One thing we were not prepared for here were the winter anomalies: the rain, the frost. In February 2012 we were caught out by a -18°C frost, the lowest temperature recorded in Andalucía for over 40 years. It killed plants on the terrace…
…damaged the hot water placas [which were frost-proofed and insured to -10°C, basically because no-one thought the temperature here would sink lower] on the kitchen roof…
…and killed a large number of tender plants and trees from here to the coast near Marbella.
The placas were easily replaced, costing €3000, with the newer updated version [below] frost-proofed to withstand -18°C.
The plants were harder to replace, our climbers had been hardest hit: particularly the bougainvilleas which had done so well around the pergola. We managed to save one which grows up the south-facing terrace wall, protected from the worst of the winds, we chopped it down to the earth and it rewarded us with new growth. But the bougainvilleas on the terrace were beyond rescue. We replaced them with jasmine [below, in 2013] , which is surprisingly tolerant of the cold, and has the added benefit of scent. 
5 to remember
una anomalía – an anomaly
la buganvilla – the bougainvillea
el provecho – the benefit
el rescate – the rescue
el jazmin – the jasmine
Notes on a Spanish Valley 
Aw, your poor plants 😦
3K!!! 😦 😦
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Being environmentally-friendly is not cheap! :[ SD
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-18, wow. We rarely dip below 0 here in Jimena, although strangely it is usually colder down the bottom of the hill (I know this because I watch the car temperature gauge on those cold morning as I drive down!)
Jasmine is lovely, ours is just coming out now and the scent is fantastic 🙂
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We’ve sort of given up with the bougainvillea. One is hanging on. Two points against it: I’m not a lover of pink; and my husband hates weeding around it. Calls it ‘purple spiky b****d’ 🙂 SD
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Andalucía at a temperature of -18°C is as rare as heavy snowfall in São Paulo. 😦
Hopefully these temperature stay a rarity in Andalucía.
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Absolutely, the Andalucians are not great at snow. Or rain. 🙂 SD
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Winter has been hard on everybody. Here in the Detroit area, winter hasn’t ended yet. It is snowing today. Your plants look beautiful 🙂
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Thx Robin. Hasta luego! SD
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