Guided Visit and Practical Workshops, Quinta da Figueirinha, Silves
Sunday 9 December
The aim for the day was to share some knowledge and give confidence about using native plants to make beautiful gardens. 35 keen folk gathered at the Quinta on a bright sunny winter day, some came with buckets and bags bringing cuttings material such as Artemisia, Bupleurum, Plectranthus, aromatic herbs and even grape vines.
The event was open to all to join us for our Winter Season Botanic Garden Open Day. The aim for the day was to provide some practical skills for making beautiful and sustainable gardens with plants of the Algarve Barrocal region and other Mediterranean and dry zone flora. The MGAP book shop was also available for Christmas purchases and there was a good response to the books on offer.
Following coffee at the Quinta Bar, the day started with a look at collecting, storing and cleaning seed. This gives the chance to grow plants that might not be available to buy locally. Notes on propagating by seed were available to take away. There was also a selection of seed available for collection on the day. The main plants that were used were wild collected seed of Clematis flammula, Thapsia villosa and Prangos trifida, we are looking forward to hearing how many new plants might come out of this distribution. Next there was a look at sowing seed and various methods were shared, including using fish tank fine washed gravel as a top dressing, and also vermiculite. It is important to use seed compost with no nutrition and to have moisture and air in the compost.
Following this, we embarked on the cuttings material and a simple method using nodal cuttings was demonstrated. Burying at least two leaf nodes usually allows roots to develop, trimming top leaves to a minimum gives the plant material less stress while roots are formed. It is important to keep seed and cuttings in the shade to prevent huge highs and lows in temperatures and humidity.
Then it was time to get out the picnics and have some time to talk about our own gardens. After lunch most of the group went up to the site of the Botanic Garden to see a demonstration of recommended planting method in dry gardens. It is still quite unusual here to have gardens without any irrigation system and the Botanic Garden is now an example of how this works in practical terms. We had a hole made with great energy by Zé with a long length crow bar - this is stony ground and heavy duty methods apply ! The plant goes in below soil level into a shallow bowl shape which gathers water, during the winter and during hand watering as needed in the summer. The newly inserted plants have all been subject to a regime of 4 to 6 week interval watering during the summer and there have been one or two casualties. However, the majority of plants have done well and it was possible to show some examples of Phlomis and Cistus which are now growing away well.
As this is an ideal time to get plants into the ground, some wonderful work was done by volunteers – Pistaccio lentiscus, Phlomis lychnitis, Nepeta tuberosa and Vinca difformis was planted during the afternoon using the demonstrated method.
This was also an opportunity to walk round the garden area and the Narcissus papyraceus were up and in full bloom, a lovely sight on a bright winter day.
Plans are being finalised for our future seasonal Open Days and more regular guided visits. We also plan to have a group of Friends of the Botanic Garden so watch out for more news on this.
