APRIL 2010
THE GREAT GOLF COURSE GARDENING OPPORTUNITY
By Clodagh and Dick Handscombe, Practical Gardeners and Authors
living and writing in Spain for 25 years.
Introduction
Most readers who purchased a villa have made a good effort to turn the space surrounding the villa into a garden they are proud of. Something they are happy to look out onto, wander round, relax in, cook and eat al fresco with the family and friends. But that is not always so with apartments so one is not playing golf surrounded by a continuous line of ‘Hanging gardens of Babylon’. That’s a great pity as apartment gardening is in many respects easier than having a villa garden.
We have therefore written a new book ‘ Mediterranean Apartment Gardening – Terraces, balconies and windowsills’ to help readers make their apartments both more attractive and productive places to live in whether they only have ten square metres of terrace space or a 400 square metre penthouse terrace. It is packed with practical ideas and advice with photographs and plans of what ten to fifteen percent of apartment dwellers have already done. We will discuss some of the possibilities this month and next.
The space you have
What space you have will depend on the type of apartment block you live in and the mix of window sills, balconies and open and covered terraces the architect designed into the building. Apartment blocks vary from a converted village house with two or three floors of apartments, ten storey blocks with one or two rows of a apartments on each floor. pyramid buildings where every apartment has an open and covered area and up to the skyscrapers of Benidorm which luckily have yet to descend on Murcia.
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Apartment gardening is not difficult or onerous
1. On covered terraces you could have even gardened during this winters heavy rain when golf was impossible. If the rain is being blown in pull down the blind.
2. With outside lights you can garden at any time of the day or night.
3. Stop attempting to use annuals in window boxes – especially in the summer and on south facing terraces. There are plenty of perennials that can last for years that enjoy the sun as interesting and more sensible choices than annuals or constantly dying geraniums, and there are others for semi shaded and shaded areas at the back of covered terraces. Over a hundred such plants are illustrated in the book together with buying and caring tips.
4. You can complete the design and layout of a terrace in a couple of days or weekends versus months or years in a garden.
5. It’s very possible for part time owners as well as full time residents. Drought resistant plants, dried and artificial plants all have a role to play along with interesting ceramic pots, plates and murals etc..
What can be done with small areas
1.Windowsills balconies and terraces can all be used to grow flowering and evergreen plants, herbs, fruit and vegetables. There are many illustrations of what people have done in the book ranging from 4 metre small balconies to 400 square metre penthouse terraces.
We have even included a plan for our ‘Dream terrace’ should we win the national lottery.
2. Privacy can be created by growing flowering plants in two rows of pots or window boxes on railings, flowering hedging plants in troughs, climbers on trellis work or miniature trees etc..
3. A simple improvement may be just two window boxes and a perpetual lunar lemon tree for the daily G&T.
4. A more complex conversion may use plants, trellis work, and ornaments to turn even a small terrace into a very attractive place to use both during the day and after dark.
6. A significant degree of self sufficiency in organically grown salad vegetables can be obtained in just one square metre!
7. Ten fruits can be grown in just six square metres!
If you don’t believe this see photos in the book and follow the simple instructions.
With ‘ Mediterranean Apartment Gardening’ available now what better Spring project between rounds of golf!
More ideas next month.
Obtaining the new book.
Naturally new books take a little while to get into all the book shops but books can be ordered for speedy delivery from
www.santanabooks.com and
www.bookworld.com.
The books cover is attached below as a PDF file
© Clodagh and Dick Handscombe April 2010
www.gardeninginspain.com
