Author: spanishgarden

Cruella (my wife) left for our English house the other day she flew off after our Open Garden Day to see our idiot son and left me with strict instructions on how to take care of the chickens. She left early on the Monday morning but it was raining and she slipped twice on the lawn as she was taking off. Eventually all went well and she soared off into the lowering clouds leaving only a small band of bedraggled and soaked chickens standing in the middle of the lawn waving their little homemade Russian flags. I didn’t even know chickens could knit! Anyway, on with the gardening.

3rd June 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

June is a funny month; yes it is summer, but not quite the real hot summer. You will need to be cutting back some things whilst at the same time planting and sowing.

Cutback and reshaping. There are a number of plants you will need to trim up now or they will become shapeless over the summer.

Jasmine. By now your Jasmine should have had its first flowering. Now that this is over you will need to trim your plant back in two ways. Firstly, if it is growing up a trellis or wires then make sure it is not flopping over at the top and shading all the growth underneath. What may look to you like a nice green plant may in fact be totally brown underneath. Just hold the plant up and shear off the top excess growth. Secondly, put on your gardening gloves and run your hand up and down the plant taking out all the dead brown growth. This will easily come away, do not try to trim this with secateurs as you will only cut off long stems and ruin the shape of the plant. The photo below shows me holding up and cutting off the top growth.

Trim shaped trees. If you have cloud pruned or just shaped some of your trees, then now is the time to give them a light trim to bring them back into shape. Any major pruning should be left until January. The photos below show my various trees after their summer trim. These include:

• Mulberry trimmed back to keep its umbrella shape to provide shade.
• Olive cloud pruned into balls; to keep this pleasing shape you need to trim three times a year.
• Variegated Ficus cloud pruned (amorphously) to allow sight lines into my dry garden.
• The big ficus given a gentle trim so that the Cheshire Cat can smile down upon me.
• Californian False Pepper and a Myrtle-leaf Milkwort shaped to both give a sense of presence at the end of my drive. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cutback suckers on Palms. lots of people in Spain have lovely stately Palm trees but unfortunately leave ugly secondary suckers growing from the bottom of the trunk. You may think you are growing a new Palm tree but you are not, you are just allowing suckers to take away from the overall strength of your tree. The best thing to do is get out your bow saw and trim these off as neatly as you can. They will probably grow back a couple of times, but just keep at it. The tree will look much neater and you won’t get spiked every time you pass by. The photos below show my various palm protuberances and the solution. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Time to take last years lemons off your tree. Most lemon trees will now have both last years lemons (yellow and a bit squishy) and this years (green and the size of a table tennis ball). This results in the tree being in a bit of a quandary. It needs to get rid of the old lemons as they are hindering it feeding the new crop, hence they are dropping off every day. But you think that your lemons may get bigger and then you will pick them. I hate to tell you this, but they won’t, the tree doesn’t want to know them, they are so last year. It is time to pick off as many of the old lemons as possible and use them how you will:

• Make lemon drizzle cakes
• Get drunk on Limoncello
• Make lemon curd

There are many ways to use your lemons, but all of them require vast quantities of sugar, which you know isn’t good for you. So, why not do what I do? Take all the lemons off your tree, juice them and store them in plastic orange juice bottles or milk bottles (wash the bottles of course). Then put them in the freezer and bring them out one at a time as you use them throughout the year. I put lemon juice in every glass of water I drink, whilst Cruella consumes it in pints of Gin. It is up to you, but look at Cruella, compared to me, you know what makes sense. The photos below show the process which starts by removing chickens. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Taking care of the chickens. As I mentioned earlier, Cruella has left me precise written instructions on how to take care of the chickens. Two copies, one for me and the chickens have one. Every morning I am met by a delegation of chickens demanding their rights and quoting the various sub sections of Cruella’s instructions. But I don’t speak chickenese so I just shrug my shoulders and make random clucking noises, which infuriates them. After half an hour of chicken ranting that falls upon my deaf ears, they all turn in one choreographed move and show me their rears in a sign of chicken contempt. I get my own back though as I refuse to feed them the expensive fried insects that Cruella gives them. I leave their little bowl just outside their reach. I know it’s cruel, but you don’t know what those chickens have put me through. Click on each photo for a larger view.

I’m back, but to be honest I wish I hadn’t gone away. Despite my leaving detailed care instructions, (Cruella my wife), has systematically neglected my garden. She has neither watered, weeded, sprayed or basically just loved the garden. She knew that I was preparing for this years Campoverde Open Garden Day on 27th May between 11 and 4. When she saw me crying at the devastation she just stood there laughing surrounded by her chickens saying “what, what, what’s the matter”. The worst thing is I now know chickens can smirk. I have been working night and day to try and save what is left of the summer garden.

Anyway I have reported her to The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Garden Crimes Tribunal. This meets in The Hague, next door to the War Crimes Tribunal. I am busy preparing my case against her and I am hoping for a hearing in the Autumn. Anyway, let’s dry our tears and get on with the gardening.

13th May 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Saving my Roses and other plants. There are a number of pests that will infest Roses and other plants this time of year, so it important that you stay on top of them. Inspect your plants every day and deadhead frequently for succession flowering. Failure to do this will leave you with diseased plants that will not repeat flower. The photos below show the damage to my roses, oleander and Dipladenia all caused by Cruella’s neglect. The first photos show the damage from greenfly and wooly aphids the second shows wild garlic allowed to grow through the roses. Click on each photo for a larger view.

The answer to all of these problems is to spray the plants weekly with your favourite spray. I know that some of you like to be organic, but personally I use the spray below. For wild garlic, pluck the flowers out at the bottom of the stem and do this daily. The photos below show my spray and my wild garlic plucking in action. Finally, and very importantly feed your roses and other plants, it is essential for healthy floriferous plants in Spain. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Lawn care. I know not many of you have lawns in Spain, because it is stupid to have one. But Hey Ho, I love my lawn, and this is where Cruella (my wife) has been at her cruelest. My lawn has been turned into the equivalent of the Gobi Desert. The grass has not been watered, chickens have been allowed to dig and there are bare patches as if beasts with cloven hooves have been pawing the ground. And that is how I know that Cruella has had her coven round for a party.

Anyway, if your lawn is looking terrible you need to do the following. First cut it on the highest setting possible. Then give the lawn its first feed of the year. Once you have spread your fertiliser, water profusely but only in the evening and after the earth has cooled. The first photo below shows the state of my lawn. The second shows me after mowing the lawn. What you can’t see in this photo is that I am completely covered in dust – it was like mowing in a sandstorm. The final photo shows the lawn food I prefer. Ideally your lawn should have three feeds over the summer growing season. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Saving my seedlings. If you have been growing plants from seed then now is the time to “prick out your seedlings”. Basically this involves teasing out each of your new little plants and replanting them in a separate tray or pots to let them grow on before planting out into the soil. Start by assembling everything you need, including:

• Good compost
• Perlite to mix into the compost to make it free draining
• Seed trays or pots for your little seedlings
• A dibber to make holes for your new plants and a pencil to tease them out with

The photos below show my assembly and the process. Make sure that as you gently tease our your new seedlings you hold them by their leaves and never by the stem. If you hold by the stem then you can easily damage their capillary system in the stem. Finally, place your new seedlings on your potting bench and leave them for two weeks to harden off before planting them out. Whatever you do don’t let them dry out. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Put drip trays under your pots. I don’t normally think of myself as a gardener with pots, but in fact I have some 30 or so plants in pots. Anyway, as I stood idly watering my pots the other day I noticed the precious water running out from the bottom of each pot. I instantly punched myself in the head for being an idiot and immediately rushed off to buy drip trays to place under each pot.

The benefit of drip trays for plants in Spain is twofold. Firstly they stop water run off. Secondly they aid hydration as the water from the drip trays evaporates and keeps the plants misted. The photos below show my drip tray strategy in action. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Campoverde Open Garden Day 2023. Finally, if you want to come and see what is left of my garden, meet Cruella and her chickens and see Tango the lonely blind Labrador then come along and make a day of it. Just to cheer you up there are four other lovely gardens you can see if you don’t want to come and see my waste land. Details below:

I am at our English house with the forlorn hope of trying to inculcate some culture into our idiot son; he prefers beer and football. Anyway, Cruella (my wife) has decided to take advantage of my absence by threatening terrorist attacks on my seedlings. To put this into a gardening context. I left Cruella with precise instructions how to deal with the garden and particular the seedlings during my short absence. All gardeners know that failure to successfully prick out and pot on your seedlings can ruin the whole garden year.

Cruella has recognised my vulnerability and I have been receiving a stream of videos where balaclava clad supposed terrorists threaten my seedlings and potting bench with destruction unless I fulfil certain demands. But I know it is her because chickens look ridiculous in balaclavas and all the demands are chicken related. They have even taken to threatening Tango the lonely blind Labrador and have been sending hostage videos showing chickens looming over him whilst he looks distressed. I have informed the police.

The first photos below show my vulnerable seedlings and potting bench whilst the final one shows Tango in a hostage situation. Click on each photo for a larger view.

26th April 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Deadhead Iris. By now all your Flag Iris should be ready for deadheading. It is such a pity that they have so short a flowering season as I love to see them in huge clumps waving in the wind. But once the flowers are fully spent then it is time to deadhead them so that the bulbs can plump up for next year. All bulbs should be deadheaded, but never cut off the stem; these should be left to fully die back so that they can enrich and feed the bulb.

With Iris you don’t cut just below the flower, but instead go a little further down the stem to below the flower head where there is a large swelling in the stem. You cut just below this swelling and then leave it alone till all the stems die back. For tidiness you can tie the dying stems together if you wish. The first photo shows one of my stands of Iris waiting for their cut back. The second photo shows where to cut. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Dealing with wild garlic. Every so often there is a weed that proliferates strongly and you need to take some remedial action. For the last few years this has been wild garlic. Objectively wild garlic can be quite pretty with its long stem and flush of little white flowers. But it can spread very quickly as it is a prolific self seeder. Left alone it will quickly overwhelm flower beds and lawns within two or three seasons.

I have found that attempting to fully remove wild garlic fully is far too laborious as you would have to dig up every little bulblet, and this can take a long time. Instead, my strategy has been twofold. Firstly, to out compete the garlic in flower beds you need to continually pluck off all flower stems as they appear including taking as many leaves as possible; go as low on the stem as you can. Secondly, where they appear on lawns, mow before the stems have flowers.

Although the plant will attempt to throw up subsequent flower heads, these will become shorter and shorter as you are continually depleting the strength of the plant. If you keep this up over a couple of years you will eradicate or at least severely deplete its ability to reseed. The photo below shows the culprit growing through my Roses.

Spider plants relieve the gloom. If you have a heavily shaded part of your garden where nothing seems to grow, then why not try the ubiquitous spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum). This denizen of the British bathroom is often written off as an untidy house plant that can be happily neglected. But placed in a shady (and slightly damp) area, it can really light up the gloom with its variegated leaves. It will happily proliferate with lots of little spiderlets and become a bit of a shady showstopper. The photo below shows the shady area beside my front gate where I can’t get anything to grow, now happily populated by a growing family of Spider plants.

Plant Loofah seeds. When I told Cruella (my wife) that it was time to plant Loofah seeds her eyes lit up (all of them). The main reason for this is that my Loofahs provide her with a profitable sideline in selling loofahs to her various friends as a means of removing nose warts; a perennial problem in what she terms her community.

Loofahs are a lovely annual climber with beautiful and prolific yellow flowers that turn into, well loofahs! Loofahs are those long abrasive tubes that hang in bathroom showers and are often mistaken for some sort of sponge. But, no, they are plants and more importantly they are excellent for skin defoliation and improving blood flow. Anyway, if you want to grow loofahs then now is the time to plant seeds.

You simply need to soak your loofah seeds in a bowl of warm water for at least 24 hours; just leave a bowl by the sink and keep topping it up with warm, but not boiling water. This process swells the seed and makes them easier to germinate. Once they have been soaked for 24 hours then prepare four inch pots filled with good compost and thoroughly watered. Place one seed at the centre in each pot and then poke it down into the soil by about a finger nail length. These will be ready in about 2 to 3 weeks for planting out. If you would like some Loofah seeds then I have plenty, just let me know.

The photos below are an action based photo montage of the loofah planting process. I have aspirations to become a Hollywood director of action films and these photos now form part of my portfolio that I am sending to studios. Click on each photo for a larger view.

The big rat. By the way, If you are interested, the big rat is no more. Needless to say it was a struggle, but I prevailed.

Cruella (my wife) arrived back the other day. I didn’t know she was coming but I got a bit of a clue when the chickens started fussing around with their feathers and grooming each other. Anyway, the sky went dark, there were low threatening clouds and a hint of lightning. The chickens trooped out of their coop and formed a circle on the lawn waving little flags they had made (don’t ask). Cruella spiralled down out of the biggest dark cloud and made a perfect landing in their circle whilst waving enthusiastically at the chickens who all clucked appreciatively in chickenese; I hid in the shed.

As if all of that wasn’t bad enough the big rat is back in the compost heap. Whilst not meaning to conflate Cruella’s return and the appearance of the rat – I am sure it is not just coincidence. Anyway, I knew he was back as I saw his tail disappear into the compost when I opened the bin lid. Of course it is not the same big rat, as his predecessor was duly dealt with as he will be eventually. But don’t let this put you off composting. Ratty’s appearances are very rare, especially if you never compost cooked food. But more about ratty later, on with the gardening.

9th April 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Pruning back Ice Plants. Ice plants are popular in Spain for their early spring flowers and the fact that they don’t mind a bit of neglect. By now your Ice plants should be flowering profusely, but as you know they soon die back unless you deadhead vigorously. If you want more flowers then try and deadhead them every couple of days. The easiest way to do this is to use a pair of hand scissor shears. The new flowers will start arriving at a level just below the spent flower stems. This gives you an ideal opportunity to shear off the longer spent stems leaving the new flowering stems to grow. If you wait too long then the new stems will be as long as the old stems meaning you will have to prune each stem individually which is very time consuming.

The first photo below shows one of my Ice plants with new and old flowers and ripe for shearing. The second photo shows my shearing technique. With a bit of luck the plant will produce more flowers for a few weeks yet. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Time to take early cuttings. If you see vigorous new growth on your plants then why not try taking some cuttings. The obvious benefit of taking cuttings for your own garden is that you get free plants from something that has already proved itself in your garden.

Taking cuttings is simple. Just go to a vigorously growing non flowering stem and then using a knife (never secateurs as they crush stems) cut just below a leaf node and pop your cutting into a plastic bag to keep it fresh. The photos below show that I have been taking cuttings from Swedish Ivy (creeping Charlie) and Dianthus. You don’t really need to cut Dianthus or carnations, just pull hard on the stem you want and it will come away. Click on each photo for a larger view.

After you have taken a few cuttings you need to prepare a 4 inch pot with either seed compost or your own sifted compost. Now I am a bit fussy with compost for cuttings so I tend to use my own compost and then sift it to get a fine mix that I then add Perlite to for added drainage. The photos below show my patented sifting methods. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Fill your 4 inch pots and then gently tamp down to remove any pockets of air. Take each cuttings and remove all the leaves apart from a few at the top; this will stop the cutting losing too much water. If you have rooting hormone powder or liquid, then dip each of your stems into this before placing four of them equally spaced out around the side of the pot very close to the edge. The first photo below shows the pots ready to receive their cuttings after dipping in hormone liquid. The next photo shows the little cuttings under shelter in the shade for a few weeks. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Sowing seeds. If you intend to grow plants from seed this year – and you should. Then you better get on with it. If your garden is based on succession planting; as mine is, then it is important to have a conveyor belt of plants coming through ready to plant out. It is very hot at the moment during the day so it is important to get seedlings underway or they will just fry by the time you come to planting out.

I collect seeds from all my various plants in the Autumn and always have envelopes full ready to sow. In addition I will occasionally buy a packet of seeds as an experiment. This year it is Lupins which I will sow now to hopefully flower next year, but we will see. One innovation I am trying this year is to use all the various plastic containers that I get from the supermarket containing strawberries, blueberries, grapes etc. These are ideal for sowing seeds as they are handily perforated both in the bottom and the top which is good for seeds allowing drainage and good air circulation. So far I have sown the following:

• Mini sunflowers
• Dutch Marigolds
• Marigolds
• Trumpet vine
• Jasminium
• Lupins

Usually I buy a little plastic mini greenhouse each year for seeds, but this year I am just sticking them under a sheet of plastic and using the supermarket containers. The results of my early sowing can be seen in the photos below, we will see how it all develops. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Get ready to feed your plants. Now is the time to stock up on the various plant foods you will need for summer. It is important to use the right food for the right plant. Yes, of course a general purpose feed is ok, but you will get more out of your plants if you feed them with an appropriate targeted food. The photo below shows the array of feeds that I use.

From left to right, they include:

• Ericaceous plant food. This is used for acid loving plants who dislike a lime soil. My soil is not acidic but sometimes I have things in pots that need this type of feed. We are very lucky where I live as it is in the middle of a Pine wood so pine needles are good for ericaceous plants.
• Iron mixture. Not really a food but enables plants to take up food more efficiently. You can buy packets of Fe in a powder form that you can mix yourself. I remix this to the colour of a Rosé wine and add a Glug to every watering can feed. “Glug” is a precise measure defined as more than a drip, but less than a pour.
• General purpose feed. This can be used on more or less any plant and will do some good but definitely no harm.
• Orchid feed. I only have one orchid but this is a must if you have orchids.
• General purpose granular feed. This is a good general purpose feed that can be sprinkled around between packed plants in the summer. When watered in this will feed for about a month. It says 3 months on the packet but this is an exaggeration.
• Grass food. I know that not many of you have lawns in Spain, but if you do, then you must feed them at least 3 times a year starting at the end of April through to about October.
• Citrus feed. This is for all you citrus trees and you should have been feeding this for at least the last month or so. This is essential before and during blossom time to ensure a good crop.
• Special food for fruiting plants. This encourages healthy and abundant fruit for crops like figs, persimmons, plums, peach, apple, pear, grapes etc.
• Geranium feed. I don’t know why I bother as the Geranium moth destroys all my plants before they get the benefit of it. But I have hopefully been developing one that is more or less moth proof. All it has to do is get through this year and it should be immune.

Well there you have it. A lot of plant food, that can be expensive, but most of it will last more than one season. Also it is important that you read the instructions on the bottle. If you enthusiastically overfeed, you won’t necessarily get more flowers or fruit. You are more than likely to get lots of bright green soft growth.

The big rat. I was going to finish with a finale about my battles with the big rat. But I was relying on Tango the lonely blind Labrador to accompany me and show his killer instincts, but, sadly those days are gone. From the photo below you can see that he prefers to sleep in the shade. He dreams of past battles in the bright colours he will never see again. God bless him, the rat can wait.

Cruella (my wife) is still away I haven’t really heard from her yet but she FaceTimes the chickens on a daily basis and they tell her how I am getting on. They pass on her orders, but I just ignore them as they are in Chickenese and I refuse to learn it. Mainly I am just getting ready to gear up for the Summer. I have decided to name the period in gardening between Spring and Summer the Yucca Lull.

The Yucca Lull is that period when nothing has really started growing to any great extent, and you are looking round for things to do. This is the ideal time to look at those plants and areas of your garden that you tend to overlook as you are concentrating on the other prettier and more interesting areas. Yuccas are a prime example of a plant that is a structural staple throughout Spain, but in most cases is left to become a tangled dangerous mess. Anyway, on with the gardening.

27th March 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Tidying up Yuccas. A tidy open Yucca provides architectural structure in a garden and allow other plants to be shown at their best. However, left to their own devices they will become a huge tangled, dark mess of interlocking blades that can easily take out an eye. Why not use this period to get out there and reshape your Yuccas so that they are better integrated into your garden. I have a number of Yuccas throughout the garden from medium sized to very big. The two photos below show the worst examples of my untidy Yuccas. Click on each photo for a larger view.

From these photos you can see that there are two main problems. Firstly, I have left the dead leaves on the plants for a number of years and they have died, dried and gone brown giving a horrible look to the plant. Secondly, you can see lots of over crowding where stems have grown willy nilly (to my US readers this is an old English saying for higgledy piggledy; I believe in plain language!). The first thing you need to do before tackling your Yucca, is to get protected. Yuccas can be very vicious, so you will need a hat, gloves and eye protection. The photo below shows me ready for action.

Start by peeling back all the dead leaves. As these grow in a rotational pattern you need to start at the bottom of the stem and work up systematically peeling each leaf off in turn by pulling it sharply downwards. The photo below shows the action, followed by a photo of one of the over 20 trugs I filled. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Once you have cleared the stems of dead leaves, then it is time to cut out unwanted branches. You are aiming for an open structure you can see through with the removal of all cross branches. The best tool for this is a simple bow saw as this soon rips through the Yucca stems. The photo below shows my trusty saw ready for action followed by the results of vigorous thinning out. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Finally here are some photos of my new freshly reinvigorated Yuccas once more being a source of pride within the garden. Click on each photo for a larger view.

I am afraid to say that despite my best efforts at self protection the vicious Yuccas gave me a painful nose piercing. When I telephoned Cruella (my wife) to tell her about this disaster she suggested I put a ring through it and make myself look modern. However, I refused as I suspect she would try and lead me around with it. The photo below shows the damage.

I know the above heading is a lot to take in, but there is a lot going on. Firstly, Cruella (my wife) flew back to the UK (the usual way, holding tight to the broom handle, head down with chin straps on her hat and black gown flowing menacingly behind). She was rushing back to welcome the idiot son home from Japan. She was so excited at his arrival that she wanted to fly out and meet his plane. I advised against it and reminded her that they shoot down white balloons, so God knows what they would make of a fast moving black streak.

Anyway, the minute she flew off all the chickens went into a huff, mainly because I refused to give them all the treats that Cruella stuffs them with. Every morning I received a delegation standing and staring at me in silent disdain as I drank my morning tea. Eventually I relented and let them have a FaceTime call with Cruella. They all jabbered away in chickenese and I heard my name come up a few times followed by Cruella shouting “he did what”. The outcome is that they negotiated all their treats back and I have been instructed to give them extra when Tango the lonely blind Labrador is fed. I feel that Tango is incensed and he has taken to howling the blues hit “is there anybody lonely”. The photos below show the pressure I was under. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Anyway on with the gardening.

10th March 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Potting up my Sago Palm pups. If you are following this blog closely, and I know you are, then you will remember that in my last post I removed pups from below my Sago Palm and left them for the cut scar to dry off. Well round about a week should do it, so if you cut some off now is the time to plant them up. The first thing you need to check is that the scar where you cut the pup off is completely dry. If it is then you are good to go. The photos below show the nicely dry scar and the pups excitedly waiting on the potting bench. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Like most Spanish plants, Sago Palms need a good free draining compost and this is especially the case when you are starting the pups off. In the past I have used a mixture of sand and compost with variable results, so this time I am using Perlite to make the compost nicely free draining. Mix up about 25% Perlite to 75% good compost (not China shop compost). If you have some of your own well rotted compost then chuck a bit of that in as well. Mix it really well till the Perlite is fully integrated into the compost. The photos below show my mixing processes. Click on each photo for a larger view.

It is important when potting up too chose the right size pot for the pup. Don’t pick too big a pot as this will leave too much soil that can become a bit rancid and attract pathogens. Instead keep them nice and tight. Firstly put a layer of compost at the bottom of the pot. Then gently place your pup on top pushing it down firmly to ensure good contact with the compost mix. Next fill around the sides of the pup firming down as you go. Don’t bury the pup just take the soil up to about three quarters of the pup and leave the rest sticking out. Finally water well and leave to stand in the shade. From on then let the pup dry out a bit between watering. Do not be tempted to take the pups out into the sun until they are well established. In a month or two you should see growth. The first photo below shows the planting process whilst the second shows the pups proudly in their right size pots. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Pruning my orange trees. Now is the time to prune orange trees before the blossom arrives. I do this in three linked stages. First, I cut back any branches that are crossing, diseased or growing vertically. Second, I cut out a space at the centre of the tree that allows light to penetrate right to the heart of the tree. This is often likened to creating a wine glass shaped tree with the bowl of the glass represented by the space at the centre of the tree. Third, and last, using long reach lopers I cut back any branches that are too high to be practicable to pick fruit. If you undertake this process annually, it should take you no more than about 15 minutes per tree.

The work should begin with a quick survey of your trees so that you know what you are facing. I have 5 orange trees all of which require a customised approach. The photos below give an overview of some of my trees. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Next you need to move on to cutting out the centre of the tree to let light in. For this you will need lopers, secateurs, and possibly a saw. The photos below shows some of my trees with the cut out centre branches lying at the foot of the tree. The final photo shows the space at the centre you should be aiming for. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Finally using long reach lopers cut off the highest unreachable branches. If you don’t have long reach lopers then get the step ladder out and go through the centre of the tree. The photos below show my final trimming. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Repotting Agave Attenuata. These Agaves are quite popular in Spain as they are easy growing and tend to take care of themselves. I have a number of them in large groups around my garden with a few odd ones planted in pots. They have an endearing habit, in that over time they will bend towards the dominant position of the Sun. This is fine when they are planted in the ground, but in a pot it renders them unstable and liable to be blown over by the wind resulting in leaf damage.

To overcome this setback you can rotate the pot occasionally but eventually you will need to repot the plant into an upright position. However, let me pass on my secret of years of repotting them. Don’t attempt to dig the plant out of its pot roots and all. Instead, take a sharp saw and cut through the stem as close as possible to the soil. Throw away the old root and refill the pot with fresh free draining compost. Then peel off a few layers of the lower leaves, and if possible coat the stem with rooting hormone liquid (not absolutely necessary so don’t panic). When you are ready just pop the cut stem into its fresh compost in an upright position and you have a smart new upright Agave.

The first photo below shows the Agave had begun to lean so badly I had to prop it against a wall. The second shows the cut stem ready for replanting. The next shows the cut coated with hormone rooting liquid. And finally, the newly planted and refreshed plant. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Well I’m back! I know I didn’t tell you I was going but it is best if I just slip away and come back when needed. I am trying to cultivate an air of mystery around my gardening, a bit like the Lone Ranger but with secateurs. Anyway I have been at our English house dealing with our garden there and inculcating culture into our idiot son; unfortunately he is inclined to beer and football. But now that I am back it has taken me a while to assess the damage caused by Cruella (my wife) and her marauding chickens. Needless to say there have been tears, mainly mine. Anyway on with the gardening as there are a few jobs you need to get completed before the warm weather gets here.

27th February 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Cutting back the Wild Wood. Regular readers of this blog will know that part of my garden is dedicated to my Wild Wood area. I try to leave this area as natural as possible without letting it become overgrown or unmanageable. To achieve this I have a local contractor come in once a year to strim and cut back with the aim of achieving the feel and look of a wood land glade.

Once again this has been a tremendous success as I instruct the contractor where to cut back and how much to strim. This has allowed a number of wild flowers to come through and thrive including lovely wild orchids which are spreading throughout the wood. The photos below show various areas of the wood and conclude with the lovely orchids. Click on each photo for a larger view.

When I showed Cruella (my wife) the newly tidied wood she immediately got excited and declared it would make a perfect chicken sanctuary. I told her this would be impossible as they would eat the orchids. She immediately flew into a rage and accused me of having no heart and threatened to contact David Attenborough and other chicken experts. I suggested perhaps Colonel Sanders may have a view, this did not end well. The result is that my front door is under a continuous picket by her girls who immediately rush at me every time I try to go out. I am reduced to using the back door. Even then the whole garden echoes to Cruella and her girls chanting in Chickenese “…what do we want, a chicken sanctuary, when do we want it, now”. The photo below shows the militants in action.

Removing the last of the orange crop. We have been juicing oranges since early December and now it is time to remove the last of the crop. The reason for removing the crop is twofold. Firstly, the blossom will be coming soon and you don’t want the tree to waste its energy on last years crop (the fruit will not get any bigger). Secondly, you will need to prune and open up the tree before the blossom arrives.

In addition to removing the remnants of the old crop it is time to begin feeding your trees ready for the blossom. I feed in two ways, for about a month I feed weekly with a liquid feed which gives a good burst of energy to the tree. Then from about the end of March I add a long lasting granular feed that should keep the tree going for about 3-5 months. The photos below show the last of the old crop and finally my liquid feed. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Time to prune palm trees. Lots of people ask me when is the right time to prune palms. And the answer is right now whilst the sap is not rising and the Palm Weevil is not flying. If you prune later in the year there is a danger of pathogens and disease getting into weeping cuts and that the cuts will in turn attract the Palm Weevil. Where possible I would use professional Palmistas for large trees as anything over about 10 foot can be dangerous.  In addition a professional Palmistas will notice any problems with your trees and will be able to advise accordingly.

Cutting out Sago Palm Pups. Many people in Spain have Sago Palms, and they can be a lovely exotic addition to any garden. Sago Palms are very slow growing and for this reason they are exceptionally expensive to buy. But you don’t need to buy one because in most cases your Sago Palm will produce nice little pups (plantlets) from their base. The photo below shows one of my sago palms with a few pups emerging from the base.

To remove the pups you will need a trowel, an axe and a sharp spade. The first thing to do is to dig around the pup to expose what looks like a wooden coconut still attached to the mother plant. Once you have exposed the pup then using your axe cut sharply down between the pup and its mother plant. This will probably take 2 or 3 whacks, but will still not completely separate the pup. Using your spade work between the pup and its mother to lever the pup out. Usually this will come out with a sudden pop, so be careful you don’t overbalance.

The photos below show the process in action followed by a successfully delivered pup. Finally, you can see that from this one plant I have retrieved 10 potential new plants. I now need to leave these for a week for the cut scar to heal over. I will show you how to plant them up in my next post. Click on each photo for a larger view.

The last thing I tackle in my winter cutback is my attempts to prune back my big ficus tree. This sits majestically in a gravelled area on part of my front garden. The pruning is a mammoth task mainly because the ficus gets bigger year by year whilst I get smaller over the same time frame. Those of you who regularly follow this blog will remember that I pruned this tree back to a donut effect over 12 years ago by cutting out the central trunk to create a hole in the middle into which I inserted a statue of the Cheshire Cat from Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland.

The big ficus has always seen this reshaping as an affront to its dignity, and as such has sought to punish me over the years by various means including:

• Becoming infested with wooly aphids and many other creatures
• Deliberately dropping its leaves to make the gravel area untidy
• Tripping me up in its roots
• Throwing me off my ladder when I am entering the centre of the tree

Anyway let’s get on with this.

2nd February 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Pre-fight psyching out with the big ficus. An important part of my pre-pruning ritual is to build up my courage by pre-prune psyching out. This is a bit like boxers at the weigh in. We stare at each other, I strike postures around the tree and issue a series of blood curdling threats. For its part the tree just waits silently knowing it’s time is coming. The photos below show the big ficus before the fight, followed by the early stages with me striking postures with the tree. The final photo shows my new gardening jacket bought from the sales- I didn’t get a choice of colour. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Day one of the fight. This is the most difficult day as I start by pruning round the sides using my long reach trimmers. But standing on my little platform and wielding the heavy trimmers began to take its toll as the day wore on. The first photo below shows that I wasn’t making much progress. Even with the Cheshire Cat looking on it was very heavy going. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Day 2 I call for assistance. At the end of day 1 I searched the internet for some source of help, and by chance discovered it in the most unlikely of places – Wigan! I didn’t realise that Wigan had a flourishing Pruners and Pie Eaters Guild. Evidently this ancient and honourable society exist solely to assist gardeners in distress and requires no payment other than plentiful pies with lashings of gravy.

The Brother Pruner they sent – which is what they are called in the Guild -insisted that his calling forbade him from revealing his identity, so the only photos I took he insisted that I did not show his face. Anyway, it was fascinating he started the day with what I can only describe as a Haka similar to the New Zealand rugby team, but involving pies. He then liberally smeared himself with gravy and after a few ritual bows to the tree he ascended his scaffolding and began his work attired only in his fading grey cowl. Those of you who are interested in the study of folklore may be interested to know that he sang a series of ancient songs as he worked. To be honest I couldn’t make it out as most words started with th. The series of photos below show him at work. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Upon completion of his work he left without a word or seeking any form of payment, leaving only the faint smell of pies and a few puddles of gravy.

The big clean up. An important part of the big cutback is to make sure you clean up any debris, as if left this will attract snails and slugs. The photos below show the big clean up in progress. The final photo shows Cruella’s (my wife) chickens moving in to hunt down snails and slugs. Click on each photo for a larger view.

And finally, it is all over for another year and the Cheshire Cat is where it belongs back in the centre of the tree.

I am now heading for the final push on the big winter cutback, ideally everything should be cut back in your garden before the end of January. If you leaving cutting back much later then you are likely to be cutting off this years growth. This last bit is always heavy going for me as I leave the big heavy stuff to the last so that I can build up my courage and stamina. The very last thing I do is reshape my big Ficus tree which is a bloody painful experience each year.

As if dealing with the most stressful part of the big cutback was not enough, I spend most of my evenings preparing my defence against the summons served on me by the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the National Chicken Council on account of my alleged slander of calling Cruella (my wife) chickens fat. Anyway more of this later, on with the big cutback part 3.

27th January 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Cutting back my tower of flowers. Regular readers of this blog will know that years ago I cut back a palm that had fallen victim to the Palm Weevil. Instead of completely taking the Palm out I instead wrapped it’s shortened trunk in mesh and have happily grown a variety of climbers up the truncated trunk. This provides me with a lovely tower of flowers all summer, but needs to be cut back every winter to encourage new growth.

In case you are interested the plants I used to clamber up the trunk include:

• Pink Trumpet Vine
• Solanum
• Jasmine
• Stephanotis

All of the above flourish beautifully. The first photo below shows the flowering tower at the end of Summer. The next two photos show the tower before and after it’s annual cutback. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Pruning a variegated ficus. I have two variegated ficus one is quite small, whilst the other is larger and I have subjected it to cloud pruning. The secret with any variegated plant is to make sure that the moment you see a fully green leaf you instantly pluck it out. You can quite easily lose variegation as the green leaves can prove very dominant and will soon take over. Spain’s gardens are full of variegated ficus that have lost their variegation and are now common or garden old ficus – you have been warned, don’t come crying to me.

Ficus are relatively slow growing and are very forgiving if you prune them a little badly. My poor old ficus can be seen in the photos below before and after being subjected to my artistic pruning. My aim is to produce an inchoate, but interesting shape whilst exposing the stark white of the bark – good eh! Click on each photo for a larger view.

Maintaining the sight lines for my European Fan Palms. If you read my last post, and I am sure that you did, then you will remember that I wrote about the importance of sight lines in your garden. Sight lines are views or vistas in your garden that perform the function of providing a special view or focal point integral to a particular part of your garden. My European fan palms perform a dual function they give a privacy from my front gate and present a dramatic entrance for guests, whilst at the same time presenting a stunning sight line from the house.

These palms are lovely, but they grow like crazy and happily self seed around themselves. This means that get very top heavy with abundant new fronds whilst at the same time becoming overcrowded at the base. The first photo below shows the unpruned plant viewed from the gate towards the house and secondly from the house to the gate. From these photos you can see the problem. Click on each photo for a larger view.

After much vigorous pruning shown in the two photos below, the sight line can be seen fully restored in the final photo. It is important to note that when pruning any large palm you must wear eye protection or you can easily be damaged by their spiked stems. It is bad enough that they shred your clothes without losing an eye. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Pruning Sago Palms. Sago palms are one of the most popular plants in Spanish gardens. They can be found planted in the ground or happily growing in pots as their slow growing nature ensures they are happy in pots. To be honest these plants do not need that much pruning especially if you grow them in the way that I do with an exposed trunk. I think that exposing the trunk gets you the best out of the plant; you see the ruggedness of the trunk whilst at the same time appreciating the architectural shape of the fronds. To achieve this look, just get out your lopers and take off all the circles of fronds just leaving the top two circles. This is important as if you ever lose one circle to disease or damage, then you have a reserve. The photo below shows my multi-stem sago palm before and after its trim. Click on each photo for a larger view.

An interesting and rewarding part of sago palms is that they will throw off “pups” at their base. These in effect are mini sago palms that can be removed and cultivated. I am not doing this at the moment as I am too busy, but this is the process if you fancy having a go.

• Clear the earth away from the pup to expose a hard coco nut shaped growth
• You need to separate this growth from the trunk by cutting down with a sharp spade or similar
• Once you have removed the pup cut off all the fronds attached to it
• Place the now frondless pup in a shaded dry area for two weeks to allow the scar where you have cut time to scale over
• After two weeks place the pup in a compost mixture of 60/40 compost to sand and place it into a very tight pot and place in bright but not full sun
• Water once then leave it till the soil is completely dry and then water sparingly
• If you are lucky, in about a month you should see some growth

The photos below show some photos of my ready to harvest pups. I have cut one side of the fronds off so you can get a better look. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cutting back hedges. I consider a good mixed hedge to be one of the delights of living in Spain. Far too many people surround their property with high sterile walls that stop any meaningful growth in their shade. Planted correctly hedges can give you all the security of a wall, but at the same time can delight you with different foliage and flowers not to mention abundant wild life.

I have a rather unorthodox approach to hedge planting. I have over two hundred metres of a variety of mixed hedges all of which are planted closer than normally recommended so that they eventually form a thick impenetrable wall of living colour with each hedge flowering like crazy as it fights for its space. This means that all I have to do is get my hedge trimmers out and trim it all back to the desired height each year and leave it to get on with it again.

When I say all I have to do, to be honest it is like a military operation assembling all the ladders, platforms and tools needed to do this job. The first picture below shows me beginning to gear up for the task in hand. Whilst the subsequent three pictures show parts of the actual task in hand. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Finally below you can see the finished hedges in all their glory.

Preparing my defence. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier I have to spend most of my evenings locked in my room preparing my defence against the summons served on me by the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the National Chicken Council on account of my alleged slander of calling Cruella (my wife’s) chickens fat. The nub of Cruella’s case rest on the fact that she has sworn an affidavit saying that her chickens are only fed normal chicken food and therefore cannot be deemed fat.

I on the other hand have mounted a defence that no ordinary chickens could be as fat as these unless they were getting extra food. To assist my defence I have been secretly monitoring Cruella and her chicken feeding habits. The first thing I noticed was that some of the chickens gather inside Tango the blind Labradors old kennel every time he is fed (10am and 3pm). The photo below shows the assembly starting. This spot is just beside where Tango’s food is kept and where he is fed.

By mounting a hidden camera I now have proof that Cruella is illicitly feeding her chickens with high calorie insect treats that obviously encourage obesity in chickens. The photos below are legal dynamite as they not only show excess feeding taking place, but I have also included a photo of the illicit feed. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Confronted by my portfolio of evidence Cruella has admitted that she may have acted hastily and has subsequently written to the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the National Chicken Council withdrawing all allegations against me. Unfortunately, all of this has drained me and I am not currently up to battling with the big Ficus tree so there will be a Part 4 of the big cutback.

It all started when I was explaining to Cruella (my wife) how my new garden kneeler works. I had just finished explaining the kneeling element and was going on to outline the workings of the seat part, when she suddenly blurted out “you are so boring”. Obviously, I was taken aback, but I quickly countered with “well your chickens are fat”. I probably went too far as she burst into tears and accused me of body shaming her girls. Any way it all went down hill from there and it now appears she is threatening to report me to the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the National Chicken Council. I think she made this up so I am just going to get on with Part 2 of the big winter cutback.

I don’t want to make you choose sides, but just look at my new garden kneeler in the photos below and compare that with the fat chickens. Eh! Who is boring now. Click on each photo for a larger view.

19th January 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

Pruning fig trees. Now is the time to prune your fig trees, as all the leaves should be off by now and the sap should have stopped rising. I have two fig trees; one of which is espalied. The photos below show my figs waiting their annual prune. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Fig pruning is a multi year event, you must first let the tree grow to the size that you want it, and which fits in with your garden. Once you are happy with the size then cut back hard to an open structure of branches and then leave it alone for a year. It will grow a whole new set of fruit bearing branches from this main structure, and it is these that you will prune back each year, and by this method you will keep the tree in shape and stop it becoming a behemoth which dominates your garden. It is important to note that the branches of the espalier fig are not cutback, as I am training it along wires, only the side shoots are taken out. The photos below show my trees after their annual prune. Click on each photo for a larger view.

A useful adjunct to your pruning is to leave the cut stems on the ground for a few days to let them fully dry out, and then shred them and lay them as a mulch under your trees. The photos below show the final mulch laid around the tree.

Pruning grapevines. In a similar way to the fig, grapevines should now have lost most of their leaves and the sap should no longer be rising. I have three grapevines which are basically ornamental, but look lovely in summer. The main grapevine grows along the front of our Naya and it’s stems hang down to form a lovely fringe along the front of the house. The other two grow along balustrade at the side of our pool and provide a barrier to table tennis balls going out of the pool area (don’t ask). The vines can be seen in their uncut state in the photos below. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Many people in Spain just leave their grapevines to become a big shapeless, tangled, amorphous mass. But this is not fair to the plant and it will not give of its best when left like this. You need to leave the main stem alone, but cut back all the side shoots to the nearest bud node, and then tie it all in to stop wind rock tearing at the main stem.

The vine along the front of the house is tied back to wires, but will more or less stay in shape as the vine stem thickens and it gets older. The ones around the swimming pool needed to be rehung for the best display. Note that it is important not to tie up vines with a single strand of wire, as this will dig into the stem and allow pathogens and pests in. Instead form a loop of wire as shown in the photo below like a little hammock for the vine stem to rest in.

The photos below show my vines pruned back, and finally you can see the wire hammock to hold the stem. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cutting back Dame de Noche. Many of you will have a Dame de Noche plant in your garden for the beautiful night scent they give off in the summer. This plant is especially useful near outside seating areas or close to the house where an open window will allow the scent to flood the house.

Dame de Noche in itself is not an intrinsically beautiful plant, but it makes up for this by its scent. However, to maintain the shape of the plant and its scent you need to prune in a specific way. Right now you need to cut back the plant by two thirds using your electric trimmer or lopers. Normally this will suffice and allow the plant to grow quickly by the summer, and back to at least it’s original size. However, sometimes the centre of the plant will become congested as mine has, then you need to get your chainsaw out and cutback lower to main branches.

The photo below shows my Dame de Noche ready for pruning, and if you look at the centre of the plant you can see that it is congested.

The first photo below shows the level you would normally cutback each year. However, I have to cutback further because of the congestion at the centre of the plant, and the second photo shows the drastically pruned plant. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cutting back Oleander. Oleander is another of those Spanish plants which you can only cutback in the winter after the sap has withdrawn from its stems. Failure to obey this simple rule of thumb will probably leave you with badly burned hands and arms from the caustic sap.

Cutting back Oleander is simple. First stand back and assess what you want out of the plant; do you want it to be large and dominant, or in a hedge, or like me do you want it to play its part in a sympathetic blending of plants. If you decide to prune then it is very simple just go down the stems to the height you want the plant to be, then cut just above a pair of leaves on each stem. Try and leave as little stem as possible above your cut, as this is dead and will only attract pathogens and pests if left too long.

The first photo below shows the Oleander I want to cutback to stop it dominating this part of my small “dry garden”. Often it is best to cutback Oleander via its back door from behind as you get a better view of the stems and where you need to cutback, as in the second photo. The third photo shows where to cut on each stem, and finally the newly pruned plant. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Creating sight lines in your garden. Unfortunately, I have to finish this post now as I have received a court summons from Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the National Chicken Council, evidently they do exist, and I have to prepare my defence. But before I go I want to tell you about the importance of sight lines in your garden.

Sight lines are views or viewpoints that exist within any garden large or small that display either the whole garden to best advantage or a particular area. In this case it is the view at the end of my drive. I have planted the end of the drive in various ways but the dominant plants are a Californian False Pepper tree and a Myrtle-leaf milkwort bush. Unless both these plants are kept in shape with regular pruning then the sight line at the end of the drive becomes messy and confused. This is an important sight line for my garden as it is the first thing visitors see as they come down the drive.

The first photo below shows the end of the drive with the plants overgrown and not providing the sharpness that I want in this sight line. The next photo shows the two main plants pruned back and the sight line restored.

Christmas is over, a new year has begun, the idiot son has gone back to London to ruin the financial system, Cruella (my wife) has sunk into the abyss of despair and grief at the departure of the idiot, even though we had a great party before he left. She has spent days in his bed sleeping with his clothes on, sometimes accompanied by a chicken. However, I am about to start the first stage of the big winter cutback; what’s not to like.

January 12th 2023. Things I have been doing lately:

The big winter cutback Part 1. Your garden this summer will be defined by your actions over the next few weeks. Now is the time to cutback your plants fiercely, in order that they will be reinvigorated for the summer. Failure to cutback now will leave your plants weak, leggy and prone to disease. The cutback is also an opportunity to redefine the sight lines and paths in your garden and to freshen and renew your whole plot, whether it is a terrace or a plantation.

The winter cutback is not for wimps, you can’t be too precious with your plants so cutback hard, don’t worry they will survive and reward you with vigorous new growth. Most general plants, bushes and trees will benefit from being cutback hard, but do not cutback succulents and cactus. It is best to cutback your garden in a set order, my preference is as follows:

• Roses both to plant new ones and prune existing
• Ornamental grasses
• Perrenials
• Small bushes
• Large bushes such as Oleander and Ficus
• General mixed hedges
• Trees (but not citrus at this stage)

Planting bare root Roses. Now is the time to plant new bare root roses, don’t plant container bought roses yet as the ground will be too cold, this is best left till the end of February. I stupidly killed some of my roses this summer as I turned off their irrigation after days of heavy rain and then forgot to turn it back on; by the time I noticed it was too late. This meant I had to buy in some old English bare root replacements from David Austin.

The secret to planting bare root roses is to keep them in a cool dark room until you are ready to plant them, then before planting soak them for at least 24 hours. The first photo below show my new bare roots roses resting in my shed, whilst the second shows them soaking before planting. Click on each photo for a larger view.

When you are ready to plant out, prepare the hole before removing the roses from their soaking. Also, and if possible, sprinkle the roots with Myrrcohirzal Fungi which will stimulate the roots to promote rapid growth. When you plant any roses you must make sure to bury the bud union (where the stems join the root) below the surface as this will be where the new shoots come from. Where possible back fill with well rotted compost and firm the soil all around the new plant as this will stop root rock in the wind.

The first photo below shows my new roses being lovingly coated in fungus. The next shows the depth the new rose bud union should be planted to (if possible 3 inches). Finally, a photographic triumph of me firming around the new plants. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Pruning roses. Now is the time to prune your roses. If you have lots of Roses – and I do – then sometimes to save yourself a lot of time you can prune in two stages. Firstly, get out your hedge trimmer and cut all your roses back by about two thirds;this can be scary, but I assure you it works. Wait a few days and then go back and do a traditional prune by opening up the centre of the plant to create a “wine glass” open shape. This will save you lots of time, and lessen your blood loss as you try to get into the centre of the plant. Do not use this method for climbing roses, they need only have their side shoots trimmed back.

The photos below show my rose beds before and after the massacre, followed by my climbing roses pruned more prudently. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Pruning back Chillis. Normally I grow chillis afresh every year from saved seed, but this year I have decided to cutback my existing plants and see how they grow this summer. I have plenty of seeds in reserve if I feel that the cutback plants are not performing, so it should be fun. If you want to try this, then just cutback quite low on the plant to an outward facing leaf node. Top dress with some nice fresh compost, water profusely and then leave in the shade for about three days before returning to full sun. The first photo below shows my chilli plants ready for pruning, the next shows the trimmed back plants and finally their lovely compost top dressing. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cutting back Cannas. Cannas are one of my favourite plants, they are tall, majestic, colourful and with lovely foliage. But, perhaps more importantly they keep on multiplying so every 3 or 4 years you dig up the rhizomes (ugly bulbs) and get a whole new bunch of plants. If you have Cannas, then now is the time to cut them down, their foliage should have gone fully brown and shrivelled and all the goodness from the foliage will be stored in the rhizome.

Using your secateurs cut each stem back to about 4 inches from the ground. The length is important as it just enough to convince the plant that this stem is no longer viable and it will not try to regrow. Also the 4 inch stem will ensure that water from the ground cannot seep into the cut stem and rot the rhizome. The cut stems will not regrow, instead the rhizome will send up a completely new stem from an eye on the rhizome. By the end of the summer you will be able to pluck out the old stems from within the new growth.

The first photo below shows one of my stands of Canna ready for their winter cutback. The second photo shows them cutback to the regulation 4 inches. Finally, a canna rhizome with its old stem cut back, but I have marked the eye in the rhizome where the next stem will emerge; isn’t God wonderful. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cut ornamental grasses back hard. Most ornamental grasses will benefit from a really hard cutback at this time of the year. Last year I divided a large Fountain grass as it had started to die back in the middle. I discarded the middle and split it into 8 parts, replanted four and gave the rest away to friends. I am pleased to say that all the new plants have taken and had a good first summer.

Now is the time for their first big cutback. Using a hedge trimmer or shears cut the whole plant back so that it forms a small mound. Then water it and leave it alone, it will come back this summer bigger and stronger. The photos below show some of my grasses before their cutback, and what they look like now after their trim. Click on each photo for a larger view.

The idiots sons leaving party. There is so much more of the big winter cutback to tell you about, but Cruella insists that I tell you about the idiot sons leaving party. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a party, there was just the three of us, together with the chickens and Tango the lonely blind Labrador.

The day started quietly with the idiot rehearsing the chickens for a big dance routine that Cruella had devised. But the little white chicken was too shy to get involved so was designated a stage hand. The first photo below shows the start of rehearsals, whilst the second shows the little white chicken shyly refusing to get involved. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Everyone was made to dress up, and I was forced to have a bath. The worst of all was Tango the lonely blind Labrador who was forcefully brushed by Cruella and the idiot boy whilst the chickens looked on mockingly. To be fair to Tango he can’t see and he thought he was being mugged, especially as the little black chicken had stolen his plastic bone earlier. The first photo below shows Tango being forcefully brushed, whilst the second shows the mugger with his bone. Click on each photo for a larger view.

The day progressed relatively slowly with Cruella insisting that we all sit through what she called her “fashion show”. This consisted of her sashaying up and down our drive (or chicken walk) as she called it, carrying a different chicken for each change of clothes. To be honest I was shocked to find that she had persuaded Nike to produce a range of what she calls “chicken couture”. The photo below shows her parading part of her sports range.

The evening ended in a raucous manner with a themed country and western event by the swimming pool. We all had to wear cowboy outfits, which greatly perplexed Tango as although he can’t see, he could hear my leather Chaps rubbing. The finale was the idiot boy insisting on wrestling with Tango which resulted in the poor dog thinking he was being mugged again. The first photo shows the idiot son dressed as a cowboy, much to Tango’s bewilderment, whilst the second shows part of the end of day wrestling. Click on each photo for a larger view.

As the gardening year comes to an end I want to wish all followers of spanish-garden.com blog a peaceful blessed Christmas and a floriferous happy new year. I am sure that all of us are looking forward to having the sun on our skin and our hands in the soil in the new year.

God bless,

James McAllister

23rd December 2022. The Chickens Christmas Party

As an end of year treat I am posting some photos from the chicken’s Christmas party that Cruella (my wife) insisted we hold. I was extremely reluctant, as we are having Turkey on Christmas Day and thought it would be disloyal. Anyway she got her way especially as our idiot son was arriving for Christmas and this would be a double treat.

I spent a day decorating the chicken coop, whilst she prepared a festive buffet for the chickens from her chicken fusion menu. I refused to get involved in wrapping their presents as I thought it was a stupid idea, but she said “wait till you see their little faces on Christmas day.

Anyway, we have all been practising singing carols in chickenese. I pretend that I understand but really I don’t. The idiot son is good at languages and speaks both Spanish and Japanese with a basic understanding of English.

The photos below show the festivities. Don’t worry we will be back to gardening very soon and to be honest I am already not sleeping with excitement about the big January cut back.

The first photo below show me preparing the fresh orange juice which Cruella insisted upon. The next photo shows Cruella with her party food. The following photo shows the idiot son laying out the buffet.

Cruella had planned a full evening of party fun for the chickens starting with a magic show where the idiot son changed costume constantly and made chickens disappear (he just stuffed them up his tee shirt, but we all went along with it).

The evening ended with us all playing charades, which for some reason involved the idiot son being dressed as an elf. The photo below shows him acting out a four word answer, whilst Cruella standing behind him cheats by signalling answers to the chickens. I was loudly booed for suggesting Kentucky Fried Chicken and acting the whole thing out including the frying part.

The evening ended with everyone tired but happy and all the chickens were put to bed by Cruella still dressed in her party frock.

We are now well into Autumn and you should be finishing off all the loose ends of summertime. Do not be tempted to start your big winter cutback until January, instead you need to be doing the pre cutback chores which will be too late by January. In addition to all my normal tasks, Tango the blind Labrador and I have also taken on the task of chicken entertainers, but more of that later, let’s get on with the gardening.

5th December 2022. Things I have been doing lately:

Cutting back and tidying Bird of Paradise. Strelitzia is one of the delights of Spanish gardens and they flourish here in the Costa Blanca. However to keep it at its best you need to regularly deadhead and cutback flopping fronds. When deadheading, don’t just cut off the flower head, I find it is best to go down the stem until you see a diagonal join in the stem. If you cut here then a new stem and flower will grow from this spot. You can only do this once on each stem before you have to cut right back to the ground next time.

In addition to cutting back stems, it is helpful to peel the dead parts of flowers away as this stimulates further flowering from the front of the flower head. Once you have cut back flowering stems and stimulated further flowering, then it is time to go round the whole plant cutting back any floppy fronds and taking non flowering stems right to the ground.

The first photo below shows my Strelitzia ready for its winter tidy up. The second shows how to stimulate further flowering, whilst the next shows where to cut on the stem to produce another flowering stem. Finally the tidier plant. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Don’t cutback Cannas yet! At this time of year it is tempting to tidy up your Cannas. All those lovely tall flowering stems are gone and the beautiful showy leaves are a shrivelled mess. But don’t cut back now or you will hinder next years growth. Canna need to fully die back with no green left in their leaves. This allows the plant to draw back into its corm (ugly bulb) all the energy from its dying leaves which will power next summers flowers. The photos below shows some of my canna clumps not yet ready to cutback. Strangely they possess a passing resemblance to Cruella (my wife) and her coven as they come home from another night drinking strong potions. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Time to harvest Chilli seeds. Regular readers of this blog will remember that I have been growing some lovely Chillis for the last couple of years. To keep this process going each year I harvest seeds for my next years crop. In August I marked the best looking chillis for seed gathering by marking their stem with tape to ensure I didn’t harvest them by mistake. I then leave the marked chillis on the plant to fully wither and to allow the seeds to ripen and mature. Once harvested I place the full chilli pod in an envelope ready to recover the seeds next Spring.

The first photo below shows me checking out the almost mature chilli. The next photo shows an almost mature chilli but not ripe for harvesting as long as the stem is green. Finally, the fully mature chilli ready to produce next years crop. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Close weeding your bulbs. Most of the year my favourite garden tool is my hoe. This allows me to perform a quickly daily sweep up and down my flower borders to keep them weed free. However, once bulbs start to come through their is a danger that you will accidentally hoe off your lovely new bulb shoots by mistaking them for grass stems. Well now is the time to hang up your hoe and get down on your hands and knees for some close weeding; and if you like say a prayer while you are there.

Close weeding is very therapeutic as it lets you get down close to your plants and allows you to feel the soil running through your fingers. Using your trowel, gently work around bulb stems to probe and lift out any encroaching grass stems. Although it can be difficult to tell grass stems from bulb stems at this stage of growth, a good rule of thumb is that generally bulb shooting stems are round whilst grass is flat in blades.

The first photo below shows my last hoe of the year and the beginning of the close weeding season. The next photo shows me feeling for the tell tale round stem of a bulb, and finally the gentle easing out of grass stems that threaten to choke emerging bulb stems. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Tie up your climbing plants. If you have climbing plants, then now is the time to tie them up and make sure that your wires and trellises are secure. Whilst normally the weather in this part of Spain is usually lovely, we can get strong winds occasionally. Strong winds are usually ok in the summer as the plants are full of sap and are flexible and better able to bend with the wind. It is different in the winter. The sap has been withdrawn to the roots and the stems are less flexible and much more brittle which means you can lose a plant as it will snap off at the roots.

It is time to wander round and check all your trellises and wires. If you are using vine ties, then tighten them up and if you can oil them to keep them usable. It is silly little jobs like this that you can do now that will ensure your plants stay climbing as opposed to crashing to the ground destroyed or losing years of growth.

The first photo below shows me midst tightening with my various accoutrements. The second shows some of my newly oiled vine ties. It may look boring but it is heaven, it keeps me out of the house and Cruella can’t see me when I am close to walls and not moving; she has the same type of vision as a Velociraptor. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Chicken entertaining. Regular readers of this blog will know that Cruella’s fancy chickens are causing havoc in my garden. At the first sight of bare earth they immediately begin digging with their huge dinosaur type feet. I have tried my best at chicken proofing the garden by placing small wire fences around my flower beds. In addition I recruited Tango the lonely blind Labrador as a watch dog. The folly of this approach soon became obvious as he is blind. However, I supplemented Tango’s efforts with my trusty water pistol which I would wield at the first sign of any chicken indiscretion.

But unfortunately it was all to no avail. The first minute my back was turned one of the chickens would hop over my little fences and start digging up my bulbs. As a last resort Tango and I have been holding evening concerts in the garden for the chickens in the hope that this will act as a diversionary tactic. Each night we assemble on the front veranda. Usually I start by telling a series of “why did the chicken cross the road” jokes; which I have to be honest do not go down too well. I put this down to chickens lack of road safety awareness as opposed to my joke telling skills.

After I have finished my turn, or as I prefer to call it set! we have the interval. At this point Cruella emerges carrying a tray like an old fashioned cinema usherette. The difference is that she is dressed in a full chicken costume and on her tray are a huge range of very expensive insect based treats for her girls. She proceeds to address them all by name in chickenese whilst at the same time dishing out individualised treats. The chickens have become such fussy eaters that Cruella now has them all on bespoke diets, or as she calls it her chicken fusion menu.

After the break it is over to Tango the lonely blind Labrador who performs a series of stunts mainly involving bumping into things and falling down steps. Tango’s act is a real chicken favourite as they wave their wings and cluck enthusiastically at each bump and crack on poor Tangos head; if you can imagine Romans in the Colosseum whilst Christians are being eaten by Lions that is the sort of thing. Tango finishes his turn with his old favourite roll overs which are well received.

The whole evening comes to an end with an enthusiastic singing of the national anthem in chickenese; (as a staunch republican I take no part in this and remain as silent as an Iranian footballer). As the sun goes down Cruella leads her girls back to their roost lustily singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic again in chickenese.

The first photos below shows the audience assembling for the evening concert. The second shows Tango the lonely blind Labrador nervously waiting his turn to go on. The next shows the evening finale with Tango doing his world famous roll over. The final photo shows an exhausted Tango resting after the show; it really takes it out of him. Click on each photo for a larger view.

I agree that the title of this post does have an apocalyptic feel about it, and that is because this is how I feel. I am battling to make sure that various garden pests don’t overwinter on some large plants, bushes and trees in the garden, whilst at the same time Cruella (my wife) has opened a “second front” in the chicken wars which means I am now fighting on two fronts. Let’s start with the garden pests before getting on to the chicken pests.

5th November 2022. Things I have been doing lately:

Dealing with garden pests. As the cold weather comes along so sap begins to drop in all your plants. This in turn means that most sap sucking pests will either die off or worse try and overwinter on your plants. I have two particular insect problems I am dealing with at the moment.

I was walking past my weeping Ficus tree the other day when I noticed lots of dried up leaves lying under the tree. If there are no watering problems (which there aren’t) then it is obviously an insect infestation. After looking very carefully at the tree I could see nothing. But this is where gardening guile comes in, if you can see nothing then stand back and run your hand roughly and rapidly through the leaves, then watch very carefully. In my case clouds of whitefly emerged all of which are particularly difficult to see on variegated plants. The solution is to spray daily for three days with an appropriate insecticide.

The first photo below shows my ficus looking very sorry for itself. The second shows the fallen leaves which are the clue to the problem. I am very proud of the next photo which shows me manfully diagnosing the problem. And finally the solution. Click on each photo for a larger view.

My other main insect problem was on my large Indian Laurel tree which is another ficus. This time the problem is with an infestation of Wooly aphids. Unlike white fly, Wooly aphids are easy to spot as they form cotton wool type clusters on branches and leaves which are there to protect them and their eggs. Most garden chemicals are ineffective because of their wooly protection. The simplest thing is to wash them off with a high pressure hose. You will have to do this every day for a few weeks until you decimate enough of the colony.

The first photos below show you the nature of a woolly aphid problem. The final photo shows me administering watery retribution. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Dealing with rogue bamboo. Regular readers of this blog will remember that some years ago I foolishly planted bamboo close to one of my water features. I diligently caged it within a square of large tiles and took many other precautions to stop it escaping and proliferating. Unfortunately about six months ago I noticed that it had begun to make a run for freedom. I instantly executed it with a strong weed killer and have instituted a vigorous daily watch of the dead plant for any signs of life. At one point it did come back with some little signs of green, but again I destroyed these.

Once you are sure that bamboo is dead, then as an extra precaution set it on fire. The fire will burn down through wire like roots and destroy any chance of a comeback. But the real solution is do not plant bamboo unless it is in a pot or a specially dug protected trench. The first photo below shows me preparing to take out the bamboo roots and the tile box that was supposed to contain it. Secondly you can see my fires of righteousness delivering vengeance. Lastly, the newly retrieved spot as the bamboo is no more. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cutting back Cruella damaged plants. Most of you will know that Cruella (my wife) is not allowed anywhere near the garden. For whilst she has green fingers they are the wrong type, every plant she touches dies, as can be seen in the photo below.

The problem this time was that she touched a lovely Solanum and a Hoya both of which had been growing gloriously all summer and climbing decoratively up the side of our outside kitchen.

From the first photo below you can see the blackened stem where Cruella has touched it. The second photo shows the damaged plant in its entirety, whilst the third shows my remedial work which will hopefully save the plant. If you have a climbing plant that has been damaged then be brave and cut some of the stems right to the ground leaving the undamaged stems to hopefully recover. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cruella (my wife) damaged the Hoya in a different way. I explained to her that Hoya (especially in pots) need very little water. When I returned to find the obviously overwatered plant she said she hadn’t overwatered it, but admitted to giving it what she called her special plant food.

Again the remedy is to cut it right back and do not water till it is fully dry in the first top 3 centimetres of the soil. The problem and solutions can be seen in the following photos. When I asked Cruella what was in her plant food she showed me the label exclaiming proudly “it is all natural”. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Remove citrus suckers. At this time of the year you need to go round all your citrus trees and pull off any suckers that are growing from the trunk or just below the soil. Suckers can be easily identified, they are bright green and generally grow straight up. Suckers are non fruiting stems that will take the goodness from the tree in non productive growth. If you remove them regularly then they come away very easily. Just put your gardening gloves on and grip the sucker at its base and pull sharply down, it’s as easy as that so get out there now – never give a sucker and even break. The photos below show some suckers that I am about to remove. Click on each photo for a larger view.

The start of the first great chicken war. Regular readers of this blog will know that Cruella (my wife) is now the proud owner of 5 fancy chickens who she insists are allowed to roam freely in the garden. This has forced me into erecting a line of defences similar to the Siegfried Line to keep the destructive chickens at bay. The photo below shows some of my defences.

The fact that I have had the temerity to erect defences has only engendered a militarist mindset in Cruella and she has taken to marching on manoeuvres every day with “her girls”. Most mornings at about 10.30 she assembles her chickens for inspection and then marches them round the garden in a line singing what she has entitled her regimental song. She tells me it is based on the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”. But as she is singing in Chickenese it just sounds like this: puck pa puck pa puck pa puck.

Anyway whilst I was erecting my latest line of defences around the base of a vine. I suddenly became aware of the fact that Cruella was advancing with her chickens and attacking my defences on two fronts. At each point the chickens succeeded on jumping over my defences and clawing where my newly planted bulbs where. Even though I had recruited Tango the lonely blind Labrador as a guard dog, there was an obvious flaw in my plan, namely he can’t see.

The first photo below show my work site where I was preparing the defences and you can just see the chickens assembling in the background for the charge.

The first photo below show a scouting party that was sent out to reconnoiter my defences. The following photos show the first stages of the attack when Cruella and her chickens emerged from behind foliage singing their song and attempting to rush me. Click on each photo for a larger view.

At first I rushed to defend the vine, but it turned out it was only a diversionary attack the real attack was taking place on the flower borders which I had left Tango the lonely blind Labrador to defend; but he was overwhelmed by superior numbers and hampered by the fact he couldn’t see them and was facing the wrong way. The photo below shows the battle of the borders beginning.

When I confronted Cruella she claimed it was all a misunderstanding, whilst the chickens said they were just following orders. By way of compensation she agreed to help me plant all the bulbs on the lawn, see photos below. But I still don’t trust her, she started off ok and worked diligently, but gradually her chickens kept creeping nearer. The funny thing is she kept feigning interest in the garden and asking me questions but I knew she was just trying to find where I kept my bulb plan. But don’t worry it’s safely locked up.

This was going to be a straightforward gardening blog packed full of all the things we gardeners need to get on with at the end of Summer; it was to be calming and reflective instilling peace into our souls. All of this has been destroyed by the return of the little white chicken from the grave. How it happened was this. I was calmly digging holes for bulbs when I caught a flash of movement from the corner of my eye, and there walking towards me was the little white chicken! Yes, the one I buried just the other week. I will tell you more later, I need to talk about gardening to keep me sane.

23rd October 2022. Things I have been doing lately:

Making a bulb plan. Bulbs are not something that we often think of for our gardens here in Spain. In most gardens it is all succulents and gravel, however, bulbs can give your garden an added delight in the Spring and late Autumn. You can plant bulbs individually, in drifts dotted throughout your lawn or in dramatic clumps springing up as islands of beauty in your gravelled areas.

There are lots of online bulb suppliers who will deliver a range of healthy bulbs ready for you to plant now or in the Spring. I favour an organisation called “Farmer Gracy”who have a superb on line catalogue and excellent service and delivery. But there are many others. Or you could just buy a few packets of bulbs from your local garden centre. The photo below shows the delight of my bulbs arriving for autumn planting.

But don’t just rush out and begin planting. If you do, you will never remember where things are planted, you need to make a bulb plan. Just basically measure your planting area and draw up a simple plans that shows you where you have planted your bulbs. Drawing the plan up also helps you to reflect upon which bulbs will go where. You can then allow for shade, full sun and companion planting. The photo below shows the start of my bulb plan process.

The photos below show some examples of my various bulb plans. Every garden is obviously different, but a bulb plan will make you think it all through, it will also tell you what you planted, where you planted them and in what quantity. Click on each photo for a larger view.

It is important to remember that not all bulbs are the same; some will need special treatment before planting such as chilling or soaking but mostly they are very straightforward. Just remember the golden rule “pointy end” faces up. The photos below show some of my bulb planting activities. The first photos shows some anemones being soaked before planting out in a shady area with companion planting of Kaffir Lillies. The next photo shows some tulips ready for clump planting. The final photo shows how I mark each bulb planted area with a white stone. This is essential as it will stop me hoeing off the new shoots and guide my companion planting in the Spring. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Finally a couple of photos of me with my new super duper heavyweight bulb planter. You will definitely need one of these if like me you plan some drift planting across your lawn. Even with this tool you will need heavy rain or a good watering to make your Spanish lawn soft enough to plant through grass. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Time to remove fruit netting. By now all the fruit should be off your trees and there is no need for netting to remain in place. It is good practice to take netting down as it stops birds being caught up in raggedy nets and obviously you can’t prune back in Spring with nets on. Don’t try and save nets for next year as it is just not worth it, just cut them off. The photo below shows my net removing efforts and some last minute fruits. Click on each photo for a larger view.

There is one danger you should remember when removing nets from fig trees, apart from falling off the ladder and breaking your neck, and that is burns from fig sap. Stupidly I ignored my normal advice of wearing covering clothes, and instead pulled the net off wearing just a vest and shirts. The result was a series of sap burns to my skin. The photos below show you just some of the damage so be careful, especially at pruning time, and only prune in January when the sap has stopped rising. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Time to plant out your spring cuttings. Sometimes you will have plants sitting on your potting bench and they seem as if they have been there forever doing nothing, then suddenly they come to life as they have made sufficient root to begin growing. I have just planted out a Stephanotis and a Jasmine and will soon plant out a rose, all of which have come into growth spurts. I can thoroughly recommend taking cuttings, there is nothing as satisfying as seeing a little twig you potted up six months ago suddenly come to life. The first photo below shows the little Jasmine in its new home, followed by the Stephanotis ready to propel itself up a trellis. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Take Dipladenia cuttings. If you have Dipladenia, and lots of you do, because it is now very popular in Spain, then why not take some cuttings. Just cut off some strongly growing stems (with a knife never secateurs), pinch out the lower leaves, leaving just a few at the top. Then dip in rooting hormone if you have it (not essential) and plant them in fours around the side of a four inch pot. They probably won’t all root, but you will definitely get some new plants out of the process and it’s free. The photos below show how simple it is. Click on each photo for a larger view.

The resurrection of the little white chicken. As a Christian I obviously believe in resurrection, but not for chickens. So it was to my amazement that I witnessed the second coming of the little white chicken. There it was strolling around the garden spying on me as usual, despite the fact I had recently buried it. I confronted Cruella (my wife) about this phenomenon and her only comment was “oh is she back already, good, we have work to do”. I’ve checked the grave it’s empty.

You know the worse thing? The little white chicken is now accompanied by a small black chicken with a white head, who is now its evil companion. I accused Cruella (my wife) of conducting Frankenstein like experiments with chickens and mixing body parts, which she of course denied. But I know something is up because every time she sees the little white chicken she shouts out “she lives” and cackles like a maniac. The photos below show Cruella speaking chickenese to her new, or recycled girls! Click on each photo for a larger view.

Finally, Cruella (my wife) has adopted a new chicken hairstyle that she affects when marching her girls up and down the garden as they chant in chickenese. I am thinking of moving.

It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that the little white chicken, or as I called it “the spy”, is dead. Cruella (my wife) was at our English house with the idiot son, so all the blame has fallen on me. Despite my assuring her it was not my fault, she has lapsed into only speaking chickenese and muttering darkly with her remaining “girls”. I sleep with the wardrobe pushed up against my bedroom door.

In mitigation, this is how it happened. The little white chicken began to look ill, wouldn’t eat, and barely came out of the coop. With the help of YouTube, chicken websites and other reliable sources I diagnosed that she was egg-bound. One of the remedies offered was to bath her in Epsom Salts. At great expense I ordered Epsom Salts and duly bathed her, towel dried her and then blow dried her. By the time I finished she looked like a fluffy cotton bud had exploded. But it was to no avail, as she died anyway. But as the photos below show at least she died clean. She lies at rest in the Wild Wood. Cruella goes to her grave every night and howls in chickenese whilst I cower down by the compost bins. Click on each photo for a larger view.

However, there is some good news before we get on with the gardening. I have taught Tango the blind Labrador to do “rollovers” to cheer up the other chickens. The photos below show Tango performing to a rapt audience of bemused Click on each photo for a larger view.

11th October 2022. Things I have been doing lately:

Potting up seedlings. If you have osteospermums in your garden or any Margarita type Daisy, then they are magnificent self seeders and now is the time to dig up the seedlings and pot them on. I also cut back some mature osteospermum and leave them in the beds to over winter, but mostly I rely on fresh seedlings each year.

The process is simple. Look under and around any Osteospermums and you will see a profuse amount of little seedlings. Gently ease these out in clumps using your trowel to lever them out of the soil. Then holding them by the leaf, never the stem, pot them up into pre prepared seed trays in a free draining compost with added Perlite for drainage. The first photo below shows the little seedlings waiting to be plucked to new life. The second shows the pre-prepared seed trays, the third shows my trowel action. The next shows a seedling with healthy roots being transplanted. The final photo shows the trays of happy seedlings. It just shows how simple it is to get new free plants from your garden. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Clearing and mulching beds. By now you should have cleared all of your summer plants out of your beds and borders and it is now time to give them a good mulch before putting in your winter bulbs and plants. After clearing the beds of plants, give them a thorough hoeing to clear out any residual weeds. Following this thoroughly water before adding your mulch as this will ensure that the mulch will lock in moisture. Do not plant anything in the beds for at least two weeks to allow any remaining weeds to show themselves before a final hoe and planting.

The first two photos show the final clear up. The third shows the necessary watering before the mulch. The next shows the finished bed waiting for its new plants. The final photo shows a bed that I mulched a couple of weeks ago, and you can see the weeds making a re-appearance. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Time to take your last cuttings of the year. October is the last month you can take cuttings in Spain. Any later cuttings will not have time to make some root before the cold weather. Prepare everything before taking any cuttings, as it is important you get your new cuttings into the soil as soon as possible to stop any drying out. The first photo below shows everything you need before starting. This includes:

• Pre-prepared pots
• A sharp knife to take cuttings (never use secateurs as these can crush stems)
• Rooting hormone liquid or powder (not absolutely necessary, but can help)
• A dibber to make holes for your cuttings

The final photo shows my tray of winter cuttings that I am preparing for a friend who has a particularly dry garden. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Some last jobs. There are always last jobs to be done in a garden at this time of year. I would recommend trimming Jasmine back to the wall or supporting trellis. Left to it’s own devices Jasmine will flop forward and inhibit the growth underneath making it go brown. By trimming it back you will encourage good healthy new growth all over the plant. Another final job is to give your lawn its final feed of the year. This needs to be done when your grass still has some growth or you are wasting your time and money. The first photo below shows my trimmed back Jasmine. The second shows the grass food I use (others are available). Click on each photo for a larger view.

I’m back, I know I didn’t tell you I was away mainly because I now work on a need to know basis, as every time I go away Cruella (my wife) and her fancy chickens devastate the garden. Well enough is enough I broke down In tears when I saw the neglect and wilful damage they had inflicted on the garden. The photos below speak for themselves. Click on each photo for a larger view.

To make matters worse whilst I was berating Cruella for the damage she and her fancy chickens had caused, she just sat there stroking the little white one and whispering chickenese into its ear like some Bond villain. Just then I caught a slight movement under a fig tree as the chickens operating in unison had stalked a little bird and made it fly into the fig net. The photos below show the hunting party setting off, followed by their lookout who is set to keep a eye on me. The next photo shows “big Bertha” stalking like a lioness under the fig tree. The final photos show the poor little bird that I managed to rescue and free. Click on each photo for a larger view.

This is in danger of becoming a chicken blog, so let’s get on with the gardening.

24th September 2022. Things I have been doing lately:

Gathering seeds. Now we are moving towards autumn it is time to look around your garden for seed heads to provide you with next year’s plants. In my garden at this time of year, there are usually seedheads to be gathered from:

• Marigolds
• Sun flowers
• Trumpet vine
• Loofahs
• Jasminium

And so much more as we move into autumn. Even if you have never grown from seed , why not try it, it can prove very addictive. The photos below show an array of seed heads picked and ready to be processed. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Most seed are very easy to process. The photos below show how to harvest Marigold seeds. First only pick the seed heads when they are fully dry and completely brown with no sign of green. Then rub off the top part of the seed head which is made up of a rough nape. Following this roll the seed head between your thumb and forefinger pressing gently to crush the seed head and release the seeds. When you have all the seeds let them fall between your palms as you blow gently to separate the seed from the chaff. Finally store the seeds in an envelope till you need them next year. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Processing Loofahs. I gave lots of loofah seeds out during my open garden day so I am sure you will all now be ready to reap your harvest. The secret with loofahs is that you must leave them till they are completely dry, brown and wrinkled (yes, I know, just like me). The secret to knowing if they are ready for harvesting is to shake the pods, and if you can hear the seeds rattling free inside, then they are ready.

To harvest loofahs you just follow these simple steps:

1. Use your secateurs to clip the pods off leaving about 2cm of stem.
2. Then holding the pod upright just use your thumb to flip open the top of the pod by pressing on the side of the stem. This will easily come away leaving a hole the size of 2€ coin.
3. All you need to do then is to pour the seeds out into your hand.
4. Next grasp the now empty pod between your hands and gently crush it to loosen the skin covering the pod.
5. Peel off the pod skin
6. And there you have it a lovely loofah to keep your skin supple and beautiful.

I would let you have some, but Cruella takes my whole crop and sells them to her coven as nose wart removers. The whole process is shown below. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Tying up Cannas. At this time of the year large cannas can begin to look a bit untidy. But don’t chop them down! You need all the goodness from the stems to start flowing back into the corm (ugly bulb) which will form next years plant . So for now you need to tie your cannas into an upright position for a couple of months till they get really scraggy, brown and raggedy, (yes, I know we have already had that joke).

I use broomsticks for this as they are strong enough to bang into the ground and tie the canna up even in strong winds. This year I bought myself some new broomsticks and Cruella thought I had bought her a present. I didn’t have the heart to tell her so I fitted her broom on a new stick. The photos below show the process. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Clearing borders and applying mulch. By now a lot of the plants in your borders will be well past their best. Once you have collected any seed that you want, then it is time to clear your borders and get them ready for cutings, seedlings and bulbs. Because not all plants die off conveniently at the same time, it is better to do this in stages. Don’t be tempted to just clear everything because a few plants are looking untidy. There are two main benefits of leaving plants a bit longer. Firstly, as already mentioned it allows seed heads to mature. But secondly, and just as important it allows the birds and insects to feed on the decaying plants. Sometimes it pays to be an untidy gardener for a few weeks.

The photos below show the start of my border clearing process and the application of a thick rich mulch to renews the soil. My friend Hilary has just started composting and is excited to get going and it may sound slightly pathetic but nothing beats the sight and smell of your first home made compost. Cruella just shouted out “shut up you idiot”, but she has her chickens all I have is my compost. Click on each photo for a larger view.

The above heading may appear confusing but I have to tell you I am having a hard time of it at the moment with Cruella (my wife) and her fancy chickens. But more of this later, it is time to get on with the Costa Blanca Cut (CBC). Yes, that is right CBC! It is a term that I invented last year that denotes the time when you can judiciously trim all your flowering hedges and shrubs to hopefully get a late summer bust of flowering whilst at the same time making your garden look neater.

I have to confess that I stole the idea from “the Chelsea Chop” which is the period just after the Chelsea Flower Show when you can cut back; I think my term is better and the timing is just right for our hot summers. Anyway let’s get on with the gardening.

23rd August 2022. Things I have been doing lately:

Trimming hedges. Regular readers of this blog will remember that I have a range of densely packed hedges along the front of my garden. I packed them together so that they would fight for space and provide a dense flowering wall. Whilst this works very well, at this time of year it is necessary to trim them back just enough to encourage new flowerings and to keep them neat.

The first photos below show some of my hedges inside and outside my garden in all their glory. From this you can see there are still lots of flowering but some are attempting to go to seed. Click on each photo for a larger view.

All that is required to bring your garden back into shape and give you more flowers, is that you lightly trim back with a hedge trimmer or shears. Do not over do this, the big cut back is in January, so remember less is more. The photo below shows me manfully using my large extendable trimmer to good effect – mind you I now have a bad back, again! Click on each photo for a larger view.

The photos below show the extent of my cut back, but remember it will all be worth while with masses of new flowers within a month. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Trimming Olive trees. Regular readers will remember that I trimmed my olive tree by cloud pruning it years ago into a series of balls. To keep this shape sharp, you need to prune back 3 or 4 times a year. The before and after effects can be seen in the photos below. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Time to trim standards. If you have flowering standards in your garden it is always difficult to give them a trim as you are torn between the nice neat shape of a standard and their many flowers. Well, you can have both as long as you trim little and often. This approach will keep the plant flowering and the bees will love you, whilst at the same time keeping your nice round ball. The first photos below show my standards floriferous but out of shape whilst the second photos show them reshaped; I am happy to tel you they are already flowering.

Time to cut the lawn. Yes, I know it is madness having a lawn on the Costa Blanca, but there you have it, I’ve got one. Obviously there has not been much mowing going on in our current heatwave. But sometimes you have to clean up general debris from the grass. This means setting your mower blades as high as possible and just running the mower over the garden much like a hoover. The photo below shows the end results of my mowing. I call my lawn Schwarzenegger as it always comes back.

The chicken wars have started. Regular readers of this blog will know that Cruella (my wife) hasn’t been the same since the cat died. The cat and her were very close, the cat happily sat behind her whenever she flew on her broomstick. In addition Cruella would use the cat as a “familiar” by whispering instructions into her ear which the cat happily carried out. As you all know she has now gotten over the loss of the cat by buying herself a flock of fancy chickens; and this is where it has all gone wrong.

Who would have thought that chickens were incompatible with a neat well designed garden. Well let me tell you they are. Despite spending a fortune on a coop and fencing to create what can only be described as a chicken paradise, Cruella has now decided that “her girls” need to be free to roam. The result of this is that chickens have proceeded to take liberties with the garden (have you seen their feet) They mock me and Tango the lonely blind Labrador as they strut around the garden as if they have diplomatic immunity.

The photos below show how they deliberately mock poor old Tangos space. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Well I have had enough me and Tango are fighting back. I have bought myself one of those super soaker water pistols and happily chase them around the garden and squirt them when ever they commit any garden transgressions. Tango is taking a more pacifist route and has written to the Kennel Club and asked for asylum. The photo below shows my trusty pistol ready for action.

The only problem is that Cruella is fighting back and has started whispering malign instructions into the Chicken’s ears – just as she did with the cat, see photo below. Just the other night I woke up in bed only to find the little white chicken perched on my chest and pecking my nose. That’s it the chicken wars have begun and I am fighting to save the garden.

Summary

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://spanish-garden.com/2022/08/08/tie-up-deadhead-and-cane/

Transcription

The above heading is reflective of the activities you should now be undertaking in your garden as we move towards the back end of summer. Unfortunately when I mention these activities my garden blog tends to be inundated with requests for rude sexual services which have nothing to do with gardening. Cruella (my wife) accused me of doing this deliberately, but I remained dignified and only replied “honi soit qui mal y pense”, she then accused me of swearing at her in Swedish!

Anyway as summer goes on and things flop over – oh my God, there I go again, I think I have developed Tourette’s syndrome – you need to keep on top of the garden. Enough of this, let’s get on with the gardening .

8th August 2022. Things I have been doing lately:

Tying up various plants. All along your borders and beds your flowers will be at their absolutes best. To keep them this way for as long as possible then you need to deahead every day and use cane and string to keep your plants upright. Now when it comes to string, we gardeners need the right string for the job. To achieve this you need 3 types of string as a minimum. String type 1 (the thinnest) can be used for tying up annuals as it will rot within a year, as will they. String type 2 (referred to as intermediate) can be used for tying in perennials, roses etc as it will last for up to to 5 years and allow the shape you are trying to achieve become set. String type 3 (referred to as heavy) can be used for trees and heavy perennial branches etc as it will last for up to 10 years. The plastic coated wire shown can be used to tie in light stems.

The photo below shows the strings. This photo will form part of my doctoral thesis “String gauges and their uses by type in the twenty first century garden”

Deadheading. If you want flowers all summer then you need to deadhead daily. But not all flowers are deadheaded in the same way:

Sunflowers. Don’t deadhead sunflowers yet, let the seeds fully form so that you can either use them next year, or let the birds feed on seeds. But you will need to tie them up so that they don’t collapse. Use stout canes to keep them as upright as possible. Keep an eye on the dead flower head and when it has fully died and dried scrape the covering off the top of the flower and underneath will be the seeds packed tightly together. Using your thumb, see if you can remove one or two seeds easily; if you cannot then leave it a week or so until the seeds are loose.

The first photo below shows my mini sunflowers tied up and waiting for their seeds to be ready. The second photo shows that they are not ready yet. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Cannas. Although canna are favoured because of their lovely large colourful leaves, they can also produce nice flower spikes. When deadheading canna be careful not to cut off the coming flower spike. Because the flower spikes come in twos they often dieback at different times, so do not take off the complete flower head but only the one that is dead. The photo below shows me deadheading the correct flower spike.

Marigolds. I could deadhead my marigolds twice a day and that still wouldn’t be enough. They love this hot weather and they are flowering like crazy. To deadhead marigolds you must be careful not to leave any long bits of stem that not only look unattractive, but could let in disease. With your secateurs move down the stem away from the dead flower head until the next stem bifurcation and cut there. The first photo below shows my lovely marigolds, the others show me mid prune. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Other plants you should be deadheading at the moment include: Dipladenia, Bird of Paradise, Kaffir lilies and any flowering agaves or aloes. See photos below: Click on each photo for a larger view.

Shadowman. Gardening can be a lonely job so I have invented a gardening companion who follows me round all day I call him “shadowman”.We chat about various things as we wander round the garden, but he has to go as soon as the sun goes down; which is the exact opposite of Cruella and her friends who have to hide when the sun comes out. I thought you might like to see a photo.