El Jardin

Before coming to Spain we were told by other friends who had been here that Carlos is an avid gardener, they weren’t kidding! With the exception of the land that the house and pool actually sit on, the remainder of the property is a collection of every conceivable tropical plant from cactus, agave and succulents to a poinsettia, roses and numerous other flowering plants and vines that I cannot remember the names of.
The rain has certainly made things pop!






















There are also lemon, lime, orange, pomegranate, almond and olive trees and gorgeous, magenta bougainvillea climbing on the walls near the sun room and pool. All of these plants are set in borders and beds divided by stone walkways and gravel paths. It’s all very beautiful to look at but the work it takes to maintain this place is enormous, I don’t know how Carlos does it.









When Carlos found out that I was a “farmer” (ok…someone lead him astray on that one!) he got very excited in the hopes that I would do some gardening while I was here.

I have to say that I have always loved to look at pretty gardens but the thought of having to develop and maintain said gardens makes me anxious. BUT! Since I have so much time on my hands here and the weather is so nice (at least for the past couple of days) I have been working in Carols’ garden for a couple of hours each day (with a little help from Christopher). This also allows us to work on our tans!

The thing I have to worry about the most in the garden is trying not to get stuck by the thorns on the cactus. I will say they are very easy to cut with a saw; the problem is picking up the pieces. (I’m pretty sure he gave me carte blanche to do what needed to be done out there….I guess I’ll find out when he gets back……..)
All of these photos were taken in the garden today. The weather is perfect for early spring crops so we also planted some lettuce and scallions.