This week in the garden at Finca La Carroza

It has been a very wet Spring in Andalucia and although only a few months ago we were very worried about a drought in the region the rain has filled the reservoirs in the area to nearly 70% and the countryside is amazingly green and abundant with life as the temperatures start to rise. I had been worried about the absence of the Little Owls but I have seen them every morning for the last week perching on the fence and searching for food in the grasses. Their distinctive call is a joy to hear as they assert their territories in the olive groves next to us.

The garden is lovely at this time of year with the Callistemon and Strelitzia in full flower providing nectar and pollen for the local bees to get on with their honey making. Roses are also flowering and beginning to be covered by a million of aphids. The long-legged Polistes wasps are a great predator for these and as wasps go, are not aggressive unless they are frightened and under attack. That said, I do remove any small nests located near the house at night time to try to prevent unwanted accidental stings.

Now the weather is better I am sure it won't be long until the Bee-eaters are here - a beautiful multicoloured bird that is a natural predator to those wasps - and bees! The birds are all raising their young now and we have some sparrow chicks in the box above the compost heap. Next season I am going to put some more boxes up on the pine trees. Outside the front door we can hear the blackbirds and I think they have their nest in the hedge nearby.