Shrubs/Climbers/Trees Archives

Apr 272017 0 Responses

The NZ connection – Gardens of Monserrate

Whilst in the magical town of Sintra we visited three Palace gardens – all had quite different styles. I’ve chosen to write about Monserrate as it had some wonderful plant collections as well as having a very beautiful palace.

Lots of information can be found on the internet regarding the palace and its various owners so I won’t go into detail here but would like to point out the important placement of two New Zealand native trees – the Pohutakawa and Rimu.

The nearest tree to the Palace is an enormous Pohutakawa – too wide to get into a photograph – all I can glean from books is that it must have been planted between 1863 and 1875 when plants were brought in from NZ and Australia.

The enormous Rimu is given centre stage in the middle of the only large lawn area in the garden. (Pohutakawa top left, Rimu mid-right in the photo above)

Throughout the garden there are also many giant tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand and these look magnificent from the various viewpoints. The terraced gardens containing Mediterranean shrubs and many of the old rose beds are being replanted this spring – it is great to see that this magnificent garden is still being renovated and improved.

For more pictures of the Palace and wonderful garden see the Green Door Face Book page – click on the link in the far right green column.

Apr 232017 Tagged with Algarve, coastal plants, Hawke's Bay, Napier, Ocean Beach, Waimarama — 0 Responses

The Algarve’s Coastal Plants

We’ve enjoyed several days poking around the Algarvian coastline scrutinising the plants that have naturalised in this harsh environment with a view to repeating these plants in our home coastal plantings – Waimarama, Ocean Beach, Napier in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.

These plants are growing in what appears to be pure sand, they’re obviously not irrigated and cope with the harsh coastal salt winds and the very hot summer temperatures that occur here. Albeit the more wind exposure they’re in the shorter and more compact they grow – but they are very healthy.

These plants would obviously be great choices for NZ coastal gardens. Plant in Autumn as soon as the weather has cooled and the Autumn showers/rain has started and they should be able to look after themselves.

Small evergreen shrubs such as Cistus Snowmound, various low growing forms of Rosemary, Lithodora, Helianthemum, Ice Plants, Thyme, Armeria, Spanish Lavender stoechas will all thrive in very light soils – even sand as we saw in the Algarve. They look great together and require nothing but a light trim every Autumn to keep them tidy and compact.

Apr 182017 Tagged with Cork, oak, wine — 0 Responses

Cork Oak – Quercus suber in Southern Portugal

Probably the one thing I love the most about Spain and Portugal is the countryside – and the Cork Oak fields. Thousands and thousands of acres of trees stud the semi- wild fields and all of them have the tell- tale marks of cork stripping. They’re semi-nude up to around 2.5m high and have trunks of varying colours depending upon which year their cork was harvested. Pinky/red hued trunks = newly harvested – over the years the trunks gradually go grey and then black.

The Oaks cover the countryside and the wide canopied trees look so beautiful. It’s such a pleasure to see land that isn’t completely just grass and it looks so completely natural. I never get tired of driving through it.

Prior to writing this blog I did a bit of research – as you do…. never want to get facts wrong, and I came across this terrific article that you should check out. It has a wealth of really interesting info. On the Cork Oak, history, the industry, how it’s harvested and grown, the value of cork and the varied uses for it – apart from corks for wine bottles!

Phil and I have both purchased beautiful cork wallets and if I get the chance to go shopping again… a pair of cork sneakers and a belt will be coming home too!

Please click on this safe link below and find out more about this terrific tree – I found it really enlightening

www.saomarcosdaserra.com/cork.php

Feb 242015 0 Responses

Make the most of your watering time

The mornings are certainly cooler and darker these days which can only mean one thing. Autumn is coming. Parts of MY garden are looking autumnal already with falling leaves. They’re not falling because its “Fall” as the Americans would say – they’re a-falling because of the long period of dryness. Phil has been doing his best trying to keep the garden lush and green but the time has come to bite the bullet and water only the trees. Read More…