Sierra de la Nieves - Biosphere Reserve

The Sierra de la Nieves is surrounded by a belt of nine villages, all of which are bound by common characteristics and history that have served to create a region with a strong local identity within the province of Malaga.

Situated in strategic locations, much of their charm is derived from the architecture of their old village centres, which is based on the Arabic model. The visitor can best appreciate the villages by losing himself in their winding, maze like streets and admiring their whitewashed houses. The arrival of the Christians saw the introduction of large squares and straight streets. As a result, in addition to fountains and plants, these mountain villages still retain the typical low walls built to level out the land and facilitate acess to houses built on slopes.

As far as fauna is concerned, the Sierra de las Nieves boasts a number of indigenous species of great importance, as well as being a key port of call on the migratory routes of many birds.

Numerically speaking, the invertebrates are the largest group to be found in one area. One such creature worthy of special mention by virtue of both its peculiarity and its heavy dependance on the Spanish fir for its survival is the small butterfly known as the Dioryctria.

Fish such as barbel, bogue, rainbow trout, carp and black bass will delight anglers in locations such as the River Verde reservoir in Istan, where they co-exist alongside amphibians such as the San Antonio frog, the running toad and the speckled newt.

A wilder, more exotic touch is provided by reptiles such as the freshwater tortoise, the snake and the snub-nosed viper, as well as Iberian birds of prey, notably the golden eagle, the tawny vulture, the goshawk, the sparrowhawk and the peregrine falcon, while bats are the most significant of the cave dwellers. However, standing proudly on the mountain peaks, pride of place among all of these species goes to the mountain goat.

The Biosphere Reserve

Locations rich in natural beauty, ecosystems to be found nowhere else in the world and the habitat of extremely rare animal species as the mountain goat. These were just a few of the reasons that led UNESCO to declare the Sierra de la Nieves Biosphere Reserve on the 15th June, 1995. Proof of the importance of UNESCO's MAB programme was provided by the award of the prestigious Prince of Asturias Harmony Prize in 2001.

This living showcase, a model of co-existence between man and nature, encompasses both the Natural Park itself and the surrounding area, a total of 93,930 hectares. It consists of the entire municipal area of the villages of Alozaina, Casarabonela, El Burgo, Guaro, Istan, Monda, Ojen, Parauta, Tolox, Yunquera and part of Ronda.

Its geological complexity means that the area is home to a number of sharply contrasting landscapes. So, on the one hand we have the white limestone rock of the Sierras Blancas, karstic formations, teeming with canyons, caves, galleries and potholes, and on the other, the red of the Sierra Bermejas. The former is home to two of the deepest potholes in Andalusia which are also among the largest in Europe: GESM and El Aire.

Apart from its unique geographical relief, the characteristic that best typifies this International Reserve is its rich flora. The combination of different climatic conditions that prevail here mean that it is home to a variety of species, ranging from sub-tropical examples such as the palmetto and the arbutus to forests or confiers. Spanish fir groves, mountain gall oaks and laburnums.

However, star billing, botanically speaking, in this mountain range (and, indeed, pride of place overall, along with the mountain goat) must go to the Spanishg fir. Its conical form and dark green colour make it unmistakable among the multitude of other species to be found in the region, which include a wide variety of pines, the yew tree, the holm oak, the cork oak and a number of roiver-bank species, not forgetting the mountain gall oak. Colour and beauty are provided by the flowers that grow in the mountains, such as the peony, the mountain rose, the foxglove, the orchid, the iris and the narcissus.

The Spanish Fir

The pinsapo, as it is known in Spanish, is a conifer belonging to the fir tree family whose origins date back to the end of the last glacier period and which is considered the oldest of all the indigenous Mediterranean firs. The Sierra de la Nieves is home to the largest concentration of this botanical treasure to be found anywhere in the world. This ancient tree, whose cross shaped branches were once carried as amulets during Corpus Christi processions, is notable for its characteristic pyramidal form, its greyish, slightly cracked bark and its smallm stiff leaves.

A number of curiosities surround this beautiful botanical species, whose varieties include the blue Spanish fir, so called in reference to the bluish hue of its leaves, and the candelabra variety. In fact, it is even thought that the masts of many of the vessels that made up the Spanish Armada weere built from this highly valued wood.

The Snow Sellers

In one profession could be said to have typified the Sierra de la Nieves for centuries, then it would be that of the snow seller. This arduous job began at the end of the winter, when teams of men would spend several days on the highest peaks gathering snow in panniers before taking it to pits, where it was pressed and compacted to form ice. The pits were then covered up until summer, when muleteers with their beasts of burden would transport the ice in large blocks to be sold.

The ice, which was used both to conserve food and medication and to make ice creams, was considered a luxury item and provided an important source of commercial and economic activity in the area. The visitor can still find restored ice pits in the villages of Yunquera and Tolox.

The Queen Of The Peaks

The most typical and representative of all the living species that inhabit the Sierra de la Nieves is without doubt the mountain goat, an animal that teetered on the brink of extinction in the mid XX century, when its numbers shrank to just 20, all of which inhabited the Ojen area.

It was for this reason that the species was granted official protection, the area being declared a National Hunting Reserve in order to facilitate the animal's recovery.

Today, the population comes to some 1,500 goats, the animal is the most prized and diifcult to attain of all Spain's big game prey, not to mention one of the rarest species in the whole world, not being found outside of Spain.

Such is the importance of the animal and the extent to which it is associated with this region that attractive metal statues of this impressive beast can be found both at Puerto Rico viewpoint in Ojen, the viewpoint in Refugio de Juanar and near the health spa in Tolox.

Centro de Iniciatives Turisticas
Malaga Province
Sierra de la Nieves

The Meander Guide

This week I discovered a new magazine called "The Meander Guide" which is a magazine focused on Inland Andalucia and all the activities that are availble to you in and around Andalucia.

Personally, I think Andalucia has been waiting for a magazine such as this for a long time, for those who want to go off and join in activities outdoors, The Meander Guide suits these needs. Giving information on walks, hiking, wall climbing, quad biking, horse riding, golf, hotels, bars, restaurants, bird watching, painting, spa breaks and paintballing!

The magazine has some great hotels and restaurants advertising and some well thought out maps detailing activities that are available. They also include a good guide at the back for "What's On Where".

About The Meander Guide
Delivering a sharp, clerwrly focused view of the wide variety of activities and places of interest to be found in the stunningly beautiful inland areas of the Costa del Sol. This ranges from the gentle pursuits of painting and pottery to the more adventurous of climbing and hot air ballooning.

The Meander Guide wish to develop and meet the needs of their readers along with adding content which will enrich the experience of the visitor. The Meander Guide believe their magazine to be valuable to the residents of the coast and inland areas.

Red Weevil Update

We wrote about the Red Weevil in 2008 and we wanted to give a quick update along with details where you can contact the Junta to have your palm trees checked and looked after for the future

Red Weevil in Spanish Palm Trees



Unfortunately the Red Weevil is now very common locally with the main victim of palm tree being the Canary Date Palm (Phoenix Canariensis), the Red Weevil has now spread to other varieties of tree which includes the Fan Palm (Whashingtonia Robusta).



If you find an infestation of the Red Weevil it is generally too late to save the palm tree, infected palms must be quickly treated if you are to save your beloved tree.

Death is caused by the larvae which burrow into and feed on the soft leaf tissue of the terminal bud, the tree's growing point. In many cases the tree is often beyond help but you can act now and help protect the palm trees that you do have left.

There are rumours that in ten years there could be no palm trees left in Spain but with assistance from the Junta de Andalucia you can have your palm trees treated every month to help protect against this nasty little bug!

Top Palm Tree Tips
Do not cut or trim your palm tree
Only purchase new trees from a licensed garden centre or grower, insist on a passport for the trees which is passed by the Junta de Andalucia, Conserjería de Agricultura y Pesca.

Have you had any Red Weevils in your palm trees? Please share your photos and stories with us!

The rain in Spain falls where?

Well they say the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains but it would seem that most of it fell into my garden today! LOL

The rain has not stopped yet today, no break in the clouds, nothing, we had some thunder earlier also, I am very worried about my vegetables that are growing in the garden, I expect they are drowning silently and slowly right now, fortunately our garden has a nice downhill slope from top to bottom so at least it is not pooling around the vegetables.

I don't think we can get out of our gate at the moment though, well not without wearing wellies anyway, I dread to think what the track looks like, we don't drive a 4x4, we have an Audi A6, which is 4 wheel drive but I still don't fancy our chances right now.

The pool is overflowing and adding to the situation, we have all the blinds down because the rain is lashing so much it is coming through!!!

I have lived in Spain for 10 years and never have I seen rain as bad as this, granted I have seen heavy rain and when it comes in Spain it certainly doesn't mess about, however, this has to be the worst, it certainly wasn't as bas as this last winter.

It was suggested to me that I get some bricks and form some kind of small wall as a defence for the vegetable plot but I have a better idea in the form of raised beds and after seeing this weather today, the next job on the list has to be raised beds, that is when the rain stops falling!

I wish Spanish houses would build their properties using damp coursing and insulation, it would make the houses a lot more economic and green when trying to heat them for the few months a year that we need to.

Anyone else living in a Finca and suffering from heavy rains today, is your house insulated or does it have damp coursing?

Great Juicing Ideas

Juices and blends have become extremely popular over the years and I for one have been juicing for a very long time, I realised that the price of oranges, lemons, grapefuits and many other fruits and vegetables were very easy to grow or fairly cheap to buy from the supermarket.

Juicing can fit very easily into a hectic lifestyle, enabling you to incorporate healthy habits into your everyday routines.

Benefits of Juicing
Nothing quite beats the taste of a blend made at home from fresh ingredients, despite the fact you can buy ready-made juices. The freshly made juices also contain more nutrients than those bought in a supermarket. If you do drink juice on a regular basis you will enjoy certain health benefits, clearer skin, better energy levels and balanced health. It is well known that antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables work most effectively when they are consumed together, juicing encourages precisely this!

The main advantages of juicing are:
Easy
Quick
Convenient
Rejuvenating
Healing
Revitalizing
Delicious

Vitamins and Minerals


Pink & Perky:
1 pink grapefruit
1 white grapefruit
2 ripe pears
ice cubes

Immune Zoom:
1 small mango
1 eating apple
2 passion fruit
juice of 1 orange
5ml/1 tsp echinachea
mineral water
ices cubes (optional)

Ginger juice:
1/2 small pineapple
25g/1oz fresh root ginger
1 carrot
ice cubes

Pomegranate plus:
2 pomegranates
4 fresh figs
15g/1/2oz fresh root ginger, peeled
10ml/2 tsp lime juice
Ice cubes and lime wedges, to serve

Tropical calm:
1 papaya
1/2 cantaloupe
90g/3 1/2oz white grapes

Strawberry soother:
1 peach or nectarine
225g/8 oz/2 cups strawberries

Minty melon cooler:
1 Galia or cantalopue melon
Several large mint sprigs
Juice of 2 large limes
Ice cubes
Extra mint sprigs and lime slices to serve

Apple juice:
10 apples
Ginger (optional)

Orange & carrot juice:
10 oranges
2 carrots
Ginger (optional)

Acapulco:
Pineapple
Passionfruit
Mango
Orange

Instant Energy:
Orange
Apple
Pear
Grapes

Pinky:
Strawberry
Apple

Fresquita:
Strawberry
Orange

Anti Stress:
Ginger
Lime
Orange
Apple

Piñanaranja:
Pineapple
Orange

Hawaiian:
Apple
Mango
Passionfruit
Ginger

Mente Sana:
Apple
Pear
Grape
Ginger

Summer Danger:
Raspberry
Pineapple
Pear


Green juice:
Celery
Lime
Cucumber
Orange

More juicing recipes coming next time, along with juicing and blending techniques

If you have any great juicing recipes or ideas, please share them with us!

Gardens Are For Everyone

We all need plants, all living things require sugar for energy. Plants manufacture their own sugar, they do this through a process we call photosynthesis. Plants absorb moisture from the soil through their roots and carbon dioxide from the air through pores in their leaves.


Light energy harnessed by the green leaf pigment chlorophyll breaks water molecules down into hydrogen and oxygen, chemically combining the hydrogen with the carbon dioxide to form sugars for the plant and releasing pure oxygen into the air as a by-product. Animals on the other hand - including humans - depend on plants for food, which they convert into sugar, either directly as herbivores or indirectly as carnivores.

Not only do plants feed us, but by producing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide they harmonise the earth's atmosphere, balacing out the living processes of animals and mankind who breathe oxygen in and carbon dioxide out.

So much for the science. Long before we knew all this there was one thing early man understood only too well: hunger. It was purely as a source of food that plants were initially put under cultivation. Ground was cleared of unwanted plants to make room for beneficial ones. From being a nomadic hunter-gatherer man came to lead a more sedentary existence, forming communities to nurture and protect fruit, grains and vegetables. Eventually, seed was sown and crops could be relied upon. As civilization flourished, attention could finally be paid to the aesthetic qualities of plants, and the skills which had been developed through farming were put to use in creating the first purely decorative gardens.

Today, with everyone striving to improve their quality of life, gardening has come to the fore as a leisure pursuit - not only as a means of visually improving our surroundings and adding value to our homes, but as a way of relaxing and reattuning ourselves to the natural world. Not only are plants and flowers beautiful to look at and therefore spiritually refreshing, but the process of tending them strengthens our bond with the world and makes us feel needed. (As a last resort in the mental health stakes you could start talking to your plants, but do seek immediate professional help if they ever start talking back!).

We can all close our eyes and visualise our ideal garden. For some people it might be that of a rambling English vicarage with bees humming through jumbles of flowers and ducks running round on the lawn. For others it might be a sophisticated roof terrace for entertaining guests while admiring panoramic city views. Other people might hanker for a lush tropical paradise or the elegant simplicity of a cloistered formal garden with fountains and statues.

But dreaming is one thing and reality is quite another. Many people live in flats or shared houses with no garden to call their own. Others move home so frequently that they never feel it's worth making a start. Yet others think their garden, yard or balcony is so small or has so little promose they they never attempt to make somthing of it in a million years. In our largely urban environment the passing on of gardening skills from generation to generation is a haphazard affair at best, and more and more of us come to gardening as complete innocents. For all sorts of reasons people write themselves off as second class citizens and deprive themselves of the pleasures of a garden.

Well, whatever your abilities, whatever the state of your finances, throw down your chains. If your garden is a constant source of worry to you, lighten up and look at things afresh. After all, plants are the oldest forms of life on earth and they have been looking after themselves in the wild for millions of years without any help from you. True, you might have to wait until you win the lottery to get the garden of your dreams, but until then you can jolly well learn to make the most of what you've got. Even if you don't have a garden, don't worry: there's plenty you can do without one. You can enjoy gardens without doing a stroke of work in parks or by visiting botanical gardens (our local Botanical Gardens are in Malaga) and stately homes. You can work in a garden without owning one by helping the little old lady down the road or a friend, by doing voluntary work, by renting an allotment or becoming involved in a community garden (I have a friend in the USA who does community gardening as they don't have gardens each so once a month they get together and do gardening but in their stree).

The secret to getting started is simple. All you need is a positive attitude and, just so long as you don't try to run before you can walk, everything else will simply fall into place.

Gardening is about having a go at things and embracing the opportunities you're presented with. If you think you've got a problem garden you're not alone, but the chancers are you're really the proud owner of a unique habitat just waiting to be planted up. And if you can't afford to buy many plants, just learn instead how to propogate them from seeds or cuttings - it's more satisfying anyway. Remember, above all else that an ounce of practice is worth a pound of theory, so just get out there and make a start.

One thing leads to another, and just as tending even the most undemanding of houseplants proves to be a useful experience for the neophyte gardener, so the knowledge gained in individual aspects of gardening quickly builds into a fully rounded understanding of gardening as a whole. A little knowledge and experience will enable you to channel your energy directly towards successful outcomes.

A day in the life of a Spanish Garden

Boy am I glad the weather has cooled down, I just couldn't wait to get back in the garden!

Granted the weather hasn't been so hot for a while now in Spain, however, it took me and Campo Girl a while to get motivated to get back out in the garden.

We have both started planting again and potatoes have been the main issue for us both this Autumn, with the credit crunch evident all around us, growing vegetables and fruits ourselves is paramount.

This is my first attempt at growing potatoes and thank goodness we have a valued member on our gardening forum to help us out with that, good guidelines and help where that is concerned!

I also planted Bell Peppers, Cauliflower, Leeks, Tomatoes and Carrots, I really hope we have some success with this little lot, it all went in from seed so who knows!

We turned over all our soil before planting and spent a good hour or so weeding the area and preparing, hard work but if we get good veggies from it I am all for it.

On another note, we had 2 very gorgeous birds land in our garden on Saturday and then again on Sunday, we think they are from the parrot family but not sure which exact breed.

We have posted pictures on our Flickr album of these beautiful birds and we have also posted pictures of a Gold Finch on a thistle.

Any tips for gardening potatoes? Come join us in the forum, discuss and help others.

Walking - Campillos, Andalucia, Spain

The time of year has come where it is a little cooler to be more active, walking has become a favourite hobby of ours, considering, we live in a wonderful part of Spain, Andalucia.

There is much to do in Andalucia if you like the great outdoors so we decided to take a journey out to Campillos and walk a ruddy great mountain!



The 5 of us headed off from Monda and Coín, passed through Villa Franco and headed for the A-384 Antequera-Campillos road. Originally the plan was to go and vist the Laguna Dulce which is 2km outside of Campillos, however, after driving around for some time, even stopping and askig directions in a petrol station, we didn't find it!

We changed our plan and went to visit the smaller Laguna called the Laguna Salada, unfortunately the Laguna was bone dry so there was very little wildlife about, we decided to walk round it anyway to get back to the car.

As we were driving to Campillos, we passed a Laguna on the right hand side that we believes connects to the "well known" Lakes so we decided to head there as at least there was water present and we were drawing blanks at the Lagunas we had chosen for our original activities of the day.



We noticed a sign saying "Parque Guadalteba" and thought we would just go there, we were itching to just get out of the car and walk! We did just that, off we went with our back packs full of food and wine, the park is very well laid out, clean and has easy paths to follow. As soon as you head off you will come to a bird hive which is just absolutely lovely, there is information next to the bird hive detailing all the local wildlife living in this area and a small picnic table made from rocks, this is where we sat and had lunch with a bottle of wine - lovely!

After lunch we decided to climb the mountain, we spotted a cave and decided that we would head for that first and decide from there if we wanted to continue, the climb was hard going as parts were almost straight up!

When we got to the cave we realised that someone actually lived there, a BBQ was set up, blankets and pillows were stuffed into a makeshift cupboard in the rocks and a ladder was laid up against the wall that went into a deep crevice in the rock - amazing place.



Gina, Chris and Dan didn't want to walk any further so Mark and I left our belongings with them and carried on ahead, with water in hand. The climb was hard going and the sun was beating down on our heads but WOW what a view from up there, we could see windmills on a mountainside in the distance, the Laguna that we drove past earlier in the day all of a sudden became enormous because we had climbed higher than the mountain that onstructed the view of the Laguna from the road.

After we had been walking some 20 minutes we spotted a mountain goat with it's kid who were clearly a little spooked at seeing us there and ran for cover, what a sight to see though, proper wildlife for once without having to go to a zoo!

We stopped here for a while, had a rest and a water top up and I decided that I couldn't go any further and stayed here while Mark went for more of a mooch further up - I was knackered!

The return back to the others was harder going than the walk up, the gravel on the rocks made for trecherous walking, we took our time. We stopped just for a second because I wanted to take a picture of the valley below when all of a sudden a kid (baby goat) jumped out from a hole in the rock, we were both shell shocked for half a second before we realised what had just happened, Mark and I looked at each other in utter amazement and shock, it took a few seconds for it all to register before I started taking pictures, I could have got better images if I had just been more awake when the kid jumped out at us!!!!!! We had no idea that goats take shelter and sleep in holes in the rock face and to this day I am still wowed over that.

When we met back up with Chris, Gina and Dan it started to rain and we still had the rest of the mountain to climb down. Still, no one actually fell over so we did very well on the climb down, however, it was quite funny because we all kept slipping a little and of course you throw your arms out when you slip for balance so we must have looked like we were all auditioning for the ministry of funny walks!

We saw many vultures and ravens flying over the top of the mountain and they were enormous and the ravens were extremely noisy, although I took many photos only 1 turned out well, where you can see the head, body and distinguish the colour of the feathers, I need to keep trying with this digital photography!


Campillos Village, Andalucia

With less than 8000 residents, Campillos lies between the Costa del Sol, Granada and Sevilla. Campillos is an important area of Andalucia for cattle farming, leather production and the mining centre since Roman times. Campillos is situated on the N342 which continues on towards Olvera, Arcos de la Frontera, Jerez de la Frontera and is also well connected to the nearby La Fuente de la Piedra - home to the brilliant pink flamingos.

Iglesia Parroquial Nuestra Señora del Reposo is the most important monument in Campillos, situated off the town's plaza central.

Ermita de San Benito is the town's patron saint and is worth seeing. Built between 1578-1569 originally the Ermita looms over the town centre. Extensive work was carried out in 1756 and 1814.

A good time to visit Campillos to celebrate the patron San Benito would be July 10-11th every year. Their summer feria happens in the first two weeks of August, yearly.

If gastronomy delights is all part and parcel of your travelling bug then Campillos is famous for it's drying soup or stew with tuna, eggs and ham, known as Porra Campillera. The regional speciality is Salmoreja, consisting of oranges, fried fish, cod and tuna.

Garden Deifinitions (J-M)

Juvenile
Plants which have a distinct early phase, when either the habit, leaf shape or some other characteristic differs from those of the adult. Eucalyptus tress commonly bearjuvenile and adult leaves.

Lateral
A stem or shoot that branches off from a bud in the leaf axil of a larger stem.

Leader
The main stem (or stems) of a tree or shrub that extends the existing branch system.

Leaf-Mould
Partially decayed dead leaves which have broken down to a flaky condition resembling peat. Oak and beech leaves are the most suitable materials.

Lime
Calcium, a chemical used in horticulture, particularly to neutralise acid soils.

Loam
A reasonably fertile soil that is neither wet and sticky, nor dry and sandy. It is moisture-retentive and contains a blend of clay, silt, sand and hummus, and is rich in minerals.

Lobe
Descriptive of leaves, stipules, bracts or petals that are cleft into separate areas that are still united by part of the surface.

Maiden
A nursery term for a young grafted tree in the process of being trained. Applied particularly to one year old fruit trees.

Monocarpic
A plant which dies after flowering and seeding. Annuals and biennials are true monocarpic plants, but the term is also applied to perennial plants which grow for a number of years before flowering and then dying.

Monocotyledon
A group of flowering plants that have only one seed leaf in each mature seed.

Monoecious
A plant that bears bisexual flowers or separate male and female flowers on the same plant; for example, corylus (hazel) and juglans (walnut).

Mulch
A layer of organic matter, such as decayed manure, leaf-mould, garden compost, straw or composted bark, which is spread on the soil around the plants. A mulch conserves moisture in the soil, adds nutrients and suppresses weeds. The term is also used for inorganic material including gravel and black polythene sheeting.

Cyclamen - Lets get elegant!

Elegant flowers in shades of pink, mauve, crimson or white rise above rounded or heart-shaped leaves, often finely marbled with silver or white. We both love our Cyclamens and both have them growing in our gardens - I have favoured the Cyclamen for my borders where I have a few bare spaces against my rockery.

The flowers have reflexed petals, gracefully curved backwards, and many are fragrant. By carefully selecting species according to flowering period, these beautiful, lowe growing plants can be in bloom during most months of the year, and their patterned foliage sustains a long period of interest. Not all are hardy but several of the finest are fully hardy, flowering even in the depths of winter.

The hardy Cyclamen are excellent for naturalising in groups among trees and shrubs. They thrive in sun or part shade. A border devoted to one species can be an interesting and colourful feature in the garden. Cyclamen are also good for pockets in a rock garden (like mine) or for growing in troughs and containers. The less hardy types are perfect for pot culture in an unheated greenhouse.

The rootstock of the Cyclamen plant is a tuber, with leaves and flowers borne from the upper surface. Dried tubers are often sold, but planting is more successful from plants 'in the green' - growing in pots - as the tubers can dry out too much.

There are 20 species, which are mainly native to central and S Europe, the Mediterranean and Turkey eastwards to the Caucasus and N Iran.

Recommended Species and Varieties
C. Africanum
C.Cilicium
C. Album
C. Europaeum
C. Graceum
C. Hederifolium
C. Intaminatum
C. Latifolium
c. Libanoticum
C. Mirabile
C. Neapolitanum
C. Persicum
C. Pseudibericum
C. Purpurascens
C. Repandum
C. Trohopteranthum

Propogation
Sow seed as soon as it is ripe - in mid to late summer. Older, dried seed germinates eventually, particularly if given a soak in warm water for 12 hours before sowing. Place the sown pots in complete darkness to speed germinatation and move them into the light as soon as germination has occurred. Prick out the seedlings when the first true leaf appears. Alternatively, leave the pots for a year, then prise the small tubers apart and pot them up individually.

Pests and Diseases
The prime pests of Cyclamen are aphids, vine weevils and root eelworms. Diseases include bacterial rot of the tubers and virus diseases; in these cases infected plants should be destroyed. Grey mould may attack fading flowers or leaves, especially autumn and winter. Any portion infected should be removed to prevent the spread of the disease to other parts of the plant, especially the others surrounding it.

Have you got any Cyclamens growing in your garden - any other tips you want to share that we have missed? Please do tell us :)

Cyclamen Tip
Never water your Cyclamen from the top, always water and let the Cyclamen drink from the bottom - otherwise you may kill him!

What a week

Well, we have had a busy week planting and weeding, our plam trees arrived that were given to my husband from his brother - Dan (the other hoe's son) started his new job on Saturday morning working 3 hours every week, helping us in the garden.

They had some initial problems digging the hole! Where we decided to place the palms is a rocky area at the back of our garden which is a lovely spot for the palms and some cactus but it is very rocky and the soil could be better, although, now it is all weeded (thanks to Dan!) the plants will have some room to breathe and grow now - lots of water and perhaps some compost this weekend - we should be rocking!

He was bought 2 palm trees (2 are 15 feet tall) and then 2 small ones (which we plan on putting into pots), along with cactus and an Aloe Vera.

This back garden is not very well protected (security wise) so we thought cactus would be a great way of deterring the robbers - let's face it would you walk through a load of cactus to steal a TV or would you go next door where you can just walk through the gate? I know which I would choose.

Gina's strawberries are growing strong and she should have some lovely fruit very soon - mine are struggling a bit, the plants themselves look good but the fruit is very small and I need more straw because they are starting to rot! My tomatoes are also drooping every day and I am watering them, the tomatoes are gorgeous and tasty though - complete opposite to the strawberries!

Got any good tips for growing strawberries? Please share them ;)

Along with the tomatoes, cactus, palms, strawberries we also planted an avocado tree and a graepfruit - again the avocado does not look happy since we have taken him out of his pot - he is irrigated well every day, surrounded by good old horse poo and still he is weeping - I am sure that it is because he has only just been moved from his pot and sometimes plants take time to settle into their new home.

Patio Gardens Spain

The very fact that the Mediterranean climate is so equable and agreeable means that land in the areas that enjoy it is highly priced. Few people, whether permanent residents or second-home owners, have pockets deep enough or areas large enough for extensive gardens. Together with the particular merits of enclosing space described in Courtyard Gardens, this fact makes the patio a highly attractive and practical proposition.

The patio has a very long history, dating back to Roman times when well-heeled citizens built their residences around a central atrium - an open court. The area might be graced by a central fountain, and was used as an extension of the house which gave onto it. Thus it would be used for relaxation or for taking meals in fine weather. The tradition was carried across Europe by Roman legionaires and found its way to Spain in the courtyards of the Arab conquerors from North Africa. Though the concepts were originally virtually identical, today the terms patio and courtyard are not synonymous.

Here we shall consider the patio principally as a paved area providing a formal or informal link with the house, and serving, in effect, as an 'outdoor living room'. In California the same purpose is likely to be served by a wooden deck.

Choosing your Patio site
if you are starting from scratch you may well have a choice of sites for a patio. However, quite apart from the fact that sitting it next to the house makes sense in terms of convenience and accessibility, this may well be the best spot in terms of land use. If you have engaged in any moderately extensive construction or reconstruction, the area immediately adjacent to the house is probably the one in which the builders dumped their waste. The soil will inevitably have been affected and it is far easier to pave over such an area than to attempt to improve it.

When choosing your site carefully consider how you will use your patio. Unless of course you just want to sunbathe and then a few pots dotted around the patio may be the ideal choice for you.

Large attractive containers with impressive sculptural plants - Chinese fan palms are delicious! (Livistona chinesis), a Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) or a Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa), with its decorative and arresting leaves could form an exotic 'wall' of foliage. Alternatively - my favourtite - trellis or wattle fencing, supporting a vigourous, preferably deciduous, climber (such as Vitis vinifera - the grape vine) would give it a greater feeling of seclusion.

Perhaps you want to roof a section of your patio garden extending those days you can sit in the shade when the sun is beating down in the summer months or protect your plants in the winter months. The best permanent cover you can get is glass, but this is an expensive option and extremely heavy and would need strong support. Next best to glass is polycarbonate sheeting. It comes in varities of thickness and is very strong.

You are almost certainly going to be entertaining on your patio after dark and you must consider your lighting options (remembering the night skies and the astronomers!) The choice is enormous and we have already talked about lighting your garden - read our post about LED lights for the garden!

Choosing Trees

Create a balance
Trees surrounding a country garden, give shelter and privacy. Choose your forms and colours with great care, mix evergreens and deciduous to give your garden balance.

Planting Trees
When you buy young trees you may need to support them, as they may bend out of shape in wind. Hammer a stake into the base of the planting hole before putting the tree in and tie the tree to your stake (avoid the roots!). When you come to fill the hole look for the soil mark on the base of the trunk and plant at the same depth as it was before transplanting.

Hedging
We all plant for screening or hedging at some point in the garden. Fast growing, upright trees are useful for the former, and those with a dense, twiggy habit are ideal. Try to be patient when planting for hedging purposes, we can be impatient and go for fast growing poplars or Leyland Cypress. Both of these can grow rapidly and take over the garden, shading your garden and your neighbours, robbing your other plants of moisture, nutrients and light! Therefore, you should be patient and stick to less agressive, slower growing alternatives. Hedges are often a useful backdrop against which borders and groups of containers can be displayed.

Yew (Taxus baccata) is slow growing but is ideal for sheltering other plants as it forms a thick, impenetrable hedge that does not require a huge amount of attention.

Trees and Shrubs for colour!
Trees that flower are very popular and understandly so - cherries and plums are amongst the most widely planted. Ornamental apples (Malus spp) and rowans and white beams (Sorbus spp) are well adored too - they have a dual season and flower in Spring and Autumn. Autumn colour is a good basis on which to select trees; after all, at its best it can rival flowers for sheer impact. You will do well to remember that good autumn colour largely depends on there being sharp frosts at the right time in autumn, so areas with mild climates rarely see a good show of colour. Many of the best trees are large but you can get smaller ones, such as Bonzai, Amelanchiers and several shrubs, like Euonymus alatus and species of rhus.

Foliage Colour:
For dramatic colour in autumn, Japanese maples are hard to beat, they have a beautiful filigree leaves which turn from tones of scarlett to burnt orange - lush!

Choosing your garden plants

Plants for dry sun
Many grasses like dry, sunny conditions. Big, clump forming Miscanthus sinesis 'Variegatus' is a handsome architectural plant for a dry border.

Any garden benefits from having a good mixture of plants, both in terms of height and shape, and in the variety of foliage and flower form and colour. However, it is surprising how much diversity and interest you can create without flower colour.

Plants for shady parts of the garden will inevitably major on leaf form and shape; plants for full sun will have more flower power. Make sure that you choose those that do well for these differing situations, and look, too, at the soil conditions. Some plants prefer acid soil, others alkaline.

Rhododendrons and azaleas, for example, refuse to grow on alkaline soil but will quickly provide useful ground cover for large gardens on peaty soil.

Hopefully, the differing habitats in your garden will allow you to choose a variety of plants from dry-loving to damp-loving, sun-loving to shade-loving.

What grows best in the garden?

Before you select plants for your garden, it is advisable to learn as much as you can about the area in which you live, as this will determine what you can grow. A good way of finding out which plants will grow well is to visit local parks and gardens that are open to the public.

An area where everyone seems to have rhododendrons means that you can grow these acid-lovers, too, as well as azaleas, camellias and many more.

Keep a notebook handy to record plants that you like and that thrive in gardens with similar conditions to yours. It is a good way of building up your own body of knowledge. Once you have a clear idea of what the area can or cannot offer, you will be in a position to select plants that will succeed with little effort on your part.

Climate is the place to start. is your area one that regularly experiences cold winters or hot, dry summers? If it is, then the hardiness of plants or their drought tolerance are two important limiting factors.

Then there is the 'microclimate', which refers to factors that affect the overall climate on a small scale and of your garden in particular.

A wall or hedge that protects the garden from the prevailing wind may mean you are able to grow a range of more tender plants than anyone else in your neighbourhood ;)

On the other hand, being in an exposed position, or in a frost hollow, where cold, heavy or air gathers, can mean the opposite.

Sheltered Spots
If you are lucky enough to have a walled garden, you can grow more tender plants that require protection from cold winds. Your perennial borders will flower earlier than your neighbour's in these conditions!

Light is yet another very important factor. Is your garden shaded by trees, or is it on the sunless side of a hill or your house? If it is, then you will need to concentrate your efforts on growing shade-tolerant plants.

The soil is the other major player. Is it generally damp or even wet, or is it very free-draining and so liable to dry out in the summer? Is it fertile, or acid, or rich in lime? You may not require a soil-testing kit to find out - gardening neighbours may often supply the answers.

Plants for particular situations

To make a successful garden it is crucial to choose plants that are suitable for the prevailling conditions. All plants have preferences; moist or dry soils, acid or limey, warm climates or cold. Traditionally, gardeners have expended energy on making conditions suit particular plants, in places where they would naturally grow, by changing the nature of the soil or using copious quantities of water. However, water shortages, and the pollutant effects of chemicals have compelled people to think in terms of a more natural approach.

Instead of changing conditions to suit plants, today the trend is towards choosing plants to suit the place.

Sympathetic Planting
Damp areas of the garden, in particular water features, need to be planted sympathetically, Moisture-loving plants have large lush foliage at the expense of brilliant flower colour. Use features, such as little bridges, to create accents instead.

Harmony and Contrast in the garden

Soft Harmonies
The delicate blues, mauves and pinks and softly billowing shapes of a herbaceous perennial border in summer are a study in gentle harmony.

Making a garden is an intensely personal business. What one person loves, another may hate. Such varying reactions are often to do with a level of harmony and contrast in the planting.

Very harmonious gardens, where all the colours match, and clashes or surprises are avoided, are soothing, restful places. Those who like more stimulation may prefer gardens with lots of vivid, contrasting colours, or a wide and dramatic range of leaf shapes and plant forms.

Harmony in gardens is relatively easy to achieve with single colour schemes. 'White gardens' are particularly rewarding and straight-forward. Plantings based on colour contrast are more different to get right, and are much more personal.

Mixing strong colours can create results that are vibrant to some, but too obtrusive and clashing to others.

Mixing colours and shapes
Big, bold shapes, like spiky variegated agave, make a striking feature against softer planting. Vibrant colour contrast can be provided by using yellow/green agave and pink sedum.

Year Round Interest

Some gardeners are happy to have most of their garden flowering at once. They like to see a spring garden with lots of bulbs, or an early summer garden with roses and perennials, and they are happy to let it rest for the remainder of the year. Most gardeners, though, prefer to attempt a long season of interest, which involves trying to interweave plants so that there is always something, or some part, that looks good.

A garden takes time to develop, and never stands still. Planning planting for the short, medium and long term helps avoid the great gaps that can try the patience of even the most dedicated.

Trees, needless to say, are the most long term, often maturing long after we have gone!

Shrubs, too, can take many years to look their best, which can mean a garden that is heavily reliant on them may take rather a while to develop. Herbaceuous perennials look established with remarkable speed, whereas annuals fulfil their promise and disappear within a year. It makes good sense, then, to include all these different plant forms in a garden.

Creating a structure

Informal Design
This simple garden has all the ingredients for success; an enclosing structure of trees and hedges, space for relaxation and an impeded view so that the garden appears larger, and more inviting

It is the larger or more upright plants that do most to develop the garden framework, dividing it into sections and serving as a guide as you walk or look round. Trees or shrubs with a narrow, vertical, columnar habit have lots of impact, but are useful in that they take up little space.

Trees, under whose branches you can walk, hedges that act as green walls, or plants with strong shapes, all provide the visual 'bones' for the garden. The softer, more formless shrubs and flowering perennials are the 'flesh'. Some of the most successful gardens are those that balance the formality of clearly designed shapes, such as clipped hedges and topiary, with the informality of burgeoning borders of flowers and shrubs.

Plants for the garden

This cottage garden has a formal plan. The gravel paths provide the 'bones' of the design while the planting is sympathetically unstructured.


To enable the different elements of a garden to blend comfortably and attractively, there has to be a balance, which can to a large degree be dictated by the trees, shrubs and flowers that you choose.

By opting for plants that complement and harmonize with other aspects of the garden, such as the paving or lawn, and its overall size and shape, you can create a framework in which art and nature reach a happy equilibrium.

To help you choose plants to suit your garden's needs, concise descriptions of a wide range of trees, shrubs, roses, climbers, perennials, ground cover, bamboo, grasses, bulbs ans annuals and biennials, keep coming back and reading our blog because all these will be covered in great detail - you don't want to miss out now do you ;)

Principles of Planting
'Harmony' is perhaps the most important word in making a garden. You want somewhere that is relaxing but also stimulating to the senses, where art and nature have reached a happy equilibrium. Creating a balance between the different elements of a garden, such as the paving, lawn, trees, shrubs and flowers, is crucial to the end result.

Colour is an essential design element, but because flowers are relatively fleeting, it can be difficult to maintain interest all year long. The stronger the framework of the garden, with plenty of 'architectural' plants (those with strong and distinct shapes), the less vital it will be to have flowers all year round.

Small gardens are especially difficult to plan. All plants are highly visible, so there is no room for the spectacular flowering plant that looks messy for the rest of the year. Good foliage and flowers with a long season are vital.