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 January is a busy time for harvesting the olive fruit and during this same month the almond trees begin to flower. Slopes scattered with these stark black, wizened trunks which appear lifeless, quickly turn to delicate shades of soft pink. Although these are orchard blooms, they are very photogenic and especially pleasing to the eye when combined with the wildflowers of broad-leaved iris beneath.
Broad-leaved Iris (Iris planifolia)
An early variety of Iris, found in shades of blue to lilac and occasionally white but always with yellow on the falls. There can be a marbled white and blue pattern either side of the yellow line, with some flowers being more heavily marked than others, each being 9 to 12cm across. The flower scape is short, to around 20cm in height with a fan of leaves emerging from the base on only two sides. The leaves are channelled, tapering to a point and are paler below than above. Once several bulbs are growing together the fan shape of the individual bulb’s leaves are lost. It can be seen flowering from December through to March with the best displays in January. They grow in rocky slopes, heavy clay soils in orchards, roadside banks and sandy fields. Found in southern Spain, Portugal, north Africa Sardinia, Sicily and Crete.
Paper-white Narcissus (Narcissus papyraceus)
Winter becomes vibrant when there are fields full of this perennial bulb with its packed clusters of pure white flowers. Each individual flower is around 25 to 40mm wide and scented, although some may find it unpleasant. The scape can be around 35cm tall, surrounded by the flattened blue / green leaves which are unpalatable to livestock, hence its ability to take over some pastures. They can be seen in small clumps or large swathes in cultivated ground, meadows, olive groves, roadsides and dry rocky banks. They do well in heavy clay soils and some may flower as early as November or December, continuing until March. Widespread in the northern Mediterranean region and north Africa.
Bean trefoil (Anagyris foetida)
This is a shrub which can grow to 4m and at that point is shaped like a miniature domed tree with dense branches. The flowers are yellow with black markings, each individual flower being 18 to 25mm in length. They are a dull yellow and could be overlooked as they hang in clusters close beneath the canopy of leaves. The leaves are small, trifoliate and have a very distinctive and unpleasant odour. During the heat of summer they drop their leaves becoming bear. The seeds form in long pods and when ripe are an attractive shade of purple. These shrubs can be seen at field boundaries, roadsides, scrubland and rocky areas, usually on calcareous soils. They begin flowering in December and continue through until April with a widespread distribution in the Mediterranean area.
Intermediate Periwinkle (Vinca difformis)
The flower colour of this plant varies from a strong blue to white with a washed out blue being the most common. The five petals are somewhat angled like the blades of a fan, flower width 3 to 50cm wide with a tube at the rear. It is generally a low growing subshrub but can ramble through neighbouring plants using them as support. The stems can creep to 2m long with openly dispersed, paired, dark green leaves and the single flowers form on these leaf axils. Its flowering time is December to May and it prefers damp shaded areas such as rock crevices, stream banks, uncultivated land and road side ditches.
 Almond (Prunus dulcis)
This is the first of the orchard trees to flower each year and can turn hillsides pink, white or any shade between. The blossom is earlier than the leaf which makes the overall view so much more striking. The cultivated varieties are sweet almonds but beware if you collect almonds from the roadside or away from obvious orchards as these could be the wild version or bitter almond which actually contains prussic acid which is poisonous. The wild almond tree has a more irregular form with spines on the branches. The fruit of both is egg shaped with a velvety grey/green outer covering over a fleshy husk, protecting the more familiar pitted shell. The sweet almond is originally from Asia and is now extensively cultivated as a crop.
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