LoL's Orchards

Although I live in the middle of the orchards, none is mine ... but I thought I'd like to share them with you. I have olive groves to the rear, orange orchards to two sides and a tangerine orchard across the lane, which is bordered by loquat, lemon, plum and apple trees and the odd grapevine.

Here is an aerial view taken a few years ago ...



The one redeeming feature when we bought the house, a ruin, was the wonderful Almond Tree, which is about 25 foot tall and in the above picture to the front right of the house ...

Unfortunately they are bitter almonds so inedible but the tree is quite a sight when in bloom ...



T'other half then fancied a lime tree so we bought a Citrus volkameriana, Bearrs Lime, and having had about 100 blooms on it this year, here it it's offering for Christmas ...



The sad stick to the left of it attached to a beanpole is my pathetic Ruby Star grapefruit. :(

When our dear Candi died this year, we bought a Meyer lemon as she was such a sweet-tart. I have taken two lemons off it as they were touching the earth and snails were nibbling on the rind, but here is her offering for Christmas ... quite a good size in comparison to the tree ...



Two to three years ago I planted an Avocado stone and it has two main stems, is about 80cms tall and I may get fruit in the future ...



I also have a pear tree and a lychee tree but am currently growing them for mini Bonsai purposes ... technically the Avocado is a Bonsai as it's in a pot, as is my Ballerina apple tree ...



I also have the Passiflora edulis which is the common eating variety, which produced nothing this year, a Cardinal grapevine, again nothing it's first year and a pot of strawberries, which fruits year round here.

And here our view from the deck looking over the orchards ...



Obviously, only the dull, rainy looking pictures were taken today.

 

I can't imagine why you want to live there Lol, I'd much rather see the roof tops of other houses on an estate, wouldn't you? :D

I guess it must be as good as it looks or you wouldn't still be there.

 

It's all looking very nice, Sis. Don't worry about the citrus, they take time to hold the fruit to picking size. At least, that's how it was with our lemon.

 

Very very nice LOL, you lucky thing. A bit different to the vallies . :D

 

Everything looks good LoL.
Nice and peaceful.
Not many people about, is there? :D

 

strongy, I KNOW why I still live here ...

Sis, we know we have to be patient with the citrus trees, but .......

David, yes, slightly different to the Valleys ... and probably cheaper.

pete, you KNOW I'd rather be in crowded places but I can't seem to find them here, albeit I search on a weekly basis ... be it sea, orchard or mountain country. Now, I ask you ... how sad is that ???????? :D

 

How about a swops LoL you could be looking at an electric sub station albeit through a hedge of pathenocisus,ivy,clematis and honeysuckle and plenty of hostiles on the outside.

 

Think I'll pass on your kind offer, walnut. :rolleyes:

I meant to say that although this is not the climate for Avocados, which require moist soil and humid conditions. However, about 15 years ago a chap about 6-8kms north of us decided he wanted to do something different with his land, other than citrus orchards, so he planted Avocado trees and now supplies most of Portugal with his fruit.

 

I thought a lot, (well some) of the avocados on sale here came from Israel.
Not noted for its humid conditions.

 

I've never understood it, pete, but I believe massive, deep irrigation is required. I replaced my Fig tree, which was doing well, with the Avocado because the latter is evergreen and I'm not a big fan of deciduous.

I forgot to mention two other exotic fruits I have ... the newly acquired Psidium cattleianum, the Strawberry Guava and my Carissa, Natal Plum, which has a sweet cranberry flavour ... or so I'm led to believe as this is the offering of mine this year (the red fruit at the right rim of the pot) ...



... after all these lovely Gardenia-scented blooms this summer ...



They can fruit and flower at the same time, all year round in the right conditions.

Mine is a hybrid so compact and thornless ... my Sis posted a pic of one taken in Malta last week ...



The one she saw, as I did in Spain this summer, is the C macrocarpo which are sprawling and very prickly/thorny.

As it's a lovely day today, I thought I show a picture of the orchards to the other direction (North-ish toward the mountains, the first orchard view was South-is toward the sea).



Walnut, if you visit here again, I don't need your power station ... in the distance behind the house left of the middle are three wind turbines, at the commencement of the mountains about 5-6kms as the crow flies from me. We can see them with the naked eye and I can just about see one on the picture.

 

The natal plum looks interesting, is it slow growing?
It looks as if it is.

 

Sort of pete. I guess my hybrid is because it's in a pot ... obviously would be better in the ground which you know I don't have. I think the C macro is quite rampant, escuse me saying so. It's a very pretty shrub, the wild one, but is quite prolific with fruit.

The fruit are used for making marmalades ... big with the Poruguese and I only recently learned that Marmalade was actually a Portuguee invention .... goodness, I must get my act together again. :eek:

 

If I grew it, it would also have to be in a pot.
I presume then the fruit is not really edible straight from the bush?

 

Yes, I guess so because of your weather .. mine is in a pot because of lack of ground space as you know.

That's what I understand.

 

True.