neighbour calls me daily to give me a dinner), then finished my post then i spotted your last post,..
very interesting seeing the changes in each image,..i could almost feel the heat of the days depicted in each image,..lots of work done back in those days but looking great with the plants and that look of Portugal still there,..isn't it great to have photographs and keep them.

 

Thank you Philip. Yes, it is so peaceful but not the space that you and Foxy Molly have to roam in. This space suits us ... and not too much for me to look after. Ben the Gardener only comes every 3-4 months to do the heavy work.

Some flowers from that time...

 

@Victoria ,

Victoria i spotted the 'Prunus dulcis' image,..i take it that's the bitter Almond you mentioned some time back,..do you bother to collect some or make use of them?.

Some stunning blooms in your images,..i envy you the heat they have to thrive and produce those blooms,..i tried growing Brugs,..they grew for me but by the time they were ready to bloom the Season was passed,..there is a hardier version that will grow here but i have never come across it.

 

This is a test of a programme T'other Half has put on my computer. It is of my car Izabel (Izzy Blue) but she is in my garden. There is music to it Drive by The Cars ...