Cyprus gardening is not easy

Cyprus may have gorgeous weather most of the time but Cyprus gardening is not easy.

Now I'm not a very experienced gardener but I enjoy going to a Cyprus garden center and when I moved to the island, I really wanted to try my hand at growing vegetables in Kypros too.

I've learned a lot in the past few years so here are some tips from a local, inexperienced gardener!

• Plants in Cyprus grow ten times faster than anything you may have grown in the UK.
• The common Cyprus shrub, by which I mean anything "bush-like" that takes your fancy in your local Cypriot garden centre, will need ENORMOUS amounts of pruning.

  Take this beautiful purple solano bush. I have to prune these bushes at least six times a year or they would literally take over the place!

• Do NOT just buy plants that look pretty and colourful. Check whether they need lots of water AND check to see how big they will grow.

  Most Cyprus holiday property is filled with colorful bougainvillea and other Cypriot shrubs which grow like wildfire, need lots of irrigation water and soon make your holiday home in Cyprus look like a jungle.

  Which means you need to employ a gardener if you want your holidays in villas Cyprus to BE a holiday and not a week filled with household chores each time you visit!

• We employed a local Cypriot gardener to recommend plants for our plot. He chose Cyprus plants that did not need much water once established and also plants that would not grow too big. Even then, I have to spend a fair bit of time in the garden to keep all the plants under control!
• Growing vegetables here is also difficult. I have found that even tomatoes need some shade in high summer as it's simply too hot and the best time to grow green vegetables is during the winter months.

  My best attempt at growing vegetables to date has been my chillie collection - they don't mind the searing summer temperatures at all and make my amateur gardening attempts all worthwhile.

• Fast growth means you will end up with a LOT of leaves in your garden in Cyprus. So you may need to get hold of a leaf blower or just get some exercise picking them all up!

Here are some suggested Cyprus shrubs that are easy to grow, add colour and do not need much water once they have become established:

• Solano (see picture) - Gorgeous purple bush giving colour ALL YEAR round.

• Oleander - These pretty bushes are commonly seen along the roadside near towns. They come in various shades of pink and white. Be careful not to get too close to the bark from these bushes. The sap is poisonous!
• Herbs - Rosemary and Lavender

  Both these herbs grow quickly and give colour and a wonderful aroma in all gardens in Cyprus.

• Canna lillies - In vibrant reds, yellows and oranges, these plants add style to any garden and are especially colourful at the start of spring.
• Geramiums! My all time favourite flower in Cyprus. They are SO easy to grow and, like many Cyprus plants, you can easily break a piece off, stick it in the ground and presto! you have another 5 plants!

As my knowledge of Cyprus gardening grows, I will be adding pages to this section together with pictures of my plants and my attempts at vegetable growing.

Kali Teekhee!

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