Tag: garden

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in azores

green patterns

our hiking boots are still wet and the weather isn’t helping them dry… so today we put on our other shoes and went for a stroll on the local botanical gardens here in horta, which were amazing! there are so many species of plants that are endemic to the azores, but they’re threatened by other exotic or invasive species introduced over time. so a part of the job of the local scientific community is to study these native plants, collect their seeds and participate in projects that ensure they can thrive again, all the while educating people.

in contrast with the dry, muted landscapes of the south of portugal, the oceanic subtropical climate here makes everything radioactive green, and i find myself looking around in awe at how luscious this green is, especially in contrast with the volcanic soil. the leaves make pretty patterns too, and i couldn’t resist photographing them:

i wish i could bring these all home in my suitcase! :D

Categories
just life

orbea variegata

spotted these pretty flowers in a neighbour garden, and aren’t they a thing of beauty?

they’re orbea variegata, also known as star flowers. it’s a succulent with cactus-like “leaves”, but the flowers were what drew me to them — they grow around the edges of the plant in the winter rainfall season, and are just striking.

i’ve recently gotten my hands on a few specimens to plant in the garden, for further investigation… :P

Categories
just life

the grasshopper

lately i’ve been making a lot of posts about the garden… sometimes it feels like the only thing interesting going on around here, since we still don’t go out all that much. so here’s another green tidbit: we have a grasshopper! it’s actually the second generation of grasshoppers we have in this particular mint vase, which they seem to be very fond of. they’re super camouflaged and i only noticed it by chance, when suspicious droppings started to appear all around the vase…

i looked up and whoa! there it was, the color just as green as the mint it had been eating!

at this stage they’re called nymphs and have not yet developed wings. they eat a lot though, and mostly stay around the plant where they were born. one day, they’ll molt, shedding their skin.

they do this a few times, becoming bigger with each molt, and finally spreading those wings! it might not be the cutest pet out there, but it’s still interesting to see it grow and change…

…even if it means we have to share the mint! :|

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in portugal just life

garden visitors

we found this little guy on our garden last week, and i was squealing so much that i think i probably scared him away…

but… IT’S A CHAMELEON! (insert 1000 heart eyes emojis) such a treat! the whole ria formosa park is supposed to be a safe haven for them, but with increased construction in the area, places for chameleons to thrive have been fragmented and keep shrinking. these days, it’s almost impossible to find them outside of specific conservation areas, so we were thrilled that this little guy has deemed our little garden worthy of a visit — i hope he’ll come around again, and bring the family!

praying mantis

little pale praying mantis, watch out! there’s a new predator in town!

Categories
just life

tomatoes!

it started a few months ago, when our neighbor gifted us some tiny cherry tomato plants he had seeded in a tray, since he had too many of them already. given our general lack of a green thumb (for anything that is not a succulent), we didn’t expect much of it… but still, this seemed to be the year to try things out, so i decided to give it a go and plant a few many of these along a wall in the garden.

lo and behold, they seem to have liked it and grew a lot over time! :D soon enough, small tomatoes started to appear in little bunches…

…and a few weeks later, achievement unlocked — we have perfect tiny tomatoes! since the boy doesn’t even like them, they’re aaaaall for me — they make the perfect snack food for a quick break, and i’ve been enjoying a few everyday.

in the mix came some gorgeous pear-shaped ones as well, but none of them has matured yet. i don’t think i’ve ever tried these before, so i wonder what they’ll taste like!