I was speaking to a chap who comes to Alicante on business occasionally and he said that you can tell that Alicante has a female Mayor (or Mayoress) because there are flowers everywhere!
I have to agree with him. There are just too many flowers. In the photo above you can see that they have recently covered the entrance to one of the main car parks in the Plaza de la Montañeta in wild flowers, reminiscent of what you would see in an English country garden. Maybe one has friends who own garden shops?
When there are not many florists in the city and giving flowers is not a regular custom, you know that the climate doesn't permit the delicacy of flowers. It's just too hot. Here is a typical weather forecast for the Alicante summertime:
It's been like that for weeks and will be like it for more to come. Hardly a drop of rain. So when they make these plant and flower installations they have to put in a really good irrigation system or this will happen:
When they do put a line next to every plant, this is the result:
And goodness knows how much all this extra watering is costing the city, and inevitably us in our taxes! Alicante has a humid climate but not in that it falls from the sky, just that it's brought in on the Mediterranean sea breeze. If you drive out of the city you will see what the type of land is really like here - yellowish, dusty, rocky, with some pine trees on the shady sides of the hills. There are other solutions to ensure some greenery in this quite dry landscape though: fake grass. They installed some on the road next to the beach in sections with metal borders and stones. It doesnt look that bad and its easier to maintain.
Also, there are quite a few trees that provide us with a nice display of flowers annually and they are really practical in that they provide us with shade. More trees please Mayoress!
I have the sun all afternoon in my patio and find it difficult to grow and maintain anything that is green other than the hardiest of cacti. Also, I just don't have green fingers so I'll leave it to the professionals while I sit by the piscina (pool)!
I received a comment to publish just recently regarding this post from over a year ago and while I am pleased that people read my blog I would like say to the 'Anonymous' writer that my blog is about my own experiences and opinions. I am in no way the authority on plants or urban landscaping and dont pretend to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Alicante, although relatively free of pollution due to it being right on the seaside, needs more vegetation but have you seen how dry the earth is around here? Any planting done by the council requires irrigation lines to be installed, run and maintained. Also, the flowers that they plant on certain roundabouts and traffic islands are planted and then removed and disposed of in about 2-3 months and newer ones brought in. At Christmas they plant the poinsettia in those areas and they last about 3-4 weeks... the ones that don't get stolen anyway!
As for the swimming pool comment, please note that it is my choice and at my expense to have and maintain it although I dont get a choice whether my taxes go on planting and irrigating them or on local hospitals and schools. And the pool water is recycled anyway.
Here is the comment:
"I have been doing a project on some urban landscape and feel it is important for you to understand that it is incredibly vital to increase vegetation in cities as plants both increase oxygen levels and physically cool the air around the city though evapotranspiration both tackling pollution and urban heat islands, and heat, which you have already pointed out, is the main problem in spanish cities. Also the origins of the plants shown in these pictures and used throughout the city is very important as they are all of either Mediterranean origin or middle eastern so can withstand the midday heat better than you or I. Do not worry about the delicacy of flowers, the landscape architects have been intuitive and chosen very hardy plants. I should also point out that the pictures you have shown with exposed soil claiming that the plants are dyeing are in fact show casing the plants in their youth. Those pictures are from the beginning of the project when they had just been planted. I visited this charming site just 3 weeks ago and the plants were thriving and completely healthy. If you would like more reassurance on these plants rate of survival there is plenty of information... (website removed). (ps that pool is much more uneconomical than the tiny tiny amount you will pay in tax, and incredibly unecological)."
p.s. thank you for your time and for sharing your knowledge, anonymous person.