What's blooming in our quinta

When we moved here just over a year ago, it was a wild jungle. It took a long time to uncover, identify and learn to properly care for this endless bounty of fruit trees, flowers and trees. And our efforts are paying off. After learning to prune and care for our fruit trees we have blossoms on the citrus trees. We have bitter, navel, mandarin and tangerine orange varieties, lemon trees and even the Azorean "limãogalego" or mandarin-lime.

As for flowers, our quinta is bursting with color and variety. The majority of the blooms started in late February but we've found there's always something in bloom any time of the year. Pictured below are some of the many flowers in bloom now: camelia, bird-of-paradise, amaryllis, magnolia, calla lily, azalea and more!   

We have also started our vegetable garden in one of the nine quarteis (plots) on the property. We currently have inhame (taro root), sweet potato, kale, leeks, lettuce, beets, broccoli rabe, brussel sprouts, pipi-piri peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, husk cherries, melon pear and a whole host of herbs. We recently planted a mango tree, passion fruit vines and Brazillian cherries. And we're just getting started.

We hope to have a work-exchange in the low season for guests who'd like to trade some farm work for a discount on their stay, and we are looking forward to working with local farmers to maintain and cultivate the land while we're busy hosting guests and leading experiences. For now, it's amazing to be starting this all on our own. We're a long way from our urban community garden in Somerville, MA!