My Garden In Spain (help needed)

Hello there,

I posted an overview In the new members section about the garden that came with the house I just bought In Spain. Now I'm posting a few pictures of individual plants and trees that I'd like to bring back to health with your help. I'm an absolute newbie so I don't even know the names of these trees. A watering routine would be most appreciated because I don't want to give too much or too little. I mentioned that I'd only be around for half the month.

The pictures below are the ones that seem to need most help, amd although the creeper on the bandstand was actually in good health when i first saw the place last Feb, it's sadly going a bit brown now.

I'm also bothered by the trees by the perimiter, the ones that are typically used for privacy, as a number of them seem to have died, and a few others seem on the way out, so I'd really like to revive those too..

 

Hello, welcome to GC. That's a bit of a sad sight isn't it? If your climate is anything like (or drier) than SW France, plants simply won't survive without regular watering. @pete and @strongylodon will be better able to identify the plants, but from the top, I think you've got: The shrubs are possibly Pittosporum tobira, the palm is Phoenix canariensis, the trees could be Lagerstroemia, the perimeter conifers are goners...with very few exceptions, conifers don't rejuvenate. Then Choisya or Pittosporum tobira..they might respond to hard pruning and regular watering. The climber looks like Hedera canariensis 'Gloire de Marengo' (ivy). It takes a lot to kill that off, so again, regular watering might save it.
Apart from the conifers and the ivy, I think that it's going to be a case of pruning off the obviously dead, smaller branches, organising some sort of irrigation for when you're not there and then waiting to see what happens! Good luck!

 

Yes to use a technical term, it all looks a bit crispy.
Some of the shrubs are saveable with water and pruning.
Two very nice cycads that you really must save imo.
I agree with @noisette47 that the cypress trees are probably not going to recover well.
Get some heavy watering to the shrubs and see what recovers.

I think you will really need an irrigation system if you are leaving it unattended in the summer months .

 

My goodness Richard, do you live in a parkland? Bandstand? All those benches by the lawn.

It almost looks like the fire crossed over you! I see irrigation lines in one or two places ... Ia it connected to anything?

I am afraid I can only identify the Cycads also. I would remove the dead "skirts" and they are fit to go. They should look like this ...


I agree the biggest job is to remove the dead to revive the living. You have a massive job ahead. Can you find a gardener nearby to help?

 

If you are allowed to use the watering system I would get it working now if you want to save anything.

 

Looks a fantastic space! Is the grass artificial? It seems very green compared to the plants.

Saving what you can will give you a structure to then work new plants around. Keeping some large plants that provide shade will be helpful.

I'd say it is quite a long-term project so don't get disheartened if it doesn't look like Kew Gardens (or similar) immediately. Gardening is quite a slow paced activity, especially if you want to develop something that can look after itself for periods.

 

Thanks for all the info, it is indeed a fantastic property, and the garden does look and feel a lot like a park; shame I'm maybe a bit too old to consider a slide or roundabout.. they'd actually go quite well.

I tore up the irrigation system in order to re-do it, in order to know exactly what's what, so in the meantime, it's hose and buckets in the evenings..but should i do this daily? And to get technical myself, how many buckets worth roughly? I thought that those cycads needed less water but I'll leave it to you, i am at least aware that there is such a thing as over watering..

I have actually already saved a couple of trees since I moved in, and am very pleased about that, i'll post a few more pics tomorrow and let me know what you think. The idea is to add a lot more greenery but obviously want to get to grips with what i have first.

And yes ViewAhead, the grass is artificial, though it really looks good, if a little lumpy.

A real shame about the conifers; of course there are obviously dead ones, but I wonder If the ones that are merely faded or turning brown be rejuvenated? And if so would that be a daily watering?

 

Are there any watering restrictions to conserve supplies where you are? If not, I would water some of those plants daily for now to maximise their chances of revival. You can overwater, but I would think that would be unlikely in a Spanish summer, and is less of an issue for plants in the ground than in pots anyway. Some of the water will evaporate and some will drain away from the roots. (I'm assuming the soil is free draining.)

You can usually tell if a plant is thirsty by the leaves. If these are limp, in a hot climate that probably indicates water is needed. With conifers, etc, that method doesn't work, of course.

 

Does it get cold in your part of Spain in winter, just out of interest regarding possibly planting more drought tolerant plants.
Looking at the privacy trees, it looks like you could save some of them, take the dead ones out and replant with some fair sized ones of the same type, but again irrigation would be needed for them to establish I would assume.

 

I agree with the above. The irrigation system must have been put in for a reason, to keep the garden alive. I would also suggest, reinstate the watering system as you are not going to be around for long periods so stand the chance of losing more plants.

 

Until I set up the irrigation I'm ensuring that someone will be here to do the watering. There is this gizmo that I took a picture of that seems to be something to do with watering, but i think it's knackered. Anyone know what it does?

Being inland it does get cooler in winter, not sure about water restrictions but I certainly hope not or I'm in big trouble. There is a well though so I'll just work on getting the pump working.

Anyway, on a happier note here are a few pictures of some of the other lovely plants etc.. including a couple of trees that I brought back to life although I did however note while I was snapping away that one of the big pine trees seems to be a bit poorly..should I water It do you think? I wonder why that one tree seems to be out of sorts because the others seem healthy enough..i was told that i needn't water the big trees; is that info correct?

 

I think you will be hard pushed to water mature trees.

 

Rain Bird are a well known irrigation company and that looks like one of their water timers/controllers. It will have a model number/name on it. Have a look here at their site if you get the model you will likely be able to download a manual. The system likely had watering going to the plants that need it, big trees don't.

 

That looks such a lovely garden. I hate the heat, so the location wouldn't suit me, but if I could transport it here ...

Mature tree roots travel a long, long way from their trunks, so watering round the base doesn't do a lot. If one is not thriving but others of the same type in the same area are, it probably isn't a watering issue anyway.

 

Looking at your pics. I have noticed lengths of cable on a wall and on the ground which I assume are power or irrigation hoses. That should tell you your garden needs a lot of regular watering to keep the plants alive. Your handy man will have a job to keep everything watered enough to keep them alive. The problem with intermittent watering is it encourages plants to send their roots up towards the damp soil rather than down, shallow roots in hot dry conditions usually means plants cannot get enough water so die, especially large specimens, which is why some of your trees have sadly died.
Hopefully you will be able to get the automatic watering system up and running soon.
Good luck.