WELCOME TO Val's Alentejo -I write about my region of Alentejo. My art ,painting, my cottages, Family life, my animals -Travels And my love for Roses- and rural country life.

Friday 30 November 2012

Not all Rosy round the garden!

Its not all Rosy  around  my garden . Our weather has changed dramatically, within the last week. The stillness of winter is in the air, and the harsh chills of early mornings has arrived.  Mr wind is blowing fierce and the rains come and go. Cold crisp days are here to stay for a while  
                                      Mid January, the olive trees will be  pruned . they are looking a little ugly now after the harvest.
The garden looks all forlorn and a little sad.

The sun chairs are looking lonley -pergola drapes put away until next season.
 
                   After all it is the season for the flowers to sleep and the garden plants to rest.   Maybe a good day in between some things can be done! The bushes to clip and the pots to a kinder warmer area ,where they can sleep until they wake to show us their glorious blooms. Of red , pink, white, and blue's
                                        The wind has blown the rosemary bushes over and they are breaking. I shall cut it and put it in a vase and have sweet smells around the cottage.
                                      creepers taking over , they have grown like mad after these last rains.
                                       I still have some roses, but they are looking pretty thin with less leaves.  Think!  I am still  very lucky to  have  some boldly fighting off Mr. Winter
This poor yellow rose is fighting hard to blossom  against the wind and the rain. I took this snap with Mr wind blowing  with all his fury.
                                     Take a look at the skies.  Here comes the rain again took this about 20 min ago
                                      The rain washed the bark from the flower beds and some of the olive branches fell off.  Weeds are popping their heads up all over.  No sooner do I sweep, then it happens again.  I've given up.
                                        The path is ready to be mowed and cleared, but I like to see the yellow flowers that are now all around the fields .They look so pretty.
  More bark washed off the rose beds.

No use working in the garden now- Mr winter is here with gusto again .  Without fail she visits and heaves her heavy wrath of rain,wind and snow upon us
.  Some days , she's mild others she's furious.
 And the wind blows like mad.!
I am going to curl up now next to my fire now read my book and sip a hot cup of cocoa. mmmmm!

So you see dear friends.   Sometimes its not all Rosy around my garden here.

wishing you a warm weekend.  Hope some of my dear blogging friends have not been affected by the awful flooding in GB.

val
        

24 comments:

  1. Hi Val. I think everyone's gardens are a sorry state at the moment it's just that last shunt before winter finally begins. Today in our neck of the woods in Essex we've had a glorious day with sunny blue skies, but boy is it cold. Bitterly and apparently were going to get more in the next few days or weeks. We had a long walk by the sea this morning and were glad to get home for a cuppa. Have a lovely weekend.
    Patricia x

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    1. Hello Patricia,
      yes, all gardens get their fair share of winter sadness. How nice to be able to walk by the sea ..
      It sure is cold here too.
      Thanks for coming over.. happy weekend

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  2. I think that your flowers yet blooming ! They don't afraid the winter .Don't worry about your garden ,the next spring it will be beautiful .Go inside and rest with a cup of cocoa near the fire and let the garden to sleep ...
    Olympia

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    Replies
    1. Yes Olympia, I still have some flowers blooming. Our winter's are cold, but no where near as cold as Scandanavia, or Russia or Canada for example. so we do have some flowers.
      But for us now, this season is cold and windy ..
      thank you Olympia

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  3. Hi Tex,
    The green starts to show through at the beginning of Autumn, Olive trees of course are always green.! The fields have now been ploughed and seeding.. it looks lovely.. but of course the heavy rain is not really nice ..Its been very cold for us. between 5 and 10 deg.

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  4. It feels so much colder over here today too. My husband has a dream when he retires he wants to move to Portgual in the colder months. I have a friend who has lived in Spain in the winter and has told us it gets cold at night there too. At least if we have a un-rosy period in the garden we can appreciate it more when everything is good.
    Sarah x

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    Replies
    1. I dont know Sarah, I often think that as we grow older the old bones seem to get colder.
      Well, your husband has a wonderful dream. This is a fantastic country and such a relaxed way of quality lifestyle.
      Yes, it becomes cold here..we get snow up on the mountains in the north as do spain.
      looking forward now to resting a little from the garden.
      thanks for your comments Sarah.. always nice to hear from you.

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  5. Dear Val - you are right - it is time to curl up in front of the fire with your hot drink and a good book. We have put our garden to bed for the winter. H gave the lawn a final cut today as the grass has continued to grow. Most of our bushes, hedges and shrubs have been clipped, and those that have been missed can now wait until the spring.
    Enjoy a peaceful weekend Val.

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    Replies
    1. I somehow haven't given myself much time to read during this last summer months.
      Pedro will give one last cut around the trees and bushes before xmas .
      All the rest will be done after New Year.
      Your garden must be looking lovely now with its winter look Rosemary.

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  6. I love the break that winter gives us. Certainly, there are still chores to be done, but I love the guilt-free time on the couch by the fire, with a good book.

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    Replies
    1. So true Pondside,
      We can catch up on chores to be done.. its great to also sit and relax, let nature take its course.

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  7. It is a forlorn time of year, though how lovely that you still have flowers. Enjoy your book and fire and cocoa--stay cozy!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Jen..
      Its cold ,but really everywhere is so green and lovely.
      thanks for coming by

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  8. Hallo Val!It's getting cold here too!My garden is'nt looking so great!!But your roses are so beautiful!Have a lovely weekend-December month!
    Dimi..

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    Replies
    1. hello Dimi,
      Today, sunday..has been a beautiful day.. a little warmer..but very cold in the morning
      thanks for passing by and leaving your comments.

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  9. The weather can certainly change quickly and catch us unawares! It's been like that here, but the opposite from your weather north of the equator. On Thursday, the temperature reached a near record for November of 39C. I guess we would find it monotonous if the weather stayed the same all year!
    Lovely to see your roses still hanging on.

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    1. Hello Betty,, Yes, you have now the opposite weather to us.. I wish it was with us just for a few days.. its so cold. But as you say, it would be monotonous if it was always the same.
      thanks for your comments.

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  10. Winter is definitely upon us - we have had several very hard frosts and the ground is solid - but during the day the sun has been out making it look warmer than it actually is.

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    1. Hello elaine,
      yes, winter is here.. Today too, we also had such a lovely day..the sun was out. hope we have it for a couple more days.
      thanks elaine.

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  11. Dear Val, to me it still looks summery and the garden doesn't look as bad as you are writing! I could well imagine lay in that sun chair... However, curling up in front of the fire, reading a book and sipping cocoa sounds just the way how to spend the weekend and I hope that is what you did! Lots of love! Christa

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    1. Dear Christa..
      The garden just looks very forlorn.. its not too bad really.. but i just love my spring and summer garden.
      Thank you for coming over my way, always good to hear from you.
      big hugs
      val x x

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  12. hiya Val,
    I have the same problems in my balcony too, no sooner do I sweep the bark, then it happens again. so just leave them like that until spring :)

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  13. Val,
    I am having rain here too, but only drizzles. I can't believe your roses are holding on in this weather. I think I've seen the last of my pink roses in my front yard. I actually like the rain because it makes everything cleaner when its done, and when I glaze at it sometimes, it reminds me that all is right with the world.
    ~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

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