This is a beautiful shrub with deep blue flowers and is very easy to grow. It grows well in the garden and also makes a very good plant in a trough or pot. You can keep the plant to a reasonable size by cutting the branches when they get too big for the container.

The plant likes a reasonable amount of water and benefits from feeding during the flowering season. They are readily available in garden centres and are reasonably priced, approximately €6.00

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After the extremely hot and dry summer many of us have lost plants and it is now a good time to plant winter pansies to fill some of the gaps. Their colours are striking with many of them multicoloured. They look very attractive in troughs and pots and are very reasonable at under a euro.

If planted in good compost these small plants fill out in a very short time and you can plant them 6 inches apart to have a good showing.

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The Hibiscus plant is a beautiful plant to have in your garden. There are various colours, red, pink, gold and yellow, and some are double flowers. They seem to grow best in pots and to get the maximum out of them it is best to clean the pot and renew the compost.

They are widely available in garden centres and can be bought for as little as €2.60

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For anyone interested in gardening on the Costa Blanca this is a fantastic club.

Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at the Casa Cultura, Teulada and commences at 2.30 p.m. The autumn programme is as follows:

Date
Competition

1st October Cactus & Succulents
stems climbing plants stems different variegated foliage.

5th November
Pacific Coast Irises
Stems different berries Different autumn flowers.

3rd December
Plant protection
Natural table decoration with one candle

7th January
Christmas quiz Photo competition

My favourite corner of the garden. 1.

Single plant or flower. 2.

Water in the garden. 3.

There is no joining fee but at each meeting there is a charge of €4

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January to March in the Northern Costa Blanca is a most beautiful time of year. The almond blossoms are in full bloom and flora and fauna starts to spring back to life.

But what’s this - Candyfloss in pine trees? These spherical nests are home to the processionary caterpillar. Hanging, precariously from the lower, sun-bathed branches of indigenous pine trees, these nests hide an irritating secret!

Around the beginning of March the fully developed yellowish/brown caterpillar emerges from its nest to make the journey down the tree trunk, eating the pine needles in its track. It’s a curious sight as the grubs “follow the leader” in a long procession – hence the name – to a warm patch of soil. Here they burrow and pupate to complete their metamorphosis into adult life as a fairly inconspicuous moth. Now to reveal the hidden secret!

The tiny hairs on the caterpillar carry a toxin that is highly irritating to both humans and animals so beware the temptation to stop these little fellas in their tracks. Best keep an eye on domestic cats and dogs, also. Look out for any signs of distress such as vomiting or difficulty breathing and if you suspect your beloved pet may have come into contact with the caterpillars then a swift visit to the local vets is in order.

They’ll soon be able to remedy the situation. Hopefully, you won’t see too many of the nests as local councils are pretty good at ridding the culprits in the early stages. However, if you do I’d give them a wide berth and just admire them from a safe distance!

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There are three garden centres in Moraira:

Paichi Garden Centre, situated on the main road out of Moraira towards Benitachell, on the left hand side just past the European Shopping Centre. This garden centre won first prize for the best stand at the 1V Business Fair which was held in Moraira during the first week of December 2007.

The centre stocks an amazing variety of plants, lots of bedding plants to give instant colour to the garden, plus cacti, trees of all descriptions, water features, pots, etc. The staff speak excellent English and are very helpful.

The second garden centre is La Malonda, situated on the Moraira/Calpe road, on both sides of the road, about one mile from the main beach in Moraira (l·Ampolla). Again there is a great variety of plants, tools, pots and the staff are very helpful.

The third garden centre is Trossets. This is situated on the way towards the Swiss Hotel. If you take the turning inwards just by the El Molinet Restaurant and keep going straight for about a mile you will see it signposted. This is similar to the other garden centres and the staff speak English.

Compost. There is an extremely efficient centre where you can collect compost. This is on the industrial site on the N 332, Drive through to Teulada to the N 332, turn left and about a mile along going in the direction of Benissa on the right hand side you will see the industrial site (Poligono). Turn right into the site and immediately right again.

You will see the compost area on the right. Take some large containers with you and a shovel. Drive into the area and your car will be weighed. Then continue to the end of the compost area and take as much compost as you can.

When you return to the office your car will be weighed again and the difference in the two weights will be charged. It is extremely cheap and you can fill five or six large containers for as little as 4 or 5 euros!

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Here are just a few pictures of the flowers in our Moraira garden during October!

Gardening in Moraira

I planted this Bird of Paradise plant in our garden nearly two years ago. Although we have had no flowers, to our suprise, It has just flowered and what a beautiful flower indeed. The climate here in Moraira on the Costa Blanca allows gardening enthusiast to be, well, very enthusiastic! It's one thing buying a villa but to have a nice garden as well is another. We are in October now and the weather here in Moraira is wonderfull, still short's and t-shirts! It's at this time of year, after the heat of August, gardens are coming into flower.

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