Free online Permaculture Design Course

FREE PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE
Complete Online Self-Paced Program
Learn from World-Class Instructors

Complete 72+ Hour Permaculture Design Certificate Course Covers:

• Natural building construction
• Pattern observation and site analysis
• Renewable energy and appropriate technology
• Reading the land and natural cycles
• Rainwater harvesting and conservation
• Soil regeneration and land restoration
• Passive and active solar design
• Food forests, trees, and garden design
• Greywater considerations and system design
• Business and financial permaculture
• Waste recycling and treatment
• Urban permaculture for sustainable cities
• ...and much, much more!

Course Instructor: Larry Korn (translator of Fukuoka's book One Straw Revolution) and other world-class teachers.

Reforestation of City Space Milan, Italy

Architects have been struggling with the incorporation of renewable energy components into their projects as demanded by planning authorities. An example being solar panels on tower blocks in city centers. The electricity generated is intended to be used for space heating and ; the problem is that roof space is a relatively small area and incorporating technology into building facades is costly and not always effective.


Stefano Boeri has a different approach in his Vertical forest, Bosque Vertical  


for apartment blocks in Milan, Italy.

Prunus Cerasifera pissardii flowers

Prunus Cerasifera pissardii in full bloom in early spring.

Bird of Paradise seed

This is the seed of a Bird of Paradise flower as seen through a scanning Electron Microscope. Click on the links below to see the image gallery.

Welcome Trust Photographic Awards 2009

Olive blossom

The olive trees finally produced fruit this year it is particularly rewarding after such a difficult time keeping them alive in the early years.

Spring time flowers on the olive tree are white and quite insignificant but each tiny bud holds the promise of a fruit maturing in the winter sun.

Our neighbours tell us that a major pest which can prevent the tree fruiting is the ant.

If you look carefully you can see the tiny olive blossom.

In this part of Spain nurserymen often quote the price of olive trees as €1 per year of growth; they will happily show you trees (they estimate) of 1000 years of age at the corresponding price of €1000.

We chose to grow our own from seedlings and now have small established trees.

Apple harvest is counted

Local farmers have produced over 4,500 metric tons of apples, despite a difficult growing season, which should be enough for christmas stockings this year.

The Lotus of the ancients a tree for today

If you are looking for a large and semi ornamental and fruiting tree to plant in your own Mediterranean Garden, then the European nettle, Celtis australis or the Hackberry as it is commonly known maybe for you. The tree is believed to have been the Lotus of the ancients and has been referred to by both Homer and Tennyson in their writing. Rocks formed during the European Miocene period (between 23.8 and 5.32 million years ago) are found to have traces of the Hackberry. This plant is a therefore a survivor. Modern Mediterranean gardeners will appreciate this plant for its drought tolerance once established. It requires a sunny position and light sandy or loamy soil which is slightly alkaline. The long lived tree produces timber which is prized by wood turners, and a yellow dye can be extracted from the trees bark. Smaller thinner branches are often selected to be walking sticks. The small flowers of the tree are self fertile (hermaphrodite) though pale yellow or green and will produce small edible purple drupes (berries) which can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves of the Nettle tree are astringent as you may have guessed and have curative properties for stomach disorders. Autumn colour occurs as the leaves turn yellow before falling.

....The mild-eyed melancholy Lotos-eaters came.

Branches they bore of that enchanted stem,

Laden with flower and fruit, whereof they gave....

Lo! in the middle of the wood,

The folded leaf is woo'd from out the bud

With winds upon the branch, and there

Grows green and broad, and takes no care,

Sun-steep'd at noon, and in the moon

Nightly dew-fed; and turning yellow

Falls, and floats adown the air.

Lo! sweeten'd with the summer light,

The full-juiced apple, waxing over-mellow,

Drops in a silent autumn night.

All its allotted length of days

The flower ripens in its place,

Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil,

Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil....

Alfred Lord Tennyson - The Lotus eaters

They went and found themselves 

Among the Lotus-eaters soon, who used 

No violence against their lives, but gave 

Into their hands the lotus plant to taste. 

Whoever tasted once of that sweet food 

Wished not to see his native country more 

Nor give his friends the knowledge of his fate ; 

And then my messengers desired to dwell 

Among the Lotus-eaters, and to feed 

Upon the lotus, never to return. 

                                                              Homer - The Odyssey

Humping Hackberry

If you have been transplanting trees of late you will spare a thought for those tasked with transplanting a large specimen tree within the Catalan city of Barcelona (about 135km south of us).

The Lledoner tree as it is known in Catalunya is better known internationally as Celtis Austalis or the Hackberry measured 4’0” in diameter and weighed 60 metric tonnes with it’s root ball intact.

The Hackberry was transported on a gondola supported on a tree platform (see pictures)

Fira L´Horta y Poma Relleno plant sales

Sooner or later

Having planted a young lemon tree we have high hopes of being self sufficient in lemons one day, though it may be quite a while till we have fruits like this fine example, which was a gift from Noellia who had picked it from her own mature lemon tree.

Mediterranean Garden plants

The evergreen Rosebay or Nerium Oleander (Apocynaceae) is the foundation plant of our garden continuously displaying a wealth of pretty funnel shaped flowers in various shades according to the variety. We have also planted a variegated form with cerise coloured blooms, and have placed it in front of climbers with darker green foliage. Throughout the Costa Brava in particular and the Ált Emporda district as a whole, this dependable plant is often used to screen boundaries as a hedge or also as a feature shrub in its own right.

Dependably hardy down to – 10° C. once established, the Oleander will thrive in any Mediterranean Garden. And will create an impressive shrub up to 3m high and 4m wide. The willow like leaves, sage green coloured with a silver underside, rustle like paper in the winds that shape this land; and with a little water during the flowering stage Oleanders will largely take care of themselves. Tip pruning will create a bushy shrub and removal of the seed pods will prolong the flowering period. It can be shaped easily and soon recovers from over enthusiastic clipping.

If you want to propagate this species then seeds are easily germinated in the springtime though the colours of the flowers may vary from the parent plant. Summertime will produce semi ripe wood ideal for cuttings, our friend Gabby recommends taking longer cuttings which she says root quickly.

All parts of the plant are poisonous to both humans and animals so care must be taken when planting Oleanders in your garden; as is the case with many other plants. Don't let that dissuade you from planting this pretty Mediterranean shrub which is the perfect flowering shrub in all other respects.

Virtual Herbarium Mediterranean Plants

HERBARIO VIRTUAL DEL MEDITERRÁNEO OCCIDENTAL

The western Mediterranean Virtual Herbarium is a web page born out of the VH of the Balearic Islands. It collects information and a wide gallery of images of the vascular plants in the western Mediterranean basin. This project is led by the Botanical Area of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB). At present the Universities of Barcelona and Valencia are also participating.

The Virtual Herbarium has been structured in index entries or individual web pages for each vegetable species considered. The most important aim of each entry are the images of the plants; however, a brief information in the form of a text is also included together with the scientific names of the plants both in Catalan and Spanish. The main image has been obtained by scanning a fresh specimen.

Most of the represented species correspond to autochthonous plants, although several cultivated and garden plants have been incorporated, thus, being a useful tool for studious of botany as well as garden and horticulture lovers. The western Mediterranean Virtual Herbarium is a lively project, and like any data bank its value is found in the constant incorporation of new images and information.

The Virtual Herbarium can be looked up in its whole, or either by restriction of the different territories included up to date: the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears),Catalonia (Catalunya), Valencian Community (Comunitat Valenciana).

The summer wind, came blowin in - from across the sea

Amongst the estimated eight thousand (8,000) endemic plants of the Iberian peninsular there are plants worthy of inclusion in the Mediterranean garden, but please do not collect those plants from the wild. Photograph what you see in it's natural habitat and then source your plants from reputable sources. If you can not identify a plant somebody on the Internet will be only too pleased to help you

Semi arid poor and stony soil can be easily washed away by the infrequent though often torrential rains that fall on the Spanish peninsula. Even on those hot summer days flash storms can wash away trees, embankments and street furniture. Watch the news broadcasts on Spanish television to see how wide spread and devastating the damage can be. Terraced walls can be undermined in an hour by the rains, and your carefully nurtured garden or orchard can wash away before your eyes. Try to use the rain running off the land by channelling it away from fragile areas to where you need it most if you can collect it for reuse so much the better.

If you dot your plants around your garden leaving vast tracts of bare soil, you will find that the soil will rapidly dry out making your plants weaker and therefore prone to the effects of plant disease or infestation by insect attacks. Plant your plants closer together and protect the exposed earth with a mulch of composted material or even stones and you will minimise water loss to the atmosphere. The shade afforded to the ground by the leaf canopy of the growing plants will create a micro-climate in your garden in which your plants will prosper. Look out for seedlings between the older plants, they will enable you to regenerate the older specimens and keep your garden fresh.

An important consideration to the land conservation in Spain is the clearing of debris from the land. Fire here can spread quickly with horrendous and sometimes fatal results. Endemic plants like the Cistus and those useful aromatic herbs are filled with flammable oils; those hot summer winds and the lightening strike are enough to start a wild fire. Barbecue and camp fires add to the risk of such events happening. I have seen wild fires burning on three sides of my property, even though the fire fighters and local authorities managed them well, acres of native forests were lost.

Much of the debris that you clear up around your plot can be composted in your own garden. Anything else that you feel you are unable to recycle, can be placed in the plant waste receptacle provided in each village for commercial composting.

Mediterranean plants and land restoration

A group of experts in Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, University of Sevilla (U.S.), along with researchers from the University of Abdelmalek ESSAADI (Morocco), has found that the remains of dates and olives, as well as the leaves of certain plants of the Mediterranean region, act as adsorbents of pesticides.

Scientists have studied how adsorbed, ie attract-and retain 22 types of natural pesticides in ten, five organic waste (peanut shell, bamboo and olive stones, dates and avocado) and five leaves of plants ( Eucalyptus, horseradish, oregano, oleander and jara), which were previously crushed. The results of the study, published in 'Journal of Hydrology ", show that the remains of the dates and olives are an average value of adsorption of 93% and 90% respectively, and the leaves of the radishes and rockrose, of 80%.

"The direct application of natural organic adsorbents on farmland not only retains the pesticides and reduce their consumption, but also improve soil fertility," says Hicham El Bakouri, co-author of the study and researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering and U.S. Environmental.

The Bakouri stressed that the addition of this organic material crushed to the ground also favors the biodegradation of contaminants, and to increase microbiological activity, reduce the vertical movement of pesticides from surface to groundwater. These waters are commonly used for irrigation and human consumption.

 

Winter flowering shrubs - Mediterranean Garden

The white linen like flowers of the Solanacae vine have persisted to the turn of the year. A sheltered position close to the front door has spared this climber from the harshest of the winter weather. The variegated leaves are a feature of  this specimen which helps brighten a shady corner of the house. As the plant climbs it benefits from discrete support wires which

the plant quickly clothes. The base of the vine can become a little bare over time so this is a plant that benefits from sympathetic underplanting.

Walking routes in Spain

The top walks in Spain website has a gallery of plants for Spain which would suit any Mediterranean climate garden.

Each of the 163 walks in the Spanish mountains is accompanied by a detailed description, map, contour profile, GPS waypoints, slide show, photos, driving instructions and a road map. There are also photo sets on more than 1200 plants, which you encounter along these hiking routes.

Beth Chatto and the Garden Museum

The story of how the Beth Chatto Gardens grew out of a patch of wasteland at the back of her husband’s Essex fruit farm and how this became one of the best-loved gardens in Britain is told through private archives, paintings and photographs.

The exhibition will examine the subtlety of her approach to design and explore important influences that include her husband Andrew’s life-long study of the natural association of plants, the work of her friend the artist Sir Cedric Morris, her early career as an instructor for the Flower Club Movement and her interest in music and architecture.

The Garden Museum Reopening

18th November 2008

After four months of hard work and preparations the Garden Museum will open its doors on the 18 November with a new identity, a new interior and the first gallery in Britain dedicated to gardens and gardening.

For more information please contact:

Maria Arenas, Marketing and Publicity Officer

maria@gardenmuseum.org.uk

020 7401 8865 *831

Salvia for the Garden Sage.

We have Mexico to thank for most of the Salvia plants that are commonly grown in Mediterranean climate gardens. Given free draining soil and a hot sunny position the Salvia plants will thrive, and require only a little light spring pruning to keep them within the bounds of their allotted space. Flowering can be extended by removal of the spent blooms as can most herbaceous or shrubby herbaceous plants. Tender young shoots are attractive to snails and slugs which may shelter under the plants dense foliage though the plant growth will be more than a match for the mollusc’s appetite. Only in very hot conditions should you need to add water; and generally prune the flagging Salvia plant rather than begin watering it. 

Sage is easily grown from seed or propagated by cuttings but there are specialist nurseries and national plant collections which can provide rarer occurring varieties of sage plants, and should you wish to try something out of the ordinary, you may also like to consider planting Phlomis such as the Jerusalem Sage in your Mediterranean style garden.

Culinary salvia known as sage in some countries is a mainstay of the western European kitchen and is often added to dishes to enliven their taste. 

"Why should a man die, who has sage in his garden?"

Known across Eastern Europe and Asia for centauries as a medicinal plant Sage was considered a treatment for snakebites.  The Herb monger has useful information on sage use (amongst other herbs).

The Herbmonger 

National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens

National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens Garden Plant Conservation Gloucestershire Group, Reg. Charity No. 1065087

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Pests by nature

So far we have managed to keep garden pests in check without resorting to chemical sprays. A healthy bird population has helped and we try to provide habitat for insects which are pest preditors. The lizards, toads and snakes help too. Picking off grubs and caterpillars by hand and dispatching them by hand is not for the faint hearted but you can always wear gloves. Beneficial insects like ladybirds, butterflies and moths and are fairly easy to recognise in their adult form whilst in their larvae or caterpillar form are not so easy to identify.

 In the two photographs shown here one bug is feeding on a morning glory vine, a plant we are now eradicating from our displays and therefore not really much of a pest. The second creature is munching though the leaves of a much wanted Brugmansia (Datura) and had to be removed though it did not give up without a struggle. Where possible it is important to allow wild flowers (weeds) to bloom where they are food crops for the native insect population. In springtime it is our borage and other self seeded flowers which give a much needed boost to those much needed pollinating insects.