The World in our Garden E-Book

Sabine Kranich

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 181

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Gardening tips from experts for those in love with Mediterranean gardens, livened up by description of typical Portuguese plants, their range of uses and Portuguese recipes. The authors gained and compiled all of this knowledge by using their own experiences. Those who plan to lay out a Mediterranean garden or are interested in Portugal´s flora and fauna, will find many useful tips in this book.

Leseprobe

About the authors

Sabine and Dietfrid Kranich live in rural Algarve in Portugal for more than 20 years. In the course of time, Dietfrid built up a nature-orientated, small nursery garden.

Other books published by Sabine Kranich:

Das Quinta-da-Fortuna Buch, Kulinarisches, Tierisches und Botanisches aus unserer Wahlheimat Portugal ISBN 978-3735724441

Susans Träume, ISBN 978-1537385334

Die Tiere der Quinta erzählen Geschichten:

Fenny, der Geist und die Eule, ISBN 978-3738609127

Miss Kitty, die Hundebändigerin,

ISBN 978-373863633

For all those, who love plants, animals, and Portugal.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Gardening in the Algarve

What Plants Need

The Gardening Year in the Algarve

The Almond Blossom Season in the Algarve

Yearly Table for Gardening Work

The Tiger in the Jungle

Faro's Green Oasis

Particular Elements of Garden Landscaping

Palms

Hedge Plants

Excursus: Planting and nursing oleander

Blossoming Trees for the Algarve Garden

Excursus: Jacarandas – Blue-Violet Beauties

Fruit Trees

The Japanese Medlar – with Recipes

The Pomegranate Tree and its Fruits

The Mulberry Tree

Medronheiro, the Strawberry Tree from Portugal

The Carob Tree

The Ziziphus Jujuba or the Chinese Date

Plants with Tropical Fruits

Pitanga and Lemon

Healthy Herbs

Stinging Nettles for Beginners

Homemade Herbal Teas

Jiaogulan, the Plant of Eternal Life

Home-baked Flowerpot Bread

Cultivation in the own Garden

The Sweet Potato – with Recipes

Christmas and its Symbols

Aloes, the Lilies of the Desert

On Christmas Eve, the Animals can Speak

Christmas in Portugal

The Sweet Chestnut – with Portuguese Recipes

Recipe for Bolo Rei (King's Cake)

All about Port Wine

All about Vinho Verde

About us

The Ria Formosa Natural Park

Our Nursery Garden

Our Farm

Contact

Prologue

Over 20 years ago we "emigrated" from Germany and "immigrated" to Portugal. In tow were a pickup and a caravan that accommodated our two German domestic cats: Bessy, a red tabby, and Lucy, a grey Persian. Behind the front seats of the pickup cabin, Lisa, our Landseer dog, travelled along with us. We knew where we headed – to our small farm in the Algarve that we confidently baptized "Quinta da Fortuna". There, Leila, a Lusitano mare, which we adopted from the previous holders, already waited for us. Apart from her, a ground-level, renovated farmhouse with a newer section including two guest rooms on the first floor. There was space for horses, dogs, cats, and people – and, by German standards, there was a lot of space. Other than that it looked a little bit like on the moon. Okay, there were two smaller Phoenix palms, two small Yuccas, and several trees that are typical for the Portuguese countryside: Carob trees, Almond and Olive trees along with some Japanese plums. And then there still was a lot of space without any shadow or plantation. Instead we had a superb and unobstructed sea view.

Dietfrid couldn't stand this for long, for he already had been an enthusiastic little gardener back in Waldorf school. What began with ordering and collecting seeds from various plants from all over the world, growing the plantlets and bedding out many of them, led to us in fact not having an unobstructed sea view anymore; instead now we have shady trees and shrubs from all over the world, that make for an agreeable climate even in midsummer, and rustle in the wind during the rest of the year. Our premises are now visible over a long distance, with their slightly different plantation: palms; trees with at times beautiful blossoms; trees and shrubs with exotic or indigenous fruits; trees that sing in the wind; deciduous and indeciduous trees; bamboo; Indian shot, and even some banana trees. Not forgetting the plants that have been there from the outset and by now are really grown big. A red bougainvillea has captured an almond tree, and in some place else a West Indian lantana and a morning glory cross-colour each other. The chickens enjoy their "Caribbean" surroundings and scratch in their big compound under likewise big Coco do Jardim palms. Those stand next to mulberry trees, one of them with extra big leaves to spend nice and cool shadow to the chickens during the summer heat. Right beside, lemons ripen on the lemon tree, and some oranges ripen on the orange tree.

All those plants also draw animals, particularly birds; and despite our cats a nightingale occasionally trills. Jaybirds imitate the miaowing of the cats, and at night now and again tawny owls or owls pass by and in turn make sure that we don't host unwelcome rodents.

In this book we summed up our experiences and interests, and it hopefully became a diverting collection with ideas for mediterranean gardens (by Dietfrid Kranich) and recipes and other interesting stuff (by Sabine Kranich). All that was written by Dietfrid is printed in this font and all contributions by Sabine in this one.

And now have fun reading!

Gardening in the Algarve

The gardener should feel happy and full of joy whenever spending time in the familiar surroundings of his garden. Every single plant is well-known to him, he knows, when it is blossoming or when the tasty fruits are ripe. In the garden there are shadowy places, that give shelter from the scorching sun, but also open spaces that are for example ideal for the garden party at night. It is true: "In the Algarve the garden is the extended living room."

Alas, reality often looks much different. Gardens, established at high price, after a short while become "unattractive", and the tenant somehow is dissatisfied.

The garden fanciers, who buy their plants here and there, invest a lot of time and money to establish mangos, avocados, papayas, and citrus trees in their garden, often wonder why it's not quite working out. The thing is that plants need special conditions concerning soil, temperature, water quantity, humidity, light and shadow, wind shelter, and nutrients. And every plant needs its own conditions. The best tips for tending plants I found in books on tub plants.

Here in the Algarve, almost all plants listed in this book prosper outdoors all-season, not only in tubs, but also in the garden. We can also learn by studying other gardens, parks, avenue planting, and nursery gardens.

When we go for a ride in the serra, we can learn what prospers at the roadside even without fertilizer or artificial watering. We can also use the opportunity to collect seeds from trees and shrubs or perhaps take a cutting for our garden.

Before I start writing about gardens, I would like to try to clarify, what a garden is:

It is an enclosed area, usually near a building, with flowers, bushes and trees, perhaps with a lawn. Special classifications include the flower garden, herb garden, fruit orchard, water garden, bamboo garden, rock garden, cactus garden, and many more.

Either we choose a special kind of garden, or, which is reasonable, considered the size of most of the estates here in the Algarve, we divide our garden area into different zones: near the house could be flowers, shady trees, palms, a patio with a barbecue area; further away from the house the pond with reeds, bamboo, and blocks of stone. Even further away from the house, the meadow or plantation with fruit trees, and along the outside – if possible – a hedge as windbreak, privacy shield, noise prevention, or as an eco-belt for green waste.

If the premises are big, the hedge may well be two to three metres wide and mixed with a variation of oleander, hibiscus, guava, ficus, roses, Cape gooseberry, and others. A cactus hedge may also be original.

All these considerations should of course correspond to the natural conditions of your premises. It makes gardening more easy to work with and not against nature.

The Mediterranean climate of the Algarve is simply fantastic. It prompts holidaymakers to come here; and many a one stays here forever to live in the sunny South.

Basically, the summers are hot and dry, the winters mild and humid. But since we have an Atlantic climate with at times very high wind speeds from all directions, the normal weather is intermitted by absolutely unpredictable disturbances. In the 24 years that I now live in the Algarve, I witnessed storms with more than 100 km/h that unroofed houses, pulled down or divided trees, and hailstones as big as pebbles, that perforated all big leaves. All banana plants, rubber trees, mangos and else became unsightly until the new sprouts came up. I also witnessed continuous rainfall for three months that turned every hollow into a puddle, and sudden frost with minus 5 degrees Celsius brought by strong northerly winds, causing my exotic plants to take their leave. The worst, however, was the absence of rain during winter, causing vast forest fires in the subsequent summer. Portuguese people told me that in the Algarve every weather is possible in every season.

However, what is important to know for the gardener: our summers are basically dry, while there is rain in the winter. Usually the first rain comes in mid-September, and round about mid-May the last rain falls. For our garden landscaping, we need to take into account the remaining three to four rainless months. There are indeed plants that get along with this climate. Mostly they come from regions with summer drought, like South Africa, Australia, South America, Mexico, California, China, and other areas with dry summers and wet winters.

If we want to establish other plants, for example from tropical regions, we need to create the technical capabilities that allow them to survive. That implies watering and increasing the humidity. This is the case with plantations, at quoins, or in dense plantings that are surrounded by a windbreak hedge, and, of course, also in the greenhouse.

The soil: Every plant needs water and nutrients, which it ingests with its roots. In addition the roots should stabilize the plant, so that it won't fall over in the slightest storm or in continuous rain, when the ground turned into mere mud.

Essentially, every soil is suitable for plants, except for subterranean, solid rocky ledges, that don't allow the roots to permeate deeply into the ground.

Loamy soil accumulates humidity for a long time and gives the plant a sound stabilization. A disadvantage of loamy soils is that plants grow rather slowly. If we dig a corresponding hole and fill it with humus soil, the plant will grow much faster, but on the other hand has less footing. In continuous rain the hole fills up with water and the plant possibly remains standing much too wet for weeks. As a result, the roots will rot.

Whoever has the time to watch his plants grow slowly, plants them in loam, mixed with a little sand and humus, surrounded by a thick layer of mulch. The mulch layer can consist of leaves, straw, compost, bark, wood chaff, or manure. Every organic material is suitable, that rots under the influence of humidity and warmth and supply the roots with nutrients. Earthworms, that feel comfortable in loamy soil, take care of soil aeration and transport humus into the depth.

Sandy soil has the advantage that the roots grow very quickly and that water can soak into the ground easily, so no problem with waterlogging occurs. In contrast to loam it is very easy to dig planting holes. On the other hand the new plants have less foothold than in loam, water seeps away much quicker and there are only little nutrients in sandy soil. If we plant in sandy soil, we should add some organic material like turf, coconut fibres, or pine bark. We can also add loamy soil to improve the storage capability, and once again we cover the planting hole with a layer of mulch from organic material to reduce the evaporation of valuable water and to supply the plant with nutrients.

Stony soils usually are particularly suitable for trees and shrubs. They give the plants a good foothold, emit valuable nutrients to the roots, save heat and possibly also water. However, working in stony soils is rather tough. For stony soils differ a lot in their quality, the right plantation can be decided upon only on-site. The best thing we can do is to have a look around the neighbourhood and see what prospers in nearby gardens. We can then gather from our observations which contents are in the soil, for example if the rock is acid or alkaline. As with other soils it is advantageous to mulch also stony soils in order to activate soil life and to supply the plant with nutrients.

It takes a lot of knowledge and experience to make "everything right" in your Algarve garden, and still you will never succeed completely. A beautiful garden evolves only from long lasting caring attention and not by a, no matter how expensive, onetime cultivation.

What Plants Need

Everyone who has a house in the Algarve wants to call a beautiful garden his own, for the climatic conditions allow it to spend most of the time outdoors. In Portugal, the garden is the extended living room. Apart from a pleasant landscaping with green areas, trees, bushes, and flowers arranged in a way that the garden owner feels comfortable and finds tranquillity and recreation, the location of the particular plants is essential for their growth.

By now, plants from all over the world are native here in the Algarve, and globetrotters and nursery gardens ensure that new plant species are added constantly. In case the plants are propagated from seeds here on the Iberian Peninsula, they adapt slowly to the local climate. Plants imported from Central Europe always suffer a shock when they get planted out in the Algarve garden – for conditions are so much different than in the greenhouses from where ever.

The following is important for the plants' well-being and flourishing:

does the plant actually find here the

living conditions

that it needs to survive?

the

right choice of location

within the garden; for instance never plant the pine on top of the hill and plant bananas in the

frost-free

valley.

the right irrigation

; obviously e.g. cacti need less water than fast-growing, evergreen plants. The water's pH value is crucial for the growth of some plants. A pH 7.5 counts as neutral, above as alkaline and beneath as acidic. Since in the summer a lot of (irrigation) water evaporates, calcium (lime) accumulates in the plant's root zone and hence the plant is no longer able to absorb nutrients. Phosphoric acid lowers the pH value in the water; however it should not fall beneath 5.5.

an essential condition for the thriving of our garden plants is the soil and the nutrients it contains. Of course the soil in the Algarve gardens differs a lot. From the light sandy soil to the stony soil to the rich loamy soil – everything can be found here. It is possible to have a soil analysis made by the board of agriculture, with recommendations for

the adequate fertilization

of the respective crop (e.g. oranges).

However, this is not too helpful for our gardens with their multitude of plants. Except for the succulents, like aloe, agave, cacti etc., nearly all of our garden plants originally come from the woods of the several continents. Since there is a humus layer in the woods, we should also create one in the garden. Leaves, straw, peat, pine bark, chaff, wood shavings, paper, cardboard and everything that rots in water and heat is suitable for a humus layer. A special humus layer is the dung of horses, sheep, cows, and pigs. Poultry dung is quite aggressive and should be used only sparingly. The soil can be supported with fertilizer. A medium-sized orange tree needs about a wheelbarrow full of dung per year; and is thus optimally provided with all nutrients. In Portugal, poultry dung is offered as "guano"; but it should never be applied as a thick mulch layer. But if we have chopped garden waste and mix it with "guano", this is just as good as horse or sheep dung. Cow dung is offered as odourless granules from Spain or Israel. It is good, though expensive, but does not produce humus.

Artificial fertilizer is on offer low-cost as "blue fertilizer" or similar products with a multitude of active substances. It is suitable for loamy, sandy and limy soils, if it contains iron (Fe).

A biological liquid fertilizer (M.O.L. Material Organica Liquida) gets obtained from olive waste; it transports the nutrients quickly to the roots and activates soil life in general. Moreover, it is acidic, thus the lime excess of the water can be compensated.

Application rate for heavy feeders (every 4 to 8 weeks): citrus fruits, bananas, jacarandas, palms, grasses (meadow);

Application rate for moderate feeders (every 3 months): trees and shrubs, cypresses, pines, aloe:

Do not fertilize: araucaria, cacti, agave, yucca, succulents Despite all fertilization it is recommendable to establish a damp humus layer at least around the plant. As it rots quickly in the subtropical climate and thus emits nutrients to the plants, it has to be renewed every year, and can be enriched with any fertilizer, natural or chemical.

The paragon for a good garden soil is a forest floor that is teeming with little helpers who transform humus into ex ploitable nutrients for the plant.

The Gardening Year in the Algarve

As the saying goes: "The first step is always the hardest”.

For the gardener – whether professional or in his private garden – rather the opposite applies, so: "The first step is always the easiest." Full of joy and well-provided with the necessary financial means the neo-Algarvino can task somebody to lay out a wonderful garden for him. Extra motivation comes from beautiful pictures in specialist literature on Mediterranean gardening, that invite us to copy from successful gardeners.

Once the garden is laid out, the never-ending care begins. Gardening can give great pleasure, and it has a therapeutic benefit for body and mind; but it can also become a burden, for in addition to the regular garden work there are so many unforeseen events that may happen.

Everybody who tends a garden in the Algarve can tell a thing or two about it: for example when the rabbits have gnawed away the ingenious irrigation system for the umpteenth time. In this case there is a trick: we place a flat bowl in the garden and connect it to the irrigation. Usually the rabbits prefer drinking from the bowl than haphazardly biting the pipes to pieces over and over again in order to find a drop of water in the hot summer.

Of course we can also pay and delegate the garden care to a specialist company. The costs for such a service – garden care and maintenance – amount, roughly calculated, to 50 Euro per month per 5000 Euro garden layout.

By the way, do you know how to earn a small fortune in the Algarve? – You bring a great fortune with you.

The seasons in the Algarve differ from those in Central Europe – otherwise we wouldn't be here – and they start in January with changing weather and rain. This rainy season may continue until April and is very important for the plants. It is mostly windy, with about 5 degrees Celsius at night and up to 20 degrees Celsius during the day. In this season it is sunny in the Algarve when it is raining in Germany and rainy when it is cold and sunny in Germany. It is the best planting season for all non-tropical plants.

From April or May on the sun becomes rather strong, and temperatures may at times already rise up to 30 degrees Celsius. At night the temperature no longer drops as low, and once the nighttime temperatures are around 20 degrees Celsius tropical plants like bananas, papayas, and limes can be planted out.

In the summer it is nothing but hot – day and night – and we better spend the time resting or at the beach than with gardening. However, this is indeed the best season for cutting trees, grafting, and cuttings.

Around September hopefully the first rain falls, and everything turns green. In the Algarve the autumn is the second spring and one of the most beautiful seasons. The temperature amounts to about 20 degrees Celsius during the day; only the nights can already be rather crisp. Sometimes ground frost may occur at night.

Palms, pines, cypresses, citrus trees, fruit trees, and all that grows in the Mediterranean winter can be planted in autumn. In this season it can also be very sunny and dry in the Algarve. Therefore we should not forget the watering, especially of the new plants, even in winter.

As of midwinter, on 21th of December, spring is slowly approaching in the Algarve. The almond trees blossom in white and pink, the acacia trees in the mountains near Tavira blossom in bright yellow, and the meadows with clover look like a yellow carpet.

Naturally these are a gardener's subjective weather observations; and as we know, the weather is "capricious as the weather" and there is an exception to every rule.

The Almond Blossom Season in the Algarve