Mediterranean dry gardening

Mediterranean gardening requires that one has to plan for and cope with long periods with little or no rain. Unfortunately many newcomers to Spain think that this means daily watering and large water bills. But this is not necessary if one improves the soil, chooses drought restant plants, provide shelter from the hottest and coldest drying winds, mulches mulches  and mulches, provide plenty of semi shade in the garden and collects and stores rainwater when it does fall.. A couple of years ago I visited the UK where one of my daughters was desperate for rain to make it easier to keep her allotment going. We spent an evening brainstorming what she could do based on my experience of living in Spain and that of a brother living in the Adelaide Mediterranean belt of Australia. The following week found me giving a talk to tge Mediterranean Gardening Society in Mediterranean France. Gardeners had experienced an even longer period of drought and an exceptiuonally cold winter. So again ideas for dry gardening were discussed, especially in relation to growing vegetables which was the topic of my talk. The journey home was a long one by train so I used this to sketch out a book and started to brain dump Ideas I had used or seen used during my then 70 years ofgardening and worldwide travels. The brain dumping ended up as a book entitled 'Making waterless gardens a practical reality worldwide' . This is now available from Amazon Books. Since its publication many gardeners have used it to audit their current practices and develop a practical improvement plan for the next year or two.

The book includes several hundred idea so most gardeners find new ideas or are reminded of others from the past.  Best of luck in achieving a better garden with half the water whether in tge northern or southern hemisphere of half way around the world.