February 2009 - Sparoza – First Impressions
The spirit of gardeners often lives on in their gardens long after they have departed. I felt certain this was true when I visited Sparoza in February of this year and I think it would be a rare visitor who left without understanding something of the character and vision of its creator, Jacky Tyrwhitt.
For those of us who have the impatience born of inexperience and a yearning for fabulous results (preferably within months), Sparoza is an antidote. If you also suffer from this disinclination to wait, you should take yourself to Sparoza. Once there, choose almost any corner to sit in, take in the view, and you too will soon realise that truly excellent gardens are not created in a hurry. This is very clearly a garden which has evolved steadily and, more importantly, a garden that will continue to do so.
When I wandered through the garden I was taken by the seamless transition from the more structured and familiar planting of the terrace areas and those closer to the house to that of the uncontrived and more rugged hillside area. It is a garden of great diversity and it manages to sit very comfortably in the stunning surroundings of the Attica region.
Perhaps a little perversely, I found the distant view of the runway at Athens airport and its supporting network of toll roads and railways rather attractive. They seemed to make the garden more relevant to its place in the 21st century.
The range of plants is superb. There is little of an exotic nature and this, of course, is entirely appropriate. New planting and ideas are incorporated as circumstances and opportunities allow and often arrive in the form of gifts brought by an MGS member or friend. The old adage of ‘something for every season’ is very apparent and the photographs detail some of the highlights seen in February of this year.
Water-wise gardening is a common theme for all of us and it is well practised at Sparoza. If, like me, you also have an interest in protecting and nurturing our natural environment, then you would like the organic principles and practices well in evidence in this garden. The successful use of composting, the nurturing of micro and local ecosystems, thoughtful planting and good old fashioned hard work (instead of pesticides, chemicals and artificial fertilizers) set an example to many other gardens which have far greater resources than those of Sparoza.
Duncan Munford
The southern end of the terraces with pots of Pelargonium, a small
Caragana tree, Pavonia praemorsa and Geranium maderense
in front of Atriplex halimus.
The path above the top terrace. To the left, the green leaves
of Hemerocallis and beyond them Rosa ‘Mermaid’, still
bare; to the right, a pomegranate tree not yet in leaf.
The steps up between the terraces. On the right a very old
Rosmarinus officinalis and above it Eriocephalus africanus
with a few flowers.
Beside the ‘threshing floor’. In the background are three large domes
of Euphorbia dendroides and a variegated Agave. In the left foreground
is Ptilostemon chamaepeuce, with the succulent Cotyledon orbiculata beside it;
in the centre a large old Ptilostemon has been removed and a small young one
planted to replace it.
The path on the hillside with the yellow native Greek wallflower Erysimum cheiri.
On the right Euphorbia characias; in the left foreground bearded irises and the
variegated leaves of Lamium maculatum.
Mandragora autumnalis growing in ‘Derek’s garden’, an area devoted
to Greek native plants and bulbs.
Looking north along the terraces. The deciduous tree in the foreground
is Ulmus parvifolia.
The north end of the house seen from the phrygana area with green
clumps of Asphodelus aestivus not yet in flower.
Looking north from the end of the terraces at the pools and hillside,
with Derek Toms’ owl totem. On the right side of the Cupressus
arizonica, which has sweet-scented foliage, are Medicago arborea,
Pittosporum tobira and rosemary.
Anemone coronaria on the hillside.
Looking southwest from Sparoza over the motorway to the hills
The nursery, where plants are propagated for the garden and for MGS members.
The shrubbery on the left of the front door with a lifted Pistacia lentiscus,
a Senecio spp. and a large Rosa 'Iceberg'.
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