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

Posted in: Costa Blanca Gardening, Javea news, and Moraira news
Comments: 0 Comments

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!

Posted in: Costa Blanca Gardening, Javea news, and Moraira news
Comments: 0 Comments

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!

Posted in: Costa Blanca Gardening and Moraira news
Comments: 0 Comments

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.

Posted in: Costa Blanca Gardening
Comments: 0 Comments