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.

Mas Sol i Vent - Catalunya

Jan and Steve have bought a Finca in the Terra Alta region of Catalunya. They are a resourceful couple and are developing a Mediterranean Garden despite the fact that their large plot came without either a water or power supply.

                           

As well as their garden blog Mas Sol i Vent (More sun and wind) about their horticultural exploits, they have a second blog which reveals how utilising new technologies they are now harvesting power from both the sun and the wind Back to basics on a Finca. 

If you are contemplating buying that home in the sun you will enjoy reading about the challenges that Jan and Steve have had to overcome. They are willing to share their new found knowledge by welcoming visitors who wish to become familiar with the lifestyle.

Canna leaves on the breeze.

Mulberry fool

The Mulberries are cropping well despite the lack of rain water. The berries are very sweet and they are attracting the attention of the builders as well as the wasps. Not sure yet which will sting me the most!

Frequent gusts of wind shake the over ripe fruit from the branches littering the ground with decaying pulp. This black gunge is walked into the house staining the newly laid tiled floors.
I pick as much as I can use and freeze and leave the rest to the birds, bugs and builders.

The trees grow well here, and I see the fruit being sold in the local supermarkets at 4€ a kilo.
Mulberries have a short season and I am not sure how many people would be needed to pick and market the fruit if I plant more trees.

Just found this button - €, probably going to have to use it a lot from now on! Isn't technology wonderful when it works?