FAREWELL CENTRAL PORTUGAL

21^st JULY – CENTRAL PORTUGAL

High Summer, glorious sunshine, clear blue skies, no rain and for some strange reason very cold mornings every few days. The garden is producing an astonishing crop of nearly everything this year. Tomatoes are so rampant that the vines are breaking, Aubergines profuse and the size of Rugby Balls (these are oblong, not round like Footballs), Sweet Peppers so big that when stuffed they feed four (or if you don’t like stuffed peppers they can be used for sailing or canoeing), fruit trees so laden with fruit the branches snap (Peaches are so fecund they trail on the ground and the Apple trees are ‘groaning’).

Whilst the ‘edibles’ are amazing, the ‘Floriferous’ garden is still holding its own. The high temperatures, low 40’s for days on end, have had their way with the second ‘flush’ of Roses, Geraniums and Petunias. However, the Impatiens and Marigolds, both French and African, and the Dahlias and Nasturtiums are having a ‘Field Day’. The heat and commodious watering have encouraged the Cacti to grow and flower at an unprecedented, it really is a misnomer that Cacti don’t need watering; they have the ability to withstand long periods of drought in a dormant state, but add water and a little ‘fodder’ and they perform magnificently in the heat of a ‘Beiras’ summer.

Ten wonderful years of gardening in Portugal, where the temperature in the this central area varies from a low of minus 5 degrees in January to a high of 47 degrees in July and when it rains it can deposit 100mm in a day, but often forgets to rain for seven or eight months, have allowed the Head Gardner and her trusty ‘Digger’ the great pleasure of planting a growing almost anything (with a little care).

 The wonders of this rich and varied ‘Horticulture’ are about to be exchanged for a new challenge in North Yorkshire, U.K., a place also blessed by nature and often known as ‘God’s County’, where the temperatures can fall as low as minus 15 degrees(in winter, when it rains and snows)  and the local press report temperatures when in excess of 25 degrees (in summer when it rains and rains, often).

So a new ‘Gardening’ challenge ‘awaits’, what a fantastic opportunity starting from scratch can be. New plants, new ideas, new successes and, as usual, possible failures (all adds to the learning curve).

 So ‘Stuarts Garden’ will continue, all be it more slowly with the advance of time and arthritis, but with no less enthusiasm and ‘wonder’ at the benefits nature always bestows.

That will be the HG’s ‘shout’ for a last Portuguese coffee. Can’t ring the usual bell as it is already packed; will just say farewell to the lovely friendly plants on the ‘Belvedere’ and ‘Patio’ terraces and have a quick stroll around the ‘Veg’ plot and down to the Orchard,

 must dash, will call you all from ‘Stuarts Garden’ in Yorkshire very soon.

Stuart. - I'LL BE BACK!

So sorry no pictures - computer very slow today and needs to be packed.!