I’m tired of hearing myself complain about the heat and just as tired of hearing others do the same. August should still be mosquito-complaining time, but perhaps it’s just too hot for people to be outside long enough to get bitten.
I made sure my garden is low maintenance in the summer because I don’t want to be slogging away in the summer heat. Plants like the Plumbago in the photo are true workhorses in our climate. You must water them at first, but once established, they’re drought tolerant. They laugh at our summer heat. Plus, they produce endless blue flowers that don’t need deadheading to ensure continual bloom. The spent blossoms magically disappear, and new ones take their place.
One of the secrets to happy gardening in Mallorca is to choose no-nonsense plants like Plumbago rather than those that need endless pampering: clipping, pruning, watering and spraying. Olive trees, cypresses, lavender, rosemary, Virginia creeper, Gaura, Bougainvillea, and of course dozens of succulent varieties will stand up to the harshest sun. Yes, they can seem boring because they are all over the island, but that just proves how great they are for our unforgiving climate.
Those plants will leave you in peace all through the hot season. Of course, if you grow fruit and vegetables, you will be putting in hard labour almost daily. A vegetable garden can’t be left untended for more than a few days. In summer, I make a flask of hot tea, and I’m out of the house by 6 am with my dog Lilith at my side. In past years, the air was fresh and cool: perfect for gardening. More recently, temperatures have been in the high twenties and the humidity a stifling 80%. Because temperatures are higher than usual, the sea is warmer. This means more water evaporates. That vapour then settles over the island like a heavy blanket. Even Lilith prefers to stay inside.
Despite the heat, I spend an hour or two in the vegetable garden and fruit orchard each day, checking for diseases and insects, tying plants to stakes, and harvesting. Despite only having a container garden, I’ve had endless tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, cucumbers, and basil. Even though I’ve put light shade cloth up over the containers, by the time I’m back in the house, my clothes are wringing wet. Most years, I’m back out again after breakfast, sitting in the shade working on some writing project, but not this year.
When you’re designing or making changes to your garden, always consider the view from your living room and kitchen windows, because when it’s this hot and this humid, that is probably where you will be enjoying your garden—inside your house, looking out.
Since it’s a series, the women will end up staying in Mallorca. When they’re not solving crimes, they’ll be running their grandmother’s finca. Given my love of gardening and nature, that was inevitable. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the stories evolve. And so is Nefertiti, who loves to sit on my shoulder while I type, but sometimes hops down to get a closer look at the screen.
This year, I’ve taken my writing inside where it’s cool. I’m having lots of fun right now working on a new mystery series set right here in Mallorca. A British woman and an American woman receive plane tickets and a summons to visit the grandmother they’ve never met on a paradise island in the Mediterranean. At first, it feels like a, until they’re accused of murder and must join forces to find the killer on an island they know nothing about.
Wherever you are on the island, stay cool, drink plenty of liquids, and remember this too shall pass.
Fern Penrose
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