Progress in the Gardens

The gardens two years ago were mostly a hybrid jungle with some pockets of tamer areas of garden and few stone walls to support vegetables. The greenery was mostly a plant the locals call canna roca, very similar to ginger or galangal, but not human consumable.

Not necessarily the same view, but the photo below shows the same area, but revamped. Magnus and I built stone terrace walls. Then commenced the job of tilling and planting the lovely brown earth. We were lucky to have had a warm spring that year, such that our vegetables had a wonderful germination period and a head start on our growing season.

Taming the Wild

When we arrived at the quinta, Portuguese for farm, the jungle had taken over completely. The photo below was taken in July 2007, before rebuilding the home.

Below, is after three months of working to build the home. Not habitable yet, no doors or windows to keep out the elements.

And now, the picture below is at February 2008.

The picture below brings us to the current year.