Round Town News

OVER THE years we have watched out for and evaluated things that can make summer gardening less of a problem for little cost. SULPHUR POWDER – AZUFRE. For only €1.60, we purchased 750 grams of pure yellow sulphur powder from our village general store this morning. What value for money!  A basic natural product easily applied that solves several problems.

HAVING JUST lunched on deliciously juicy and tasty peaches and apricots picked yards from the front door it seems natural to write about summer fruits for this week’s column. And not only were the fruit perfect but they could be eaten straight from the tree without washing as no chemical sprays had been used on the trees. The only sprays had been with a cocktail of natural products: neem oil as an insecticide and propolis, a product from the bee hives alongside honey and a nettle infusion as an extra insect control and stimulant of leaf growth.

MAKING THE best of your garden and apartment terraces, balconies and windowsills includes making the important decisions associated with selecting flower, leaf and bark colours that create interest individually and mix in a variety of ways.

AT LAST - temperatures in the thirties! For those retired or on holiday it is time to start doing any necessary gardening early and then enjoy the rest of the day, including a post lunch siesta, in a wonderfully colourful and perfumed garden and lunching and dinning off garden crops!  For those working, fitting in an hours cool gardening before going to work to be able to enjoy the weekend to the full. To do this, take out the barbecue, solar cooker and paella pan...

WITH THE return of the sun (hopefully) our thoughts return once more to our gardens. But where can we get inspiration - where can we get some new ideas?
On the week-end of Friday 11th June and Saturday 12th June, you will be able to explore the wonderful gardens of Patricia and Geoff Weaver, in Campoverde’s Calle Nispero. Pat and Geoff are opening their gardens to the public each day between 10.00 and 20.00.

PLANTS DON’T get any less expensive nor the summers any cooler so ensure that you don’t waste money on unsuitable plants or lose plants due to poor positioning, planting and care, especially if living in an apartment or town house. Last month we introduced you to our latest book ‘Apartment Gardening Mediterranean Style’, the fourth in our series published by Santana Books.

MOST OF us came to the Spain for the weather, including the effects of the beneficial effects of the invigorating sun, but many of us do not take full advantage of it in the garden. The sun has been harnessed by many civilisations for millenniums but the industrial revolution made us lazy and we forgot what was possible for free...

THE MAY meeting of the garden club started off with a huge clap of thunder and a torrential downpour.  The main speaker for the day was club member Margot Gay, who gave a slightly off-beat talk about herbs; their history, folk lore and uses. Val Duckworth explained the cultivation and care of herbs, explaining how they adapt to different types of garden, from pots on a veranda to using rosemary or lavender for hedges.

If you are interested in taking on an allotment for growing your own vegetables and fruit, we have discovered three new possibilities. Firstly, there is now a block of fenced allotments in the land between Javea Port and the Arenal. Enquire at the town hall for details. Secondly, Agri Hobby SL has set up a block of fifty allotments near Rojales. These are individually fenced and each has a shed and parking space.

AS DISCUSSED two weeks ago, we have written a new book titled ‘Apartment Gardening Mediterranean Style’ to help you and every other expatriate and Spaniard have apartment terraces, balconies and windowsills that are colourful, perfumed and productive with very little effort and outlay. There is no longer any reason why apartment blocks need to look bare and abandoned, whether you live in your apartment all the year round or only for selected weeks and months.