By Clodagh and Dick Handscombe practical gardeners and authors living in Spain for twenty five years.
Almost December already. How quickly the year goes in Spain, especially for active gardeners that these days includes apartment gardeners. But at Christmas even the latter can celebrate the results of their efforts with family and friends.
In preparing our latest book Apartment Gardening Mediterranean Style we had great fun and often amazement finding out what was possible in small spaces and containers and since publication have had great pleasure in the seeing the speedy results achieved by readers.
So if you cant produce the following for Christmas it would be very possible for next year.
Terraces, balconies and windowsills that have plenty of colour including shrubs in containers prior to doing a winter trim in January.
A diversity of fresh ecologically grown fruit and vegetables. Up to 20 vegetables can be grown in only three square metres and ten varieties of fruit in six square metres!
Herbs for Christmas infusions and stuffings.
Flowers and plants for the house including evergreen garlands even holly grown on a north facing balcony.
Cooking some dishes on a solar cooker still possible on sunny winter days. A kit to construct a one metre diameter one from
www.alsol.es would make a good Christmas present.
Even a home reared chicken or turkey fed largely organically with excess produce from the vegetable plot and selected kitchen waste.
If you intend to give plants as presents at Christmas do give ones that will last. Select those that are full of flower buds but not yet fully in flower that way the recipient will have the pleasure of a plant in flower for weeks.
We suggest that you keep them in a cool sheltered place before bringing them inside to a centrally heated room just before Christmas and them keep them as far away as possible from radiators.
Often a plant for a terrace, balcony or window sill will be a longer lasting token of your best wishes than a house plant. How about a grape vine, or apple tree to produce fruit for future Christmas tables and a sage plant for both this years and next years turkey stuffing.
And of course one of our books as a stocking filler!
With no bookshop near by they can be speedily obtained by mail order from
www.santanabooks.comHappy Christmas and New Year and a great year of productive terrace gardening in 2011
© Clodagh and Dick Handscombe December 2010.
