There’s an old stereotype about women loving shopping. I certainly don’t fit in to this one, and one of my least favourite activities is having to go look for clothes or furniture, particularly in big shopping centres or malls.

I do however love going to local markets, and looking at stores with beautiful crafts, and have a real weakness for bookstores.

And today I had a delightful time  with my husband, in an outdoor market, where they sold hundreds of different plants. We were only planning to pick up a couple of plants for our new garden, but ended up filling the car with pink and red geraniums for our balcony, vines for our small patio backgarden, a jasmine plant whose sweet smell was to die for, and different tropical plants and bushes whose names escape me.

We left with our pockets empty of all change, and plans to come back another day.

We’ve already put some of them hanging on our balcony, and they look so lovely. Tomorrow we go out to plant others in our garden, which still is in it’s beginning state.

My vision is to have a tiny tropical jungle here soon, our little garden overflowing with lush, colourful plants and trees, and a sweet landing place for butterflies. And perhaps even a tiny pond with a few fish and turtles!