An Algarve Garden

We have added another shady spot to sit in. We called it the Sandbar as it's next to the Sand Garden. It took the two of us working together about 1.5 hours to wrap sisal around the support poles! Talk about aching biceps! :(

We sit here for an evening drink when it's still too hot to go up onto the deck! :rolleyes:

Eventually we will put arches across 2/3 of the front of the house, wood pole supports to match our rustic theme and a tiled roof where you can see the tiles from underneath through the slats. The floor will also be tiled. Wow, that's another project for another year! The Sandbar will do for now! :D

 

it looks like paradise to me.

 

Looks better than that E. :D
Lady of Leisure? more like of hard work.
bet you're sitting there now with a glass or three.

 

As promised yesterday, here is a picture of my Rosemary just starting to bloom ....



Other shrubs in the Sand Garden are, from L-R ...
Anisodontea (which is too straggly for my liking so I will uproot in the Autumn) in front of a Viburnum tinus (trimmed into a conical shape ready for Christmas tree lights!), the two Brugmansias behind a shrub Bouganvillea and a Tecomaria in front of the Rosemary ... all under the shade of a Jacaranda!

In the background, on the left is a Podranea / Pandorea climbing the trellis which is slightly scented and the Ballerina apple tree in the pot to the right, which bloomed beautifully but sadly has no apples. This is probably due to the climate culture shock coming from the IoW last Autumn! :(

Here are the Brugmansias with the pink one coming into bloom with myriads of buds, however none on the white one to the right ...



Other shrubs in this photo are Euryops pectinatus with the grey / green leaves (it has big yellow daisies which completely cover the shrub) and in the bottom left-hand corner Felicia (blue daisies) tumbling over Osteopernums (white and purple) ... all of which are having a rest for the summer ready to bloom all winter!

Thank you for allowing me to share my garden with you and I hope you enjoy it as I do.

 

Lovely pictures LoL, I like the mimosa dropping in top of the shot.

 

Thanks, BM, (sshh, it's a Jacaranda!) How's your lush hideout holding out with the hot weather sweeping the UK?

 

I would describe it as floppy in places, but a watering can to hand gets things perking up again. I had a bit of gunnera flop this morning so i refilled his sunken pond. But I am spot watering constantly for some of the bog plants that aren't in soggy soil. :(

 

Very nice L of L, I thought you said it was all brown there now.
Do you have to water the bouganvillea or does it manage on its own, in fact does it all, apart from the potted plants, manage without irrigation.
I think a few of my plants are having a rest due to the heat and dryness, trouble is they wont be able to grow later on as yours do.

 

It looks so lovely and serene out there. Beautiful colours!!! I can imagine the heat is unbearable at times!!!! Do you have a fig??? We saw some fantastic huge old figs when we were out there in October last year. (Luz)

Where abouts on the IOW is your other house? We can see the IOW from where we live!!!

 

Thank you for all your kind comments. Pete, everything is on irrigation (except for the pots on the kitchen patio including tomatoes and the pots around the dining patio). It's a mixture of spray and drip irrigation that comes on at 5pm and 3am. The Bouganvilleas are on drips. Can you get the shrub variety there? By the end of season it looks like a fireworks display and then in March I severely cut it back ... as you know, Bs blooming on new growth.

HB, we're probably cooler than you, only 31oC today! My fig tree is in a pot under the almond tree. Here is a picture just as it started it's leaves .. I've probably only got about 18 fruit on it which I'll dry as I prefer them that way.



Our place is in Bonchurch (between Ventnor and Shanklin) which has a pond, a PO/shop, a cafe and on the beach there are two cafes and one pottery place! Very quaint! As it's South facing, you probably can't see us ... unless you're on the Pride of Bilbao or one of the luxury liners sailing past!

 

L of L,I've only got one Bouganvillea, and I grow it in a similar way to how you describe, I didn't know there we shrub varieties, (presumably as opposed to climbers), I thought they were all the same.

 

I have two bougainvilleas, one is the common purle Glabra variety (Elizabeth Angus)and the hardiest and a similar pink glabra a cutting from last years hol which is now 5ft high, both in pots.With a good thickness of bark they will take -3/4c but I lost a couple this winter to a -5/6c. I have found the larger leaf Buttiana vareties don't flower so well outside here. I will over winter them for a couple of months dec to feb, depending on the temperatures.
LoL have you tried Lagerstroemia, the crape myrtle? would make a fantastic show in your garden

 

I'll go along with that, Lagerstroemia gives a fantastic display, mines just budding up, some years its a bit too late over here, but I bet it would do great in Portugal.

 

Hey, guys, don't tell me about Lagertroeia ... I would LOVE it and at the it is in it's glory at the moment. I SERIOUSLY have limied ground space because of the rock. We're thinking of buying in Alentejo where we would have more space ... but that's in the future ...

Pete, the shrub Bougie is different entirely .... it's marvellous ... basically is a shrub and you cut it back and it just "fireworks" outwards. I'll take another picture in a few months and you'll see.

Strongy, the Bougies tolerate all kinds of frost here (seriously) not necessarily where I am. They die back but recoup when the weather warms up ... which must do by yuo! Just cut them back to almost ground level and leave them to do their own thing! :D

 

PS Pete, I'll try to find out what the shrub Bougies are called, but even here they are uncommon although we've had ours for about three years. They don't "climb", just firework out.