22nd February 2014 Central Portugal
Blossom bursting out all over; Apricot in glorious
peach, Peach in heavenly pink, Almond in ethereal mauve and Orange in
spectacular white - and then there is
the exotic scent, each individual but intoxicating when endued by nature’s
subtle blending.
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| Orange blossom |
Excuse the purple prose but the Hardenbergia is
covered in the deepest purple flowers and mingles through the bright orange
tangerines that are just about ready to pick.
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| Hardenbergia |
They are terrific ‘juiced’ for
breakfast but remember not to keep the juice as it splits and becomes very
bitter in a couple of hours after ‘squeezing’. The ‘freesia’ bulbs are well
budded; a few more glimpses of the
elusive sun will have them in full bloom accompanied by the first of the ‘Arum
Lilies’. It’s such a pity they are associated with ‘funerals’ in many
countries as their magnificent white trumpets announce the coming of spring
with such grandeur.
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| Arum lilies - in memory of our dear friend Annette |
The ‘plumptiousness’ of the buds on all the
up-coming arrivals bodes well for the coming season. There has always to be an
advantage in excessive rain and mild winter temperatures. Good time to spray
for ‘leaf curl’ on peaches, plums, apricots and cherries, followed by liberal
‘feed’ for abundant early summer fruit.
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| Plum blossom |
The olive trees are about ready for a
good ‘scolding’ (Anglo Saxon for ‘severe reprimand’) if they did not perform
well last year. They seem to react well to threats of total removal if crop not
‘enormous’ this year. Threaten the wrath of ‘Her Indoors’ (Anglo Saxon for
‘Wife’ or ‘female partner’, note ‘male partners’ are no threat in the matter of
olive tree harassment), whilst walking in a clockwise direction around the tree. (Anti-clockwise doesn't work!)
‘Power Washers’ are remarkably good at the removal
of the build up of ‘Winter ‘Green’ on both trees and patios. Now is the time to
use them before the elusive sun ‘bakes’ the fungi into a black shell. Give everything a light spraying of a general
insecticide as this reduces the incident of summer infestations (particularly
of ‘green fly’ on roses after the mild winter).
Got any big logs left (the ones that are too large
for the stove)? Rather than pile them in
the corner till next winter, take them into the garden and make a ‘Stumpery’ in
a damp or shady corner - excellent base for miniature ‘Cyclamen’, blue
‘Muscari’ and ‘Primroses’ plus, it acts as a ‘home’ for all sorts of insects
during the long hot summer, which is just around the gardening corner.
Delighted to see the first signs of life in the
‘Sunflower’ seeds in the propagator. Look forward to their growth in the coming
months when they can enjoy their place in the abundant "free" sunshine of summer
and have their glorious blooms ever turning towards the warm and welcoming
light.
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| Big beautiful sunflower |
There goes the ‘Head Gardeners’ bell again, must
dash - see you soon.
Stuart.
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