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Forthcoming events
Saturday 16 January 2010 - 10.30 am – S'Arraco (Andratx)
Annual Pruning Workshop with Gabriel Bonet
We will meet at 10 am for a coffee at the house of Robin and Vicki Widdows, whose large garden plays host this year to the ever-popular pruning workshop by Gabriel Bonet. Gabriel is a local tree expert, whose entire working life has been devoted to the care and maintenance of all varieties of trees on the island. He is a professional pruner and grafter, and this workshop promises to be as interesting as ever, as he demonstrates to us the 'dos' and 'don'ts' of pruning trees, both fruiting and flowering. After a morning of work, and the usual myriad of questions, we will repair to the little seaside town of Sant Elm for a lunch of freshly-caught local fish.
Third week of February – Calonge and S'Horta
Visits to members' gardens
Renate Goldberger's garden is the well-established showpiece of a true plantswoman. Her knowledge and skill with mediterranean plants has made this garden one of the most varied we are lucky enough to visit, as the range of flora is quite extraordinarily diverse. The garden is interesting to see at any time of the year, but we chose mid-February this year as the massive drifts of anemones should then be at their most spectacular. After lunch we will visit Di Levinson's beautiful mature garden nearby. We have not been to this garden for a few years, so it will be nice to see how it has progressed. This is also a most interesting garden in its diversity, and altogether this promises to be a most enjoyable day. One comes away after listening to these two ladies with a whole new wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm.
Friday 12 March - 10.30 am – Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones, Soller
Talks by Jim Gardiner and Roy Lancaster
This is the horticultural highlight of our year, in that these two world-famous gardeners have agreed to come and share their knowledge and lifetimes of experiences with us in Mallorca. Jim Gardiner has just been promoted to Head Curator of all the RHS Gardens, after more than 20 years at Wisley, and Roy Lancaster needs no introduction as most of us will have heard him as a panelist on BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time, amongst other programmes. Both gentlemen are the authors of several books on the subject of horticulture, Jim Gardiner's speciality being magnolias, and Lancaster's being the flora of Nepal and China. A morning of talks will be followed by questions and answers, and then lunch in a nearby restaurant. Not to be missed!
First week in April - morning – Colonia San Jordi
Wildflower Garden Visits at the home of the Gouvenot-Gardiners
It will be the MGS' first visit to this garden, which promises to be a hidden treasure, surrounded as it is by meadows of wildflowers. These should be at their best in early April, so we are all looking forward to Marjorie's tour immensely. Lunch will be at the nearby Port Blau restaurant, followed by an afternoon visit to another garden new to the MGS, that of Tom McCutcheon and Terry Ellis. I am told this garden is also very beautiful, though I have not yet seen it, so this will be an exciting day with two 'firsts' for us all.
Third week in April - morning – Colonia San Jordi
Citrus Tree Pruning Workshop with Gabriel Bonet
Again, the Gouvenot-Gardiners host us for our very first citrus pruning workshop, led by expert pruner Gabriel Bonet. Gabriel will show us how to cut our trees in order to let in as much light and sun as possible, and to encourage the maximum growth of fruit. He will also talk about pests and mineral deficiencies in citrus trees. This workshop was organised by popular demand, and should be fascinating.
Tuesday 4 May - 11 am – Binissalem
Visit to private garden, Bini Agual
This is a coup, in that one of our members has persuaded the local owners of this magnificent, ancient garden to open it to a group of us, the first time it has been shown to outsiders for more than 30 years. The garden is historic and important, and we are very grateful to the owners for their generosity in sharing their home with us. They have also organised a lunch for us afterwards in their own restaurant in Binissalem. This will be a really enjoyable day.
Tuesday 11 May - morning – Felanitx
Visit to the Lindgens' White Garden
We visited the brand new 'White Garden' in its infancy last May, and were struck by the enormous amount of work that had gone into the planning and designing of it by landscape gardener Andi Lechte, one of our members. The garden is very large, designed on classical lines, and is all white, so cool and refreshing in the heat of the Mallorcan summer. We are all very excited to see how it is developing, and will be interested to hear how hostess Helene Lindgens and her husband Christian are managing such an enormous task. After lunch we will once again visit the magnificent garden of Hans and Gritli Liesenhoff. Last year the Liesenhoffs graciously opened their home to us, and overwhelmed us with the beauty of their garden. The fields of Lavanda angustifolia were reminiscent of Provence, the mature rose gardens of Kew, and the manicured, classical spaces were both relaxing and invigorating. A truly beautiful and elegant garden, this, and all the more appreciated for Gritli´s homemade cakes with tea at the end.
Mid June - 2 or 3 days
Visit to Ibiza
We are hoping to organise a group trip to our neighbouring island to spot some private gardens (well-kept secrets) and see the local flora. This has not yet been worked upon, but we hope to be under way in the New Year.
Past events
June 2009
Visits to a Garden in the Making and a Well-Established Garden
Son Muda, a dream come true - a garden in the making
Many people claim to dream in colour, but at the renovated 300-year old finca, Son Muda, the owners are dreaming all in white. Forty MGS members were treated to a feast for the senses at this two-month-old garden in the making — and how interesting it was. Designed by the owner, with the professional advice and help of Andi Lechte, one of our branch members, this 15,000 square metre garden is coming to life as a place where the owners’ friends can come to relax, unwind, and soothe their souls. Planned on parallel lines and symmetrical rectangles, the garden encompasses different 'rooms', in which are planted row upon row of Convolvulus, Westringia and Rosmarinus. Zoysia will be planted shortly as a no-mow grass substitute, and white lavender, gauras and salvias are already in place attracting thousands of bees and butterflies. Allium, Deutzia, Melaleuca, Statice... the list is endless, all white and all planted in a specially prepared mixture of coco peat, humus, soil and lava stone. This soil is free-draining, but moisture-retentive and most beds will eventually be mulched with sun-reflecting lava gravel.
The Tibetan knot garden, a never-ending design planted in Buxus, is a tribute to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as an affectionate reminder of the owners’ two Tibetan terrier dogs. Shade is provided by old wild olive trees, under which a 'room' of clipped Teucrium and olive balls is the setting for a pretty seat on which to relax and admire the symmetry beyond.
The garden is completely ecological. No artificial chemicals being used in its maintenance, it is fertilized with a liquid mixture of sheep urine and iron, and watered by a drip system using water from the property´s well. We were given a wonderful lunch under the old trees after our tour of the garden, and we all enjoyed a chance to cool off on a very hot day with a glass of ice-cold rosé wine. It was particularly interesting for us to see the garden before it was finished, and we hope to be able to return as it develops and matures. A big thank you to the owners for sharing their dreams with us.
Sally Beale
Can Estel – A Well-Established Garden/Park
The retired owners bought the property of Can Estel in 1991, and set about clearing the land and building a large house to provide a holiday home for their extended family and themselves. A well was dug to provide water for the new garden they were to create, and rainwater tanks were constructed under the house and in the garden. Since then the garden has expanded year by year so that it now encompasses almost all of the 33,000 square metre plot. It is a heavenly place, with a truly peaceful feeling, and we all fell under its spell.
From the terrace we immediately came upon the 'shade house', a large room made of wooden slats, painted dark green, with a central fountain, where the owner places the plants she has propagated to acclimatize them to the outdoors before they are planted out. In here we found all manners of exotica, and the feeling was very reminiscent of the glass houses at Kew, though cooler and shadier inside.
Continuing along the path we entered a scented garden, then an ornamental garden adorned with large old topiaries of Buxus and Pistacia. At the end of every avenue or path we came upon replicas of antique sculptures. The god Dionysus himself looked down upon us at several turns in the path, and guided us down to the most astonishing sight of all, an entire field of Lavandula angustifolia in full and glorious scented bloom. Above this rose ancient carob trees whose shade made a delightful contrast to the colour of the mauve flowers in the full sun. Turning a corner, we came upon the citrus orchard, each tree under-planted with a hedge of Pittosporum to add interest. Next was the soft fruit orchard where gardeners were picking yellow plums for us to enjoy later on. Behind this was an iron structure, built to give the feel of being in a room with no walls and no ceiling: just a skeleton of a room outdoors. This led to the English Rose garden, no longer in bloom in late June, and thence to the infinity swimming pool, flanked by high green hedges, with an open vista to the view beyond and a white marble statue of a reclining nude lying peacefully at the far end.
A place of utter tranquillity and charm, this established garden delights the eye and the senses, and engenders a feeling of calm. In winter the owners can sit by the rushing torrent of a natural stream which flows across the property at times of high rainfall. As well as being a master gardener, the owner is also an excellent cook and we were treated to a delicious homemade apple cake and coffee as we relaxed in the shade. We so appreciated their hospitality and look forward to returning to their magical garden in the future.
Sally Beale
Son Muda, the future white garden.
Lavender and carob tree.
Agapanthus, rosemary and white convolvulus.
Can Estel, the view from the terrace.
Can Estel's topiary.
The Shade House.
The torrent at Can Estel.
Photographs by Mark Whiting
June 2009
Son Muleta
The visit to the beautiful garden at Son Muleta was inspiring. As you approach the property you are struck by an immediate emotional response. It certainly has a ‘genius loci’: the owner’s idea was ‘to plant a garden that would fit into the landscape, not exactly wild, but definitely mediterranean’. With the help of Heidi Gildemeister’s book on low-water gardening, and in only five years, she has completely transformed this previously abandoned olive and almond farm. Low water consumption has become a necessity since, having failed to find a water source (despite digging a very deep but ultimately dry exploratory borehole), they have to rely on tanker delivery for the water supply.
The existing soil was very thin and lacked humus, so the owner imported a large amount of topsoil to support the new plantings. The shrub and herbaceous plantings surrounding the house are of a restricted palette of greens, whites and blues. The planting is typically mediterranean with a mixture of plants such as Pistacia lentiscus, Pinus, Phoenix, Rosmarinus, Echium, Lavandula, Agapanthus and Tulbaghia. On the terraces, and occasionally through the main planting, are pinks and reds provided by roses and pots of pelargoniums.
The wilder areas of the garden, which extend upwards away from the house and merge into the wild, include typical native flora such as seasonal wild flowers, orchids (Barlia robertiana), wild olive, Pinus, carob (Ceratonia siliqua), grasses (particularly Ampelodesmos mauritanicus), Cistus salviifolius and Pistacia lentiscus.
An especially effective focal point in the garden is the bench (painted a lilac blue), sitting perfectly at the end of the aromatic path through lavender, sage and rosemary. The stone statue also works well under the Cupressus arch.
Overall, I think we all saw how well simplicity, scale, proportion and rhythm have created a very harmonious garden.
Can Beya
Sally Beale’s garden in S’Arraco was another garden we were lucky to visit. Some members had seen Sally’s garden before, but they too were keen to see how it had matured and developed. Sally’s garden is extremely steep, which, while I’m sure it gives a bit of a headache when working in it, provides amazing views over the village and valley below.
The garden was started in the summer of 2003 and took six weeks with a digger moving 600 tonnes of topsoil to provide a base in which to start the planting. The curving steps leading up through the garden invite you up to the upper levels and, as you pass under the wisteria-covered pergola, you experience a welcome shade from the summer sun. Perched above the entire garden is the infinity pool complete with a mini-kitchen so, once there, you can stay for the entire day.
Another notable feature of Sally’s garden is the ‘English Rose Garden’ she has created. The entire bed was a riot of every colour imaginable. All the roses came bare-rooted, posted in jiffy bags, from David Austin Roses in England. This bed certainly shows how well English roses withstand the mediterranean heat as long as they are given good soil conditions and an annual mulch of horse manure.
It was certainly amazing to think this garden is only six years old. The careful clipping of the wild olive and Pistacia lentiscus into topiary forms gives a real sense of age and structure to the garden. It is a very green and lush space, the mix of a large range of typically mediterranean plants giving a guarantee of interest and colour throughout the year.
Mark Whiting
Son Muleta blue bench focus
A mediterranean garden
The wilder areas of the garden merge into the wild
Can Beya water feature
Can Beya rose garden
Rhythm and simplicity
Photos by Mark Whiting
May 2009
Visit to the Languedoc
14 May
After a good night in our hotel, we met Gill Pound to start our walk in the garrigue countryside under a threatening and darkening sky. This 5-km circuit revealed an array of beautiful bulbs, flowers and shrubs in bloom – all growing among a cover of pine trees and scrub in stony ground. Rain poured from the skies. Gill generously provided shelter at her home for a delicious picnic lunch. Improved weather enabled us to see the specialist plant nursery and recently established garden which is home to an enormous range of drought-tolerant trees, shrubs and perennials.
During the afternoon we visited Liz and Jacques Thompson’s garden which they have restored over many years. Formal areas close to the house gave way to the periphery which is planted harmoniously to integrate with the hills beyond.
15 May
Arriving in Mèze, we met Olivier Filippi. He spoke enthusiastically about his theories
and practices for creating a garden with drought-tolerant plants. Strategies for propagation and management of young plants were explained and illustrated. Soil preparation prior to planting is essential, together with an appropriate watering regime during the first year (no drip systems here). Thereafter the plants should have healthy, deep root systems to enable them to cope alone with drought. These theories are successfully put into practice by growing a very strict selection of plants from a drought-tolerant list. This still gives us a portfolio of around 7,000 plants.
A walk through the garden with Olivier pointing out his views was a joy; the "dry river bed" reminded me of Beth Chatto’s gravel garden plantings. I am about to fly the flag, face the challenge of the dry south in Mallorca and plant Filippi’s way in September 2009.
After lunch at the charming port of Marseillan we visited the fascinating Jardin de St. Adrien at Servian. This testament to one’s man’s vision and enthusiasm is a prize-winning landscaped park created out of an abandoned quarry dating back to the Middle Ages.
16 May
Deep in Cathar country, day 3 allowed a brief detour from plants to visit mediaeval Minerve. Dramatically and strategically positioned on a natural causse between two rivers, Minerve withstood siege for five weeks in 1210 until its secret water source was destroyed. We visited the Archaeological Museum which the keeper then closed to allow us into the 11/12th century church with a foot-long key. The 5th-century stone altar, covered in ancient graffiti, was lit by tiny windows high in the walls. But the abiding memory of Minerve is the white stone stele with the blue sky visible through the shape of a bird on the wing. It commemorates the 180 Cathar "parfaits", their "bons hommes" (priests), burnt at the stake on this spot.
After a splendid lunch overlooking vineyards and the snow-covered Pyrenees beyond, we headed for the garden of La Bouichère at Limoux. The garden is spread over two hectares and there are many aromatic and perfumed perennials which are suitable for the dry garden, together with trees and shrubs.
17 May
The annual Plant Fair is held at the Abbaye de Fontfroide which is being beautifully restored by volunteers. Cut flowers, cactus, vegetable plants, herbs, perennial plants and shrubs were all for sale. Within the Abbey many artisans had stands selling hand-made paper, turned wood, ceramics and stone masonry. Members of the Languedoc and Catalan Branches were there and joined us for a packed lunch, after which we were given an illuminating talk by the MGS Seedbank coordinator, Chantal Guiraud.
Time then to head for our cars, and drive to Barcelona to catch the overnight ferry to Mallorca. A varied programme had been highly successful and informative for all of us, and thanks go to all those in France and Mallorca who planned the programme.
By Marjorie Gouvenot-Gardiner, Peta Jensen and Andrew Beith.
The Group
Liz and Jacques' garden
At Olivier Filippi's
Minerve
Fontfroide Flower Fair
Photos by Marjorie Gouvenot-Gardiner, Jacques Thompson and Andrew Beith.
April 2009
Garden and Organic Farm Visit
Garden, Xarbet
The name of the property is Xarbet, a Mallorcan word meaning "murmur of water". From most areas of the garden you can hear the sound of water falling, providing you with a feeling of peace and while all your senses are filled with the different scents and colours.
The garden is 15 years old and contains nearly 300 plant varieties. Its design is strongly influenced by Renaissance Italy. With this garden, I was attempting to recreate the real antique Balearic garden and its italianate roots. Around 1650, a very intelligent man, Cardinal Despuig, brought from Italy many architects and landscape designers to build most of the beautiful manors of those days in Mallorca. That is why I tried to incorporate from this period all the essential elements of antique Italian gardens: pergolas, fountains, columns, urns and the extensive use of water. I also used many typical plants such as laurels, cypresses, olive trees, citruses, roses, Buxus, Viburnum tinus, etc.
The patio is inspired by the very Mallorcan “clastra”, a space surrounded by the house, with pebbles laid in the pavement, many doors and walls covered by lemon trees, hibiscus, Trachelospermum jasminoides and balls of Pittosporum tobira ‘Nana’. The ensemble is presided over by a Roman fountain in at the centre.
On the terrace, pale flowers in white and blue cover the two big pergolas that embrace the area. In the 8 symmetrical squares, white iceberg roses are surrounded by Buxus, with lemon trees (four seasons) in pots. These pots have no bottom, allowing the roots to grow properly to their full size. Big egg-shaped laurels and cypresses frame this garden. On both sides of the terrace, two different gardens can be found, one more influenced by the English style, with roses, salvias, pomegranates, white lagerstroemia, Solanum etc., while the other comprises pink lagerstroemia, roses and two 600–year-old olive trees (each of them weighed more than 10 tons when we planted them).
The swimming pool is surrounded by two parallel walls of cypresses and bougainvilleas shaped as big bushes. Columns and palm trees (Phoenix canariensis) extend the main axis, while a lawn takes you to the paddle tennis court. Both sides are planted with pink and mauve flowers, with grey and variegated leaves in the middle of a small plantation of orange trees.
Below, instead of a typical orchard, I decided to plant tangerine and orange trees, flanking a long cascade that points towards the mountains. The mixed borders contain hardy species that normally require water only twice a week, and no fumigation. The colours of these plants are bright and match the tangerine and orange trees behind them. There is a big collection of Hemerocallis that blooms till November.
The owner.
We arrived punctually at 10.30 a.m. all of us eagerly anticipating the sounds of water in a garden which was started 15 years ago. The entrance through the courtyard with a central Roman fountain has terracotta pots filled with agapanthus. Lemon trees together with hibiscus and other shrubs clothe the walls. On the south side of the house a spectacular cascade leads the eye to the mountains beyond with fruit trees and mixed borders coordinating their colours. The strong lines of formality in the garden are enhanced with superb specimens of Cupressus stricta. All is cleverly softened with arches, pergolas and other perennial plants. The avenue of Phoenix canariensis leading to the paddle tennis court is softened by underplantings of Iris, Echium candicans and other shrubs. Can Xarbet has matured with dignity since its inception.
Marjorie Gouvenot-Gardiner.
Organic Farm, Son Barrina
Son Barrina is an organic farm outside the village of Llubi, started 11 years ago by a Canadian woman, Connie Brent. She has converted a citrus grove into outdoor vegetable gardens, poly tunnels, a family home and accommodation for WOOFERS (Workers On Organic Farms). This is a world-wide organization for unpaid volunteers who live and work on family farms for several months. Connie uses biodynamic principles, with good soil structure being the underlying principle for avoidance of pests and diseases. Her own cows and sheep provide manure to be used as fertilizer. A small shop selling fresh produce has expanded to include walk-in cold lockers and a wide selection of organic products, from exotic grains to health and beauty products. Connie has realized her dream, and Son Barrina has loyal customers from all over Mallorca.
Carol Jackson.
Xarbet, the long cascade that points to the mountains
The orchard
Son Barrina
Photographs by Marjorie Gouvenot-Gardiner
November 2008
A talk on Mediterranean planting and a cutting workshop by Heather Angrave
Heather Angrave runs a Callistemon nursery in Kent, which houses the National Callistemon Collection as well as a huge range of sub-tropical plants. She is an expert on propagation by cuttings and shared some of her tricks and secrets for success with us last November at a special workshop. The event took place at the home of Cindy Evans in Esporles and was quite challenging in a number of unexpected ways. First, an archipelago-wide power cut left us in the dark, listening to our speaker by candlelight in the glow of a roaring log fire for warmth. Cindy ran back and forth filling up the loos with buckets of water from the well, and resetting the lunch table with dozens of candles so that we could see to eat. It was like the old days on Mallorca, and I think most of us thought it rather fun.
Heather emphasised strongly that the most important thing to be aware of when planting a garden here is the alkalinity of the soil. Plant only those plants which will tolerate such conditions, she told us, and do not bother to try to enrich the soil but live with it as it is, feeding only ericaceous plants, as well as applying iron to those which show signs of chlorosis. For a new garden, first choose plants which will shade and protect others, such as Eucalyptus, or Acacia which will quickly provide shade for those coming next. After these, Heather suggested planting Russelia equisetiformis and Grevillea, with Correa as ground cover, and recommended applying a soft mulch to all plants to provide protection for the roots. A woody mulch was not a good idea, she said, as it is very slow to rot, and bacteria leach out of it and strip the nutrients from the soil. After 12-18 months your new plants should be established and need little watering if their roots are kept cool.
Heather mentioned some highly suitable plants for getting going in the garden, amongst them anything from Western Australia where the soil is similar to ours. These include the Protaceae family, a huge group including Grevillea and Banksia. Grevillea will tolerate extremes of heat and cold, is coastal-tolerant and flowers for 10 months of the year. Melaleuca gibbosa is a small shrub with mauve pompons which also flowers for a long period, and Anigozanthos (Kangaroo paw) is a clump-forming perennial, long-flowering and tough. Anigozanthos flavidus is the easiest species to grow. Lotus hirsutus (syn. Dorycnium hirsutum) is a pretty ground cover plant, while the correas comprise a huge variety of foliage and are tough, as is the pretty Eremophila glabra 'Peaches and Cream'. The cultivar E. glabra 'Poorinda Mary' is particularly architectural. Buddleja grows well in our soil and is tolerant and easy as long as it is pruned back hard in spring.
After our candlelit lunch, Heather gave us a demonstration of how to strike cuttings. She made it sound almost foolproof and told us she never bothers to sterilise her pots or her compost but always transplants some bacteria from the parent plant into the potting soil. This gives the little cutting a head start in rooting, as the symbiotic bacteria are already with it rather than having to be established slowly over time. Do not allow your cuttings to become pot-bound as they will then be much harder to establish in the garden, and do make sure they are not twisted in the pot and that there is an even spread of roots at the top.
This was a really interesting day, and Heather managed to demystify the slightly scary world of cuttings by making it sound simple and fun. We hope she will come and talk to us again and help us onward in the development of our Mediterranean gardens.
Thank you to Cindy for her hospitality and delicious lunch, and for her stoicism and good humour in the face of adversity.
Sally Beale
November 2008
A visit to Heidi Gildemeister’s garden
In the first week of November a lucky group of twenty members were invited to view the wonderful mountain garden created by Heidi and her husband thirty years ago among the rocks and crags of the high Tramuntana. While on a hike one day they stumbled upon a beautiful and remote valley at an altitude of 400 metres, were overwhelmed by the grandeur and spirituality of the place, and decided to make it their home.
The difference in temperature from the valley floor was noticeable immediately on that sunny autumn day, being two degrees cooler at the top. Up a long and curving driveway of 6.3 kilometers we climbed, surrounded by ancient olives and natural woodland, until we reached a plateau grazed by sheep which resembled a neatly kept park. Huge old olives which had been badly mutilated by heavy snow some decades ago, and then cut by poor shepherds to feed their flocks, were gradually filling in; they led us to a vista of Heidi’s entranceway, flanked by Pistacia lentiscus clipped neatly into an avenue of large balls. The effect was as impressive as the entrance to any grand house. We then proceeded on to a meandering tour of the mountain garden, on a narrow path which wandered around its contours, revealing at each turn enormous old Quercus ilex trees and stunning views of the sea beyond.
Heidi explained that she had wanted her garden to be as be as natural as possible, totally self-sustaining, and not requiring any water other than rain. For this reason, any plant which seeds itself is left to grow, unless it becomes a problem to the plants surrounding it. There were thousands of bulbs, Muscari, Iris, Puya, Amaryllis belladonna among them, mostly from South Africa or the Mediterranean. These are divided and replanted when necessary. Haemanthus albiflos and Vinca lined the paths, along with Agapanthus, Crataegus, Plectranthus, orchid cactus, and winter-flowering pelargoniums. Abutilon, Thunbergia gregorii and Melianthus major, rare cussonias, and crassula for ground cover all made a splendid show. There was a little wild rose growing out of a huge rock, which had seeded itself and was there when Heidi first came, next to an Eriocephalus which bears white flowers in winter. Shading all this glory were stately Quercus ilex, the oldest of which can boast an age of some 800 years, and under whose benign shade a Mahonia was happily growing. A Carissa macrocarpa bore scented white stars like a Gardenia, and everywhere was the sound of sheep bells tinkling in the valley beyond and a full choir of birdsong from the trees. The entire garden is evergreen and requires no extra watering whatsoever, being completely reliant on rain and dew, and provides a year-round home for many birds and animals.
Heidi told us she no longer bothers to wait for compost to rot down but spreads chippings directly from the shredder to act as mulch, as well as laying pruned Washingtonia leaves upon the ground to shade the soil, which had a certain decorative effect.
The plant species we saw thriving in this wonderful place are too numerous to name, but the overall effect was magical. A shaded woodland park, designed and built around Nature’s features, it is a place which enhances the beauty of the site without competing with it or distracting from it. To me, this is real Art, and as we arrived at the snug stone house, nestling under an enormous cirque in the Tramuntana, fronted by lawn, and surrounded by roses and lavender, I was humbled by the vision and skill of our hosts, who had identified so completely with their surroundings. Black vultures soared above us as we enjoyed tapas on the lawn, the blue, blue sea in front and the granite pillars of the mountains behind, with little snowdrops winking at us from under the shade of the house walls.
For me this house and garden demonstrate the very ideal of living in harmony with nature, in sympathy with the environment and with the spirit of the place. There is a timeless feel, magnified by the sound of the torrent roaring below and the movement of the sea in the distance. Though envy is one of the seven deadly sins, I must confess to a need to suppress an upsurge of that emotion, and I suspect I was not alone in my feelings.
Thank you to the Gildemeisters for their generous hospitality in sharing their paradise with us, and also to Marianne for organizing such a memorable day.
Sally Beale
Photo by Sally Beale
February 2009
Gardeners’ Question Time Mallorca Style
By popular request, we repeated last year’s Gardeners’ Question Time, and I don’t doubt that it will become a fixed yearly event from now on.
Marianne Beith welcomed everyone, especially new members, and introduced the panel of Elsbeth Stoiber and Helmut Michi. Their extensive scientific and horticultural backgrounds made them uniquely qualified to answer, authoritatively and entertainingly, the range of questions put to them.
Questions included: the uses of chemical fertilizers, manure and compost in Mallorca; how to get rid of cochineal; how to grow hollyhocks; how to save an old lemon tree whose trunk had split at its crotch; and whether planting times should be changed in view of recent adverse weather conditions. Samples of diseased or unidentified plants were brought and, at the end of the formal session, a lively group gathered around the experts with their materials. After three and a bit hours, all forty of us were quite happy to go to lunch and continue the discussion. After lunch we returned to Can Mel for a very successful plant exchange. 
Photo by Valerie Janes
Information
Pine tree pests
The theme of this meeting was the fight against two pine tree pests faced by the woodland gardener: processional caterpillars (Pytiocamba) and Tomicus (a beetle that breeds in pine bark, formerly known as Blastophagus). The latter has increased so rapidly since the hurricane of November 2001 that one can fairly speak of a plague.
On April 15th Mr Oriol, forest engineer from the Ministry of the Environment of the Balearic Government, explained the situation of these two different pests on damaged trees in and around a member's garden, south of Manacor.
The cycle of Pytiocamba goes through four stages: egg, caterpillar, cocoon and butterfly. The largest part of this life cycle is spent as a caterpillar when 50-100 caterpillars spin themselves into nests, clearly visible in the treetops. The caterpillars eat a lot, taking their food from the pine needles. The greater the infestation, the greater the damage to the tree will be. The caterpillars' eating of the needles will not in itself kill the tree, but if the attack is very great and happens repeatedly the tree can be seriously weakened. This favours attacks by diseases or by boring insects such as Tomicus.
The Tomicus life-cycle is: egg, larva and beetle, the latter being brown-black. The signs of an attack are sap volcanoes, where the mature beetles have bored holes into the rough bark in order to lay their eggs, and/or a yellowing of the crown needles where the young beetles have gone to build up strength before mating. Extensive breeding sites for Tomicus have been created in recent years by (1) the hurricane of 2001 and the resulting dead wood which was mostly not cleared until a year later, (2) extensive forest fires in the nearby hills three years ago, and (3) the droughts of the last few years. Tomicus attacks healthy trees and can kill them. It does so by laying eggs in the bored holes, from which the larvae spread out eating their way around the trunk if they circle the trunk, the sap will no longer flow and the tree dies. There are different species of Tomicus, with some of them breeding a number of times in the year.
What can one do ?
Processional caterpillars can be dealt with by cutting off the nests and burning them, setting up sexual traps which catch the males (the bait for such traps can be had from SEMILLA in the Agricultural Ministry in Palma, Tel. 971 176100), shooting the nests with special shotgun pellets, or spraying. Mr. Parrilla from the firm WILL KILL told us that the fight against Tomicus was much more difficult, especially since there are different species with different breeding cycles, which can also vary with the climate; moreover the only systemic treatment had been outlawed by the EU as being too toxic. He spoke of the necessity of vigilance and of an integrated fight against the beetle, including clearance of dead wood and spraying. We ourselves have begun to spray the pines with a biological spray several times a year. Whether this will prove successful or not is unknown. In the forestry business in Germany, each affected tree is felled, as well as all those trees within a ten-metre radius. Then all the felled trunks are burned. In Mallorca as a whole, however, with its park-like spaced-out pine trees, such a radical cure is not financially viable and fires are strictly forbidden from May to November.
Signe Groos
Branch Head Sally Beale writes:
"My relationship with Mallorca goes back a long way, as I spent holidays here with my family from the age of 8, and then in 1982, when I was 23, moved here to live with my future husband. He had rebuilt an old stone  ruin in a beautiful agricultural valley, surrounded by mountains and only 3 kilometres from the sea. When I moved in there was no garden at all, just 5,000 m2 of overgrown terraces and scrubby hillside which we did not bother with, having no access to a well. My experience of mediterranean gardening was strictly limited to an ever-increasing number of pots around the house. Over the years the pots began to take over, and Graham and I decided to bite the bullet and create a garden out of the wild hillside behind the house. This has been a huge success; our garden now thrives as a haven for insects and wildlife and is a joy to us every day. I have learnt everything I know by trial and error as I have gone along, and benefit enormously from my membership of the MGS, whose members are a constant fount of knowledge and interest. I am always delighted to hear new ideas and tips from anyone and am looking forward to taking over as branch head for Mallorca in 2010."
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