September rains!

At last after over 2 months of hardly any rain in this region....it has arrived!
and with it everything in the garden is once again refreshed!




The little pond we made has really now turned into a little haven for all the little creatures....a bit different from it's before picture in June (see June's entry for pic)














































We have been busy harvesting again pumpkins, walnuts and hazelnuts.






















Some of the tomatoes are still holding on in the greenhouse though most of them are now coming to an end...
























The Canna that our dear friend Friend brought over has not done badly for it's first year.It did flower lasy month with a beautiful yellow flower however even now it makes such a lovely display with it's leaves...





And now with the cooler temperatures all the flowers seem happier.....

The August heat!

With temperatures in the high 30's every day and little to no rain I am brought back to memories of last year trying to keep the garden alive!

No amount of water seems to make any difference ...yet considering all is not too bad and I have found new friends ... plastic flowers....

A cheat I know but they can, if used sparingly, look quite effective and let's face it they are no trouble at all!

















I have already started to harvest.Not only to save as much as I can but by doing it now it saves time and money watering!

Also record number of guest in the guesthouse has meant that a lot of produce has been eaten along the way.....

The cherry tomatoes have all been picked to make sweet chilly chutney.
However I do not think I shall bother with this variety next year.
They took a lot of watering ....and I think that they will take a lot of time cooking too!







....tasty though and a nice change ....

Visitors

We have had some lovely guests this year in the guesthouse...as always...
But this year some unusual ones too.....

He/She has to be one of my favourites!
This toad I found living for several days beneath the damp, cool shade of our courgettes....what a beauty!
The colours were amazing but don't really show how much so here....































Maybe it was attracted to our 'pond' which is coming along ...slowly....

Hot hot hot!

Temperatures have again been high this year...well into the 40's!

Rain has fallen but too little in our region although some areas have had considerable amounts....

However as always the garden hangs on in there....

The first apricots from our smallest tree ....absolutely delicious!!!



The others were all picked and made into brandy 40 litres this year ..so a good harvest for us.


Infact it seems to be the fruits that are having the best year.Blackberries are big and juicy and our new raspberry canes have even produced a little ...

























So many apples that we have drafted in a few recruits to help with the picking...sorry eating.....

Green house update

Well after a small problem with blossom end rot, sounds painful I know,
the tomatoes are going great now!

I am watering them at the same time every day and once a week with a homemade liquid feed from the courtesy of Colina my neighbour's donkey.

We picked our first 2 tomatoes today and they were yum!
Must be the donkey manure!



















Other stuff is doing much better in the greenhouse too.The peppers are coming along better and the cucumbers are never ending!
Our chick pea experiment is also better than the one outdoors.

No sign of sesame seeds yet...but we wait patiently!

Getting creative

This week I have been spending some time looking at ways to add some interest into the garden.To cover up areas of garden quickly with a few plants to cut down on watering large areas.
I am not very good at this as I have difficulty thinking on a large scale.




I have used some old roofing tiles before to make the herb garden and this time have tried it to around some plants which I think looks quite effective.

I also tried making a 'pond area'.It's in it's very early stages here and looks a
little bare but with some more planting......
At the moment we have unfortunately had to place netting over the top as it's the nest building time for the paper wasps and it has been attracting them in big
numbers!

















But it's OK the birds still have their water dish...

















My next project will be another of the round tiled design .I want to interlace 3 of them and attempt it on a much bigger scale on one of the grass areas to break it up a little......well that's if I can stand the heat at the moment!
Still no rain , almost 2 months now, dreadful....fingers and toes are crossed for next week...

Picture update of the Veggie plot

Most things in the veggie plot are happy...but some did not show at all.

The courgettes, potatoes,onions,garlic,peas,carrots,leeks,beets have all or are doing well.

However the parsnips never even sprouted! after much thought I have realised that the seeds may not have been good.I may try again but I think it might be too late now...

The outdoor peppers and tomatoes are coming along as are the aubergines and chick peas but much slower than they are in the greenhouse.

It's been too dry this year for melons and pumpkins this year but the sweetcorn is up an looking lovely and green even if it does not produce anything!