Build, Buy, or Restore

Christmas holidays saw our return to Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Isles which lay just 90 Kms. off the west coast of Africa. Due to the year round mild climate which averages 82 degrees F. the islands are known as the Fortunate Isles, ideal for snowbirds like Carol. Most of our latest trip seemed to be spent in the offices of the inmobillaria. Los Cristianos in particular seems to be home to the world collection of real estate vendors. Given the high level of prices for what is apparently poor quality property in Tenerife, the islands should be renamed the Fortune Isles.

We were looking for a large house on a sizable plot by Tenerife standards, were many of the older properties are little more than converted agricultural buildings. Our wish list was for a house of 200m2 on a plot between 2000 m2 and 10,000 m2. With the stipulation that it was within a short walk to the nearest village.

Our search took us inland looking at the area between Granadilla to the east and Guia de Isora to the west. Google earth gives a fair impression of the hilly terrain.

Above 550 metres high can be quite cool in winter and a bit hotter in summer so we tried to stick below that level on our search.

To Build, Buy, or Restore was our dilemma. A self build would probably be our favourite option. Though we tried to keep our minds open to the other possibilities too.

Modern or renovated Villas found in urban settings often had as little as 600 m2 of land. Far too small for us to make a new garden in, at least one that would occupy us in the years to come; even those on larger plots often had difficult access and rocky terrain.

Land in Spain which is designated as agricultural and is over 10,000 m2 allows you to build a house on 2% of that area. That could be bungalow style with a 200m2 footprint or a 100 m2 property footprint on two levels to give you 200 m2 of usable accommodation. Finding such a large plot near to a town proved to be impossible. Restoration was our other option. Older Spanish properties do not have insulation and they often come without central heating and double glazing. They also have flat roofs which are often used as solariums. Those solariums can prove to be a problem in older properties where poor maintenance allows water to enter the fabric of the house.

We were offered some interesting properties though none of them ‘ticked all the boxes’.

The garden elements of the properties we saw were often impressive with magnificent views over the Atlantic Ocean coastline across to the nearby islands of Gran Canaria and La Gomera. The mountainous terrain on the volcanic island of Tenerife is often tamed by the use of terraces; which create a pattern of narrow though fertile strips of land. This terraced feature is often seen in banana plantations and the cultivation of grape vines. A little rock in the land can be an asset when designing your garden if it is attractive i.e. weathed on the other hand if it is full of field stones like our present plot was then that is not so attractive.

The wide range of plants which can be grown in the mild climate also makes re-locating an interesting proposition to me. Colourful tropical species would be a delight to work with; blending them with the cactus and other desert plants in the arid zones would be the challenge. Is not that the type of challenge that keeps gardening interesting to so many people?

Eyes in the Sky

This photograph and the following one were taken by our neighbour who hired a helicopter to photograph his newly built house in the final phase of the construction. We had no idea who it was but realised that the chopper was paying us a lot of attention.

If I had known about the helicopter ride I would have offered to share the cost it would have been great to have an opportunity to photograph from the air.

The plot

This old aerial photograph shows the plot with the house at the top of the picture and the land extending to the bottom of the photograph; and in particular shows how little cultivated area there is.
The dark circle to the left of the photograph is a solitary fig tree. The trees to the right are a mixture of oak, pine and the occasional olive tree. Everything else on the land is poorly maintained grassland or rock and weed.

Our Finca is surrounded on two sides by open farmland used for centuries to grow barley or ordi as it known in Catalan, the Spanish regional language. The views are tremendous, open fields dotted here and there with farm buildings yield to rolling tree clad hills, and eventually to the Pyranean mountain range beyond. Those mountains are still snow capped in late May.

We are beginning to wonder what we have taken on!

Mediterranean garden, Spain

This blog will follow the development of our newly acquired Finca in respect of the creation of a garden on the 14,000m2 of weed infested and rock strewn wilderness. It remains to be seen whether the end will justify the means.

There are links on this site a to Villa Spain which deals with the development of the building on this plot; and a Fig from Figueres which deals with our everyday experiences.

Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.