Re: Plants in Spain??
 

Nah, I know that you two have already got it on together. I´m sure Matt wouldn´t two-time ya!

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

Matt. get your finger out, where's my karma....if you check I'm always giving it up you so if you don't mind live up to your word, opppps sorry I think I high jacked again, and I said I wouldn't:o but a boy has to be told these things.

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

SOOOOOOOO demanding woman!!

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

Tap water is fine, although some plants like a snifter of real ale now and again, or is that the gardener ? ;-)

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

Would Sangria work just as well??:p

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

No, sangria is for tourists ;-)

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

Oh Bugger!!;)

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

I'd love to plant some tomatoes in my backyard, it'll be the first time that I attempt to grow a vegetable.. do you have any tips?

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

Ha!! A tomato is a fruit not a vegetable!
They are really easy to grow anywhere, I prefer to grow in pots, and the little ones are lovely. Water regularly or they split if you don't keep moisture even, you can even grow the 'Tumbler' variety in hanging baskets!
Feed once a week with tomato feed, take off the shoots that come up between the main bracts and stem, (except the tumblers) and put a cane in the middle to tie them into as they get heavy with fruit. lovely!!

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

Just a quick addition for the thread, Part 2 if you like.


Understanding your Mediterranean garden.



Essentially gardening in the Mediterranean is as simple or as hard as gardening in any other countries, it poses its own problems and solves its own as well. If a few hard and fast rules are adhered to and respected then a great deal of poetic licence can be used to create a wonderful oasis. Think of the miracles created by the Moors, with very little water gardens of Edens were created, indeed the word paradise is a Persian word to describe a walled garden, a sanctuary.
I always encourage clients to think a little out of the box, to be like those pioneer Moors and create a little bit of paradise, but there still has to be a grudging respect for rules.


It takes plants that can adapt to be able to survive in the Med, resulting in a very diverse flora. In fact where ever you look in the world that has similar conditions you will find that richness of plant life. If you look at the chaparral in California, the high coastal plains of South Africa and parts of temperate Australia and New Zealand.



Survival Techniques.

Plants that “go to ground”


Without a doubt the plants that are most suitable and appealing for Med gardeners are the geophytes. These are for the most part are summer dormant. They live underground as food storing organs, jumping up to flower when the conditions are just right.
This group is made up of bulbs, corms, tubers and taproots, many split their growing time between autumn and spring, flowiering, often without foliage as the weather cools, then bursting into leaf and seed the following spring.

Med plants that produce autumn foliage are among the most valuable to gardeners, if their leaves are too delicate for the summer heat they will happily survive between autumn and spring, storing up carbohydrates below ground, getting ready for a burst in the Sping.
For these plants the limited resource of water makes up more of their life and death cycle than anything else, it makes them focus on their future.


Plants with real staying power.


This group of plants is made up mostly of shrubs and succulents. As the sun rises and the midday sun intensifies all growing stops, and they wait. Some are summer deciduous, dumping all their foliage just to survive. Most have highly adaptive leaves, some with special surfaces, waxy shrubs and trees such as bays and evergreen oaks are an example and help in reducing evaporation. Others like rosemary have tiny leaves, all a defensive method to conserve water.
Many plants have grey-green or silvery foliage, which reflects the radiant heat, lavenders santolinas and artemisia are typical examples. Some also have fine silvery hairs on their leaves, acting as a combined reflector and insulator, keeping the plant protected from temperature extremes. Many plants are totally unconnected or related but share similar characteristics to help them survive in the same conditions.

Under more extreme conditions plants do away with leaves altogether, mutating themselves to an equally extreme level, and none can be more extreme than the succulents and in particular cacti, with their huge leaves and stems become water storage vessels, or have developed into thorns and barbs.



As I have already said many times under planting is a perfect way to create a microclimate, the differing layers keep the moisture from being lost and creates more moisture. Even in pots this can be attained by cluster planting. By simply arranging 3 or 5 pots in a group you are creating a microclimate, some pots could be with fruit trees, some with yuccas or even a beautiful trained wisteria, with cascades of larkspur, or pelargoniums.

Water features are a good way to introduce a little bit of paradise into a garden or enclosed area. Something as small as a floor fountain, or built up brick pond with a solar pump, set with Box hedges and lavender balls, with floating lotus and lilly’s, you could easily create a shaded area with fruit trees or figs.

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

You need to write a book!! one with pictures!! I fear your life will become hell when I'm actually out there, bombarded with a million questions!!:thumbsup:

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

And no Keithwalters, that doesn't mean I want to do all sorts of rudeness with him:rofl:

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

Keith has a dirty mind.

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

whereas you just have dirty hands from all that grubbing around in compost!!:rofl:

Re: Plants in Spain??
 

I haven't had time to read the entire thread, and I am so sorry for hijacking it back to it's original title, but I would be grateful if some kind green fingered person could tell me what plants to grow in a pot on a poolside patio that will keep insects away; and that smells good to us humans.

I know I saw something about this on one of the handy-andy type programs some time ago, but never made a note of what was required.

All help appreciated.