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Gardening Experiences - January 2009 |
SOME GARDENING EXPERIENCES ON THE COSTA TROPICAL By Mike Spencer
The lawn preparation and planting had really been a husband and wife team effort. There was not much to argue about as the location for the lawn was dictated for us by the available space, and grass is .... well .... grass.
However now that it was planted it was time to consider where to have pots, how many to have, what to put in them, etc. At the same time we were anxious to plant the flower beds along the front of the terrace, and the raised boxes alongside the driveway at the rear. Almost immediately differences of opinion started to appear which matured into the ‘digging in’ of two pairs of heels. Arguments about what plants to put where soon produced a total impasse and progress ground rapidly to a halt!
Looking back this was all rather ridiculous as in reality both of us were still almost totally ignorant about gardening. Our individual arguments appeared to be based on vague recollections of titbits of information and comments from our parents, all four of whom had been enthusiastic gardeners.
We now know that we should have considered such things as .... what plants appreciate full sun and which prefer some shade? .... which can survive in a windy spot? .... how easy is it to get irrigation to them, particularly those in pots? .... how much maintenance do they want? .... when do they flower and for how long? .... how tall and wide do they grow? .... what size of pot for what plant? ....etc.
At the time though the solution we arrived at was a division of labour and responsibilities. In fact history has confirmed that this was the ideal arrangement. Looking after 5000 square metres can be very demanding, especially in the first few years, and dividing the workload has turned out to be a great solution.
So my wife chose the front beds and raised boxes and I took responsibility for the pots. We now have more than 30 around the house, pool and barbecue areas. There are various sizes, shapes, styles and colours ranging from quite small to “too heavy to lift when full” – from plain terracotta to attractively decorated ceramics – from round to square shapes. Prices varied considerably and it was soon apparent that they were much lower at local horticultural suppliers - those places selling irrigation, fencing, netting, fertiliser, etc rather than specialist suppliers. Having said that the specialists offer a greater range and for some situations you have to buy there.
After some false starts they are all now filled with rocks and stones in the bottom for drainage, stand on drip trays to avoid staining the terrace tiles and are on a single separate irrigation circuit. The irrigation outlets, or drippers, vary from pot to pot dependant on its size and how much water it needs, but more on irrigation later.
Lastly the plants – we have bougainvillea, stephanosis, dipleadimea (both plants and climbers), plumbago New Zealand tree fern, oleander, and more about them individually in the next article.
To see Mikes current article click here
More articles about Mike and Trudy´s adventures can be seen in our Home and Garden section
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