garden joys

Gardens are part of my life. Since my memory reaches I have liked the walks in the countryside, the flowers and the fragrances that each one of them gives us. Environments that fill me with happiness and in which I recreate all year round. Windows of joy, of color, of smell that I share with other living beings: birds, bees, toads... All together we make the garden.

I have inherited from my mother the fondness for plants, those that she took care of, watered and transplanted in the backyard, and also from the long walks with my father when he picked me up from school and took me along the dirt roads of the Cordovan countryside. Although many years have passed, I keep wonderful memories and on those memories I have continued to build illusions.

My garden and orchard in all its summer splendor.

the big step

In February 2001, we bought our little house with a garden in the country. That same spring I was surprised by flowers that the previous owner of the house had delicately cultivated, an unexpected heirloom that I continue to enjoy to this day.

A few years later, in 2006, we opened the workshop. We originally planted 180 lavender plants that after 12 years became woody and dried up and had to be uprooted. It was time to rethink what we did with space.

I am nothing more than a flower enthusiast and all my desire is to cultivate to later decorate the store and thus enjoy the plants and flowers both inside and outside.

We live in the area of ​​the north face of the Sierra de Guadarrama, which is part of the central system. The climate here is Mediterranean inland, with very cold winters (even with heavy snowfall) and extreme summers, with mild nights and excessively hot middays. A priori they would not seem the most ideal conditions to make a garden. But with water and knowledge of the vegetation in the area, it can be achieved.

The current project for our garden began in March 2019. Since last year, I have been drawing sketches and plans for the placement of the plants so that, when flowering time comes, I can enjoy the tapestry that I have embroidered in my imagination.

A sketch is fundamental for the placement of the plants and serves as a reference to make variations from year to year.

before planting

Next, I detail the main considerations that I usually take into account:

• Sun, shade or semi-shade. It is convenient to know this information since if we put a shade plant in full sun, it is likely that it will not endure.
• height of the variety . Twice a year our area is hit by strong winds. That is why it is convenient to put the largest one attached to the wall to be able to hold it in periods of wind. Finding the long-stemmed plants lying on the ground is not a tasteful dish.
• Color. I like bright colors, I have tried to scale colors so that there is balance and harmony.
• Irrigation. Although there is automatic irrigation, not all plants need the same amount of water, so you have to be aware of the varieties that need a little more water.
• Subscriber. Very important to obtain adequate flowering with intense colors. An organic fertilizer is recommended.

Aquilegia, flowering cosmos, muscaris and fritillaria meleagris.

I detail the plants that are part of my garden

Starting at the top and from left to right: Aster with butterfly, rudbeckia, rose, lilium, bora bora dahlia and a mantis friend.

some enemies

It is also important to take into account the adversities that can arise and with which we must work:

• voles. This year they have feasted on all my bulbs. Although it has made me very angry, I choose to try to dissuade them and avoid using poisons.
• Snails. I use vinegar to prevent the young leaves from being eaten. In this way, they continue to reproduce and when the month of July arrives, as a good Cordoba woman, I collect them and make myself a good pot of organic snails.
• Wind. Tall varieties are at greater risk of being knocked to the ground. Locating these varieties in protected or fixed places can avoid any unpleasantness.
• allergies. I have sensitive skin. With certain varieties, rubbing causes spots on me. A small sacrifice for doing something I like. I wash my face well with my soaps, lavender, olive with aloe vera or rosemary and in a few days, they have disappeared.

The decoration of the store with flower arrangements is another satisfaction that my garden gives me.

April tasks

If you want to see your garden exuberant in summer, I recommend that you spend a little time on the following tasks.

• Carry out planting of seasonal plants; petunias, targetes, daisies, zinnias, cosmos, agerantum…
• Apply organic fertilizer throughout the garden.
• Check irrigation if there is no rain.
• Prune and remove suckers from the rose bush, clean and mulch the base.
• Plant bulbs that will flower in summer, such as dahlias, gladioli, calla lilies, Indian reeds, amaryllis, daylilies, daylilies...
• In April, the perennials can be multiplied by division of bushes.
• Plant the seedbeds with the varieties that you will grow in your garden.

Clean and neat

Do not forget to clean and disinfect the tools you use, it is important, especially scissors and tools such as shovels, paddles, adzes, transplanters... you can transmit diseases from one plant to another

Recommended soaps

After gardening I recommend cleaning our hands well with soap. I usually use rosemary , olive, aloe vera , or argan soap, which is an exfoliant …if I have to clean in depth and sometimes with the help of my brush.

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Seeds for quarantine

We encourage you to plant the seeds of fruits or vegetables that you have at home. You can make small seedlings with soil borrowed from a house pot of apple, melon, watermelon, tomato, avocado seeds... If you don't have soil, try directly in water. As a girl I loved to watch how an avocado seed pierced with three toothpicks that my mother soaked in a glass of water on the kitchen window became a plant. These are perfect days to think, to learn, to be creative.