A little attention - April '08

I have had a wonderful year for daffodils, multiplying into many clumps of yellow trumpets. Sadly the heads are now beginning to brown so pick them off but leave their foliage intact. Good idea to give each clump of bulbs a thorough soaking with feed.
A little attention to spring flowering pots will ensure they look their best right through to May, so again pick off all dead flowers from primulas and pansies to encourage further flowering. I visited one of my favourite garden centers this week and noticed primroses in decorative pots, what a display. Be careful, compost in pots can also dry out, so check with a finger to see how moist it is and water well if dried out.
An impressive rock garden is easy to accomplish, no shortage of rock and the majority of plants drought tolerant, ie. "Aptenia Cordifolia", the Belly Button plant, extremely useful for covering sloping banks with its deep green trailing stems covered in small pink daisies. Another spreading plant for rocks is "Felicia Ameloides", Swan River Daisy. Drought tolerant, evergreen with a blue daisy flower and yellow centre, a very useful and attractive little plant. Finally, whether you have a regular garden or a terrace/balcony, I can recommend a visit to Viveros F. Serrano garden centre at Benagalbon, near to the Añoreta Golf, having an excellent range of trees, shrubs and flowering plants, conservatory plants and orchids. Decorative pots of all shapes and sizes.

More tips next month from Rosie or email rosie@thesentinellamalaga.com

Herb Gardens - March '08

How about a herb garden...usually easier to grow than fruit or vegetables and the Spanish climate is ideal. Many evergreen and perennial herbs are drought and frost resistant. Annual herbs can be grown from seed through much of the year in containers as well as in the garden. Many flower for months or several times a year. There are small and large varieties of herbs and many can be trimmed to keep them tidy and compact, therefore suitable for apartments, town house terraces as well as open gardens. Herbs can be grown for their leaf, flower and perfume effects and also for their many other recognised uses listed below.
For adding flavour and aromas to salads, cooked foods and drinks - sage, parsley, anise, chives, basil, bay, coriander, cumin, marjoram, tarragon, thyme, sorrel and oregano. Eating - chives, dandelion leaves, basil leaves, rocket leaves, fennel and garlic.
For daily dietary or medicinal infusions - mint, rosemary, lemon verbena, sage, thyme, parsley, nettles and lemon verbena. Making of potpourris - Bay, lavender, lemon verbena, rosemary and sage. To remove unpleasant burning smells - Bay leaves. As insect repellents - Pots of basil and lavender.
To flavour vinegars - tarragon, garlic and rosemary. These are just of the few many uses and therefore well worth the fun of growing.
March may bring some high winds so check all post supports and ties on trees, fruit trees and climbers.

Irrigation Tips - February '08

One of the most beautiful natural sights in Spain is the almond blossom, so if you are considering planting trees this month, the Almond is a must.
Rain in Spain can be very frustrating. There is often too little or too much but for gardeners there is no reason to have to pay for irrigation water if steps are taken to catch rain when it falls. Visit your local garden centre for a water butt, these are easy to fit but make sure it has a secure, childproof lid, as well as protecting children it will also prevent debris and mosquitoes from entering. Select a down pipe that is not in a prominent position with plenty of room to stand a butt nearby, cut the down pipe at the desired height and fit a diverter. A firm base is important.
Drier summers and an increasing number of irrigation bans are becoming the norm in Spain as elsewhere in the world so water conservation has become critical.
February and early March is the best time to do major or severe pruning because plants will recover faster with the spring flush of growth. Azaleas, camellias and gardenias are pruned later on, even as late as July, after they've finished blooming, but February is the time to prune roses, this always seems very harsh when often buds are still to be seen. The promise of mass rose blooms from April forces my hand to slice through healthy stems.
Finally keep a check on those weeds; rain and sunshine unfortunately make an ideal combination for growth.

Anyone for fruit? - January '08

Many of us have at least 1or 2 fruit trees, usually a lemon and orange growing on the patio and those with larger areas have fruit trees of all types. Take the time in January to prune, feed and spray your trees to ensure a good healthy crop of fruit. Spraying should continue during the year to prevent pest and fungal attack. Check the supports as we can suffer strong winds in the next few months. Weed the land around the tree, checking the irrigation. Keep the deepest roots damp at all times and irrigate on drip line not against the trunk and use watering tubes to get down to the depth of the lowest roots. Pruning, let new trees grow for the first 2 years and then shape around the stronger branches, keeping to desired height. Let air into the centre to increase size of fruit. Remember if you are buying new trees; choose the types of fruit trees which grow best in your area, inland areas beware of Mango's not liking frost. Preparation of soil is important, the hole needs to be a meter wide by 50 cm's deep and make sure the tree is well supported by strong posts.
The poinsettia, the pot plant sold in mass during December, give this a little extra care in January, water frequently and keep in a sunny indoor spot, this can then be re-planted during early summer in a hot sheltered spot and will grow into a large shrub developing large coloured bracts the following Autumn.
Finally, bush roses, prune back well during January.

Keeping yor lawn green - December '07

The summer heat has subsided so be ready to roll up your sleeves and do some lawn maintenance. Lawns are living plants and after a hot summer, they need some restorative treatment. You'll need to remove fallen leaves from your lawn, as these will cause it to go brown. Weeding is also important during the winter, some weeds take advantage of this and can kill the grass. Even if you don't do anything more extensive, a good scratch over with a lawn rake and application of fertilizer is worth taking the trouble to prepare for the next year. Try using a time release fertilizer to ensure that your grass is getting its essential nutrients during the winter and water on a regular basis.

Consider planting new trees, rose bushes and shrubs or perhaps more ground cover plants, e.g. African daisy (Spanish: ARCTOTIS, MARGARITA AFRICANA) an extremely colourful covering in cream, yellow, orange, pink and russet flowering in spring and summer. This is drought tolerant, evergreen and easily propagated from small offshoots. More ground cover less weeds.

This year, consider purchasing a living Christmas tree for your home. They really aren't that much more expensive than a cut tree. This is an excellent way to improve your landscape, and at the same time, save a tree. Before bringing a living tree into the house, water it thoroughly.

November '07 - OFF with their heads!

Pruning is a task many gardeners develop a fear of, cutting back perennials, especially while in growth can make many of us feel very uneasy. However to tidy those flower beds and patio's it is necessary to lightly trim back those shrubs, plants and straggling branches. Shrubs are normally pruned hard in the spring, but lightly pruning now will prevent wind rock and neaten their appearance.

It is still a good time to lift and divide overgrown clumps of herbaceous perennials. This can improve shape, vigour and flowering, as well as increasing your stocks of favourite plants. Tidy up leaves from around borders. They can be added to the compost heap or placed in separate bins to make leaf mould. Some leaves such as plane and sycamore are slow to break down and can delay you using your compost if you mix them into the general heap. Leaf mould makes an excellent soil improver and can also be used as a seed-sowing medium.

Plant daffodil and tulip bulbs this month, some tulips appear each year, others need to be treated as bedding plants, and replaced every year.

Root cuttings can be taken now - Papaver (perennial poppies), Verbascum (mullein) and Phlox are suitable examples.

For more garden tips you can email: rosie@thesentinellamalaga.com