The ¡Estupendo! Blog Site

For those of you heading out to work in the garden during the Easter bank holiday weekend, here are my tips for gardening in Lanzarote:

1. Wear Gloves

It’s important to have some kind hand protection when gardening in Lanzarote, having tested a few kinds of gloves, I like the half plastic half elastic material ones that you can pick up from your local garage / DIY store, they allow your hands to breathe whilst protecting them. The reason I wear gloves is that some of the plants have very small spikes on their stems or leaves which are like tiny splinters and very irritating if they get into your skin.

The first photo shows a lovely ground covering plant but it is full of tiny thorns and the second is a nettle, it doesn’t sting but again it has lots of tiny thorns on the leaves and stems.

2. Wear Shoes

I love to garden in flip flops and quite often do, but then I have to do the picón shuffle to get the tiny stones out from between my feet and the flip flop. If I’ve got lots of gardening to do then I definitely wear trainers.

3. Garden Waste

You can only have a bonfire once a year in Lanzarote, on the eve of San Juan (midsummer’s night) so don’t save up any garden rubbish unless you have a compost heap, take it to your local Punta Limpio to dispose of.

4. Watering

Don’t water your plants in direct sunlight or you will burn the leaves, water either first thing in the morning or last thing at night. You can definitely see a difference in growth and flowering when you water often.

5. Wind

Lanzarote has a strong wind which can affect plants and trees, if you have some delicate plants either protect them with a stake or build a zoco (stone circular wall) around them to deflect the breeze.

6. Wildlife

Be cautious when lifting stones in your garden, more than likely you will find a lizard or gecko hiding underneath. If you disturb or frighten a lizard they might drop their tale, which twists and turns on its own to distract you whilst they make their escape! A gecko is fatter with rounded toes and waddles whilst a lizard is slim and long and quick.

7. Sun

Protect yourself from the sun whilst working in the garden, wear a hat and sunscreen as you may not feel the heat until its too late.

8.  Cuttings

It’s quite easy to take cuttings from other plants, pot them in compost and water until established and then transplant to the garden or plant direct into the garden if you prefer. With cactus, you can just snap a piece off, wait for a day or two until the white sap stops and then plant. You can also take seeds from tomatoes, oranges, peppers etc and plant them and they will grow!

9. Picón

Every garden should have a good thick layer of picón as this draws moisture from the overnight dew and waters your plants, it also helps to keep the weeds down in the winter months. Picón is crushed volcanic rock and available in black and red.

10. Absent owners

If you don’t live full time in Lanzarote but want a colourful garden,  install an automatic watering system, they have a loop of black pipe that sits around the base of your plants and releases water as programmed on your timer. Alternatively you could have a gardener to maintain and water in your absence or plant endemic species of plants that can survive the harsh summers.

If you liked reading this, you might also enjoy my earlier gardening posts………

Garden plants in Lanzarote

Gardening in Lanzarote