At the end of the winter here it is difficult to imagine it six months later. When it is wet it is very wet and any uncultivated ground is covered in a thick layer of lush green grass and various weedy annuals, all of which will disappear down to the thinnest lay of straw during the summer. Deciduous trees drop their leaves but that is the only thing that really tells you it is winter. Many of the summer-autumn flowers are still struggling on, for example we have various Salvia which are still in flower, but at the same time, the first spring flowers: the pure white Tazetta daffodils known as ‘paperwhites’ in England and ungrowable outside there, and Cyclamen coum, but then these quite often seem to flower in England in January. I hope to do well with cyclamen.
Coleonema pulchra, a compact little South African shrub with nicely aromatic foliage, flowering profusely over a relatively long period.
The Seasons
The seasons, those cycles of events of temperature, light and water that define the lives, plans and concerns of gardeners and growers are here all different. Different conjunctions of these factors cause plants to grow, but different plants at different rates and different times. Coming from south-west England we are used to spring being the start of growth of almost everything, and autumn the cessation of almost everything. The exceptions should flag up the greater complexity of growing anything from the Mediterranean climage region. Anyone in Britain or northern Europe is probably aware of the anomaly of globe artichokes (Cynara cardunculus) and Euphorbia characias growing so strongly during the winter. It took me a long time to really understand why, and then I started flagging up to people in workshops that much British weather is very much like a Mediterranean winter – yes, that's a sort of joke, but only sort of, i.e. cool and wet. Many Mediterranean plants are hardy (enough) to they do well in northern Europe, and their winter growth is perhaps not adequately appreciated.
Melianthus major, I would never have thought of trying this, but have seen it grow well in gardens near Toledo in Spain, which is a much harsher climate than central Portugal. They grow fantastically well and will flower this year.
Gardening here, in central Portugal, involves understanding that there are different cycles of growth which overlap rather than co-incide. Decidous trees leaf out in spring and drop their leaves in autumn, except that spring is so early and autumn so late, that the winter dormancy period is actually quite short. One of the 'natural trees' of the area by the way is Quercus robur/pedunculata, an obvious overlap with northern Europe. Sub-shrubs, grasses, perennials and annuals that are regional endemics start growth with the first rains in autumn and go dormant (or dead in the case of annuals) in early to mid summer. So winter is an active growing season. Things can grow insanely fast in both autumn and spring. IF there is water.
Phlomis x cytherea - one of the many garden-worthy Phlomis species. Longer-lived than most sub-shrubs of the region.
At the moment, there isn't water, as we have had almost no rain since before Christmas, and the whole country is in an official state of drought. Not unknown in 'normal' times but rare, and an obvious link to climate change. Scary. And frustrating. Knowing that it is warm enough for a lot of growth but everything just sits there waiting for the water to enable their physiology to function at a rate that allows for growth not just survival. The frightening thought that we may not have any rain until next autumn (this has been known to happen). The wild grass and flora just sits there looking sullen. We are already watering the veg, and since I just planted about 100 small shrubs I have had to water them, too. In February. All sorts of plans put on hold now. I may have to spend the rest of the year simply keeping stuff alive.
Pelargonium ‘Radula Rosea’ - this looks like it has taken off. But Pelargonium can be touch-and-go, as a lot of plants don’t seem to establish well.
Perennial stalwarts
The Mediterranean flora is immensely rich, but mostly in sub-shrubs and annuals/biennials: it is very poor in trees and not great for truly perennial perennials. Amongst the latter are some amazingly indestructible species, not always immediately predictable. Trachelium caeruleum is not something I have ever seen in Britain, and in Portugal frequents shade or cracks in walls, but as an open border plant is superb for its clusters of tiny purple flowers and attractive glossy foliage. Linaria is a good genus - L. genistifolia is extraordinarily tough, flowering in late spring, never going completely dormant in summer and then repeat flowering in autumn, its grey foliage is lovely, and the flowers a nice shade of yellow. Other Linaria do well too.
I want to try more of the fairly limited range of drought-tolerant perennials, such as Achillea, Nepeta and some Salvia, but these are only available as seed (from Jelitto) which precludes many cultivars. Plants you have to get from France or Germany; and actually my mail order experience so far has been good, and I’m hoping to get to Olivier Filippi in the spring.
Grasses The great thing about grasses is that they can go semi-dormant in the summer and still look reasonably ok. They contrast nicely with sub-shrubs too. Some need little water to establish - I have been astonished by the growth of Stipa tenuissima over the summer, which I never really bothered watering although having gone in as 25mm plugs in April. Locally native drought tolerant Festuca mairei though needs more water to keep it going through its first year, but seems ok in the second. This year I’m trying some Muhlenbergia, Eragrostis and Pennisetum species but am worried about aggressive seeding; I really don’t want to be the person who introduces the next invasive alien to this much abused landscape.
Echium candians - The ‘pride of Madeira’. Spectacular in flower, and loved by bees, but probably short-lived.
Risk management A big part of gardening here is risk management, which depends quite a bit on annual growth cycles. There are ‘continual growers’ like South American Salvia and Pelargonium, which grow whenever the temperature is warm enough and there is available moisture. It is possible to see how well they are doing quite quickly and they can make up for lost time, and recover well from drought or frost damage. The same applies to many sub-shrubs, which are clearly adapted to making the most of good conditions, and indeed seem to grow well at low temperatures. Bulbs are more problematic as being so cyclical in growth it takes more than one season to know if they are going to thrive. They will always pop up in year one, but to be sure it is worth investing in more it is necessary to see how well they perform in year two. Daffodils are definitely ‘in’, but then Iberia is their centre of genetic diversity, so they jolly well should be, snowdrops however don’t seem to really perform from year one, species tulips are still in year one. South African bulbs should be ideal, and the Ixias and Watsonias in some local gardens are wonderfully and clearly well-established. Obtaining them is another matter however.
Now, as winter turns to spring, we have lots of daffodils in flower, camellias - only big red cabbagey ones unfortunately, although I have planted quite a few single sasanquas, the first Pelargonium cultivars, a rather spectacular Senecio, and various of the odd assortment of southern hemisphere shrubs that the local nursery industry sells. Of the latter, South African Coleonema pulchra has been the most successful, and seems immune to the death-wish which seems to afflict many of the plants from both South Africa and Australia. Hardenbergia violacea has been a wonderful early-flowering climber; I remember growing them from seed when I had a nursery in the 1980s. It is a relatively small grower too – useful, as so many climbers are just so big and vigorous.
Hardenbergia violacea - a quick, easy and not too big, early-flowering climber.
That's the small sheltered garden at the side of the house. The largest areas I am planting up are further out in an old olive grove. These focus much more on regional flora, or plants from similar climate zones. This is much more about planting, doing some initial weed control and then leaving them to get on with it. I'm hoping for a quick meshing together of sub-shrub growth, interspersed with grasses. These are the sort of plants that grow quite strongly through the winter, or at least they did until it got so dry – I'm now even done some watering of young plants put in a couple of months or so ago; water now and they should be able to grow enough roots to get down to look after themselves when it gets really hot and dry.
For the record: species of Cistus, Halimium, Santolina, Salvia, Lavandula, Teucrium, and Pistacia lentiscus, Bupleurum fruticosum, Erica arborea. Grasses: Festuca mairei, Ampelodesmos mauritanicus, Stipa gigantea. Trying some Ceanothus too, from California these should be ideal but it is a complete mystery to me as why no-one here grows them.
In theory I'm integrating annuals in with some of this lot. In practice this is not so easy. Most Mediterranean climate annuals germinate in autumn, but if I'm thinking of planting over the winter that does not make sense. Spring sowing is ok for some, but because of the drought that's not happening this year. I'm also convinced that annuals germinate at different temperatures – as supported by the fact that it seems that we have quite different annual weed floras for different times of year. The annuals I really like are those that once established look after themselves and just fill gaps and need editing and weeding rather than active management. Larkspur (Delphinium consolida) is one, and the wild marigold (Calendula arvensis) is another. It’s lovely having such plants that require none of the active management that annuals need in England.
Senecio petasites - my favourite plant of the moment. I love it being so lushly leafy; flowering is unusual as the buds often get frosted.