Ecology
When I saw my first castor oil plant (Ricinus communis), I immediately liked the looks of it. I had never come across it before we moved to Mallorca; here the […]
Customs & Traditions
The caper (Capparis spinosa) is one of the most characteristic plants of the Balearic islands. In its natural habitat this very useful plant lives in the walls of ancient city […]
Gardens
One of the nicest flowers that I know has to be the Hibiscus. The plant grows as a bush or as a small evergreen tree. There are some 200 varieties […]
Animals
Yesterday was a pretty hot day in Mallorca, what with temperatures of 34° C in the air and some 24° C in the Mediterranean waters. The absence of rain over […]
Customs & Traditions
Sunday June 14th is the date for this year’s Fira de Ses Herbes in Selva at the foot of the Tramuntana mountain range. If you haven’t been to the Selva […]
Daily Life
We are really quite lucky in having so many beautiful gardens and parks in Palma de Mallorca. It is marvellous that many of these are open to the public. One […]
Daily Life
Some of the biggest Ficus elastica Moraceae trees you will ever have seen can be found in Palma de Mallorca at the beginning of the Passeig des Born, near Plaça […]
Mallorca
A very common shrub in Mallorcan open spaces near wooded […]
Animals
In 23 years in Mallorca I have not seen so many bees buzzing away as I have during the last few weeks of Spring. I do not have any clue […]
Daily Life
Springtime is the season for a number of major religious festivities, here and elsewhere. Mallorca is celebrating Easter now, today being sa Festa de Pasqua or Easter Sunday. Pasqua signifies […]
Daily Life
Apparently, the intensive downpours over the least six to eight months here in Mallorca have laid the ground for an imminent and rather excessive pollen outburst. It would appear that […]
Daily Life
Spring was in the air yesterday, at least where I live in south east Mallorca. Temperatures rose to 17º Celsius, even 18º in some places; the skies were blue and […]
Mallorca
I just love the Tamarisk tree, one of the best features of the Mediterranean landscape, in my humble opinion. The Tamarisk plant belongs to the family of Tamaricaceae; it grows […]
Mallorca
What a gorgeous day we had yesterday. There was snow in Britain, fog in Berlin, rain and sleet in Paris, but we had sun and blue skies and not a […]
Mallorca
The Juniper tree is a pretty common sight in Mallorca. To me it is one of the nicest trees on the island, but sadly, it seems somehow underrated. It is […]
Customs & Traditions
I am not sure that I like the Euphorbia pulcherrima (Poinsettia) as a flowering plant. At least, I did not before I came to Mallorca. I have never lived in […]