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 PLANTING FOR ALL SEASON COLOUR
E ven in the coldest winter situations high up on the inland plain or on mountain tops it is possible to have colour in the garden on every day of the year although the winter options are greater on the coast. For us 400 metres up 15 kilometres from the coast our flowers in the first fortnight of January each year are those of an early flowering acacia tree, amaryllis bulbs and aeonium succulents closely followed by almond trees, agaves and the first African daisies. Winter aconites, anemones soon follow and alhelis (wallflowers) soon follow but before long peaches, wisteria climbers and Judas trees start to flower so planning by the alphabet doesn’t work beyond January. Unfortunately those who named flowers did not catch on to the idea of naming plants by the letters of the alphabet with A for those that first flower in the first fortnight of the year with Z for those in flower for Christmas because once we start looking beyond the beginning of the year all becomes very jumbled.
So when we developed the listing and descriptions of plants most suitable for Spanish gardens, both inland and on the coast, contained in Part Four of Your garden in Spain we grouped plants by type namely annuals, perennials. herbs, ground cover, flowering shrubs, climbing shrubs, flowering trees, palms yucas and cordylines, bulbs, succulents, grasses and canes, pond plants, hedges, naya or indoor plants suitable for sheltered outdoor terraces and porches and popular vegetables. Plants are alphabetically listed in each section and the information for each type of plants and individual plants includes indications of when they flower , the colour of the flowers, typical mature sizes, frost and drought resistances, suitability for containers , suitability for near the sea, those that have exotic perfumes etc. Photographs are also given for the majority of the four hundred plants listed.
So this part of Your garden in Spain is a good start for developing a list of plants to first plant in your garden or add as infills whatever your situation. In Part Five there is additional guidelines for plantings for a different situations ranging from apartment terraces, small coastal town house courtyards, villas on the coast and inland and mountainside fincas. Luckily some of the most characteristic Spanish plants flower for many months of the year from Spring to the New Year including bougainvilleas, bignonias, lantanas, hibiscus, sages and rosemary. Roses also do but in bursts and not continuous and are therefore best planted in dedicated rose beds or gardens. We follow the Spanish habit of growing roses alongside our vegetable garden where they have the rich soil, annual mulching with horse manure and regular irrigation that they require.
One of the most important decisions related to buying plants is to decide how you are going to plant them. The options range from dedicated to mixed beds, by single colour or a mix of colours and by vivid hot colours such as reds and oranges or cool colours such as white and mauve. In thinking through your colour blending ideas don’t forget that the predominant colour in your garden will be green ranging from bright yellow greens to sombre blue greens. Look up the section Painting with plants in our book to help you in this respect.
Clodagh and Dick Handscombe are practical gardeners with a combined 40 years of experience of gardening in Spain and authors of the trilogy of books ‘Your Garden in Spain’ ISBN978-84-89954-670, ‘Growing healthy fruit in Spain’ ISBN 978-84-89954-62-5 and ‘ Growing healthy vegetables in Spain' ISBN978-84-89954-53-3. Full descriptions of the contents will be found on www.gardeninginspain.com The books can be purchased via this site and from major bookshops and some mainland British product shops. Readers living in the UK for part of the year can now obtain the books from the Royal Horticultural Society Bookshop at Wisley by phone (0845-260-4505) or Internet. © Clodagh and Dick Handscombe December 2008.
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