After one of the coldest winters on record in Spain, the province of Alicante is already seeing the first and glorious pink and white blossom of the almond trees on their farmland. The areas of Torrellano, in Elche, Hondón de las Nieves and Hondón de los Frailes, in the Medio Vinalopó, the districts of Marina Alta and Vega Baja are some points of the province in which you can already enjoy a beautiful landscape. The pictures below were taken 1st week of Feb’ 2021.
Nature is wonderful and brings us this “blaze” of glory each year. It is common for the first petals and the first almond buds to begin appearing at the beginning of February. The local residents get excited about this, as not only is the Hondon Valley full of colour for the first time of the year, but it heralds the start of the warmer and longer sunny days.
The relatively high temperatures in recent weeks in the region, where in some points, such as Elche, have reached between 18 and 20 degrees! We’ve seen people sun bathing on the coast. However, the local farmers are a little worried that some almonds groves in the mountains may be exposed to possible early morning frosts as the local temperature and inclement weather can be cold in the evenings / mornings in February. Lately the Hondon Valley is feeling 5-9 degrees first thing. BRrrrrrr! But all is well by mid-morning and a lunch al-fresco is a still a pleasant experience.
So how do you like your almonds? … Sweet or savoury? Roasted and salted, spiced, cookies, ground into cakes, marzipan or mixed in muesli… what’s your favourite use of local almonds? Enjoy. They are delicious. #almondblossom
