Jardinagem em Portugal

http://www.algarvewildlife.com/wildlife-otherplants.php#list

This link takes you to a list of wild flowers with photos for the Algarve – Some of the most enduring images of the Algarve for those who visit in spring and early summer (from January through to the end of May) are the displays of wildflowers. They are everywhere, from the clifftops which tower over the beaches, through the barrocal (the coastal strip behind the Algarve’s magnificent beaches), in the river valleys and right up into the mountain pastures and woodlands. Every little bit of uncondsidered roadside land is home to numerous species of these tough and opportunistic plants.

This site will help you identify plants, trees and shrubs. There is also information on good areas to view orchids and wild flowers walks.

One of the glories of the Algarve winter is the appearance over the Christmas period of the paperwhite Narcissus. This fragrant bulb provides multi- bloom heads of star like small white flowers. Narcissus papyraceus is the Algarve native which is frequently seen in damp ground, along stream banks and  amongst rocks in the Barrocal. It is familiar as the bulb sold for forcing into flower in time for Christmas but grows well in Algarve gardens, being the ideal candidate for dry gardening, bulbs give of the their best over the winter and then disappearing for the hot summer months.

Another wonderful winter native flower is the clematis which is dormant all summer, some would say ugly and dead looking ! Clematis cirrhosa produces small green shiny finely divided fern-like leaves in response to the first autumn rains but is normally evergreen in northern gardens. The flowers swiftly follow, small creamy flowers with maroon spotting to varying degrees  and prolific all along the climbing stems. Silky seed heads add to the show later on.  It is believed that this was introduced into gardens in Great Britain as early as about 1590 and it was grown by John Gerard of  ’Herbal’  fame.

Our first opportunity to go out and about in our own garden and the surrounding hills was a glorious reminder of the huge diversity of spring flowers – and orchids – which populate the wilder areas of the south of Portugal. Enjoy !