Springtime in Cyprus is short but glorious

Daytime temperatures have not yet risen too much, but growth goes on everywhere despite the slight chill in the air. Alas, having said that, temperatures can shoot up suddenly later this month, which has been happening in recent years, so beware as you might have to protect any new plants that you couldn’t resist on the garden centre benches, during the daytime too.

Nighttime temperatures may still be on the chilly side yet a while. There may also be some residual March winds too, so maybe you need to look over any supports again in the garden to assist any heavy new growth of plants and shrubs through the coming months.

However, all that accepted, I love the short springtime here as I see the many flowers appearing on the bushes and trees in my garden. There is so much going on it is sometimes difficult to know where to start each day!

If, like in my garden, which not that long ago was a field, you find lots of wildflowers growing in your patch, dead head them or they will seed everywhere and you may not want that. These lovely flowers are usually short-lived but wonderful to look at each spring.  

Some poppy seeds, which germinated years ago, keep me in those lovely red flowers for a little while at this time. A few years ago, a huge field near here was just covered in poppies, which caused people to stop and photograph them as they were such a striking sight.  

The only plants I let set seeds of their own accord here nowadays, are the tiny cyclamen, the national flower of Cyprus, and much loved here, and the ants do that planting job for me. I love to see the tiny plantlets coming up after a while.

Others, of course like cerinthe, drop their seeds after flowering and then the seedlings pop up of their own accord each spring. However, that dreaded red dionconotus bug will be around now, so watch out for it before it feeds on your lovely spring flower petals.

As the almond blossom fades away, hopefully the bees have done their work and we can look forward to the nuts later on. Almond trees can grow quite tall so choose a spot for them carefully before you plant them, as their roots can eventually stretch out quite a way and may interfere with underground pipes.

Other trees that delight now are bauhinia trees, which I always refer to as ‘street trees’, as they are often grown in cities and towns, giving shade to passersby. 

In the coastal towns you may find the young green foliage of Tecoma stans appearing before the bright yellow flowers come in later on.

These trees are not liked in some parts of the world. Although they are the official flower of the US Virgin Isles, in some countries like Australia and South Africa they are regarded as weeds because they seed everywhere. It is a pity but to avoid this, removing the seed pods should help here.

Climbers are beginning to put on growth again. There are many of these flowering plants available in the garden centres and you will be spoilt for choice.

One of my favourites is wisteria, which over the years has draped itself over our upstairs veranda railing. It is always much admired by passersby for its pendulous purple flowers and lovely perfume, but it rather likes to wander and trailers catch on to the garden furniture if we let it.

Honeysuckle, botanical name Lonicera, also has a sweet perfume and is another good climber, making an attractive archway through the garden as it soars above the ground each spring.

With the vigorous growth and long-lasting blooms, honeysuckles are a joy to grow and reward gardeners year after year, as well as being attractive to bees and other pollinators. They like their roots to be cool, although their flowers enjoy the sunshine, which is abundant here.

Perhaps you might like to try Trachelospermum jasminoides from East and Southeast Asia, otherwise known as the ‘confederate jasmine’ or more commonly ‘star jasmine’, as the pretty white fragrant flowers are indeed star shaped.

‘Star jasmine’ can tolerate quite low temperatures and indeed humidity, so should grow well in our coastal gardens. However, don’t water them too much as they prefer to grow in well-drained soil.

Fertilise with a slow-release fertiliser in spring and midsummer or use Phostrogen, which I use for many of my potted plants with great success.

I couldn’t fail to mention bougainvillea which is just everywhere at this time of year as the wonderful bracts share their stunning colours with us. These drought tolerant plants need a severe pruning occasionally, usually in late winter. 

My husband says it is like fighting a cat in a bag (not that he has ever had to do that, I hasten to add) but the very prickly stems can fight back quite viciously if you are not careful, so cover your arms well before starting that job.

The garden centres are full of flowering roses in pots at the moment so if you didn’t manage to get any bare-rooted ones earlier, there is still a chance you may find something that you fancy there. There are ‘standards and ‘climbers’ as well as hybrid teas and the perfume is just so heavenly.

If you need ground cover you may like to try gazanias with their bright cheerful flowers or even osteospermums, although they do rather tend to drop their seeds everywhere. Perhaps you don’t mind that and you might find some lovely new flower colour combinations once the seedlings mature, so don’t pull them up yet-a-while.

If you garden in pots on a veranda then there is always something to delight you. Have you tried canna lilies? They prefer rather large pots but the colours and shapes of their flowers and leaves makes it all worthwhile.

A favourite of mine is canna ‘durban’ with beautifully marked leaves and glorious orange flowers, or you may like ‘Lucifer’ with its flame-coloured flowers.  

Hemerocallis, universally known as ‘day lilies’, are others that you can have in the garden or veranda and again there are such choices of colour and shapes of these charmers. 

I have also grown amaryllis on my veranda and they never fail to delight me. I usually plant these in the autumn to flower for Christmas, but found some more recently in a garden centre. 

If they have been in a plastic bag for some time they may have started to shoot, bending as they do so. Don’t worry about that, for if they are planted upright the stem will straighten up as well.

Another of my favourites is agapanthus (see Plant of the Month) which never fails me. They do grow well in gardens too and if you have ever visited Australia or New Zealand, you will have seen them in great abundance along the roadsides with huge flower heads.

Other favourite plants are pelargoniums and I have had some on my veranda for at least 10 years and I never tire of their bright colours. They have stood me in good stead for such a long time and I have given away many cuttings to friends. They sit out on the open veranda all year round and I occasionally give them a feed of Phostrogen.

Ivy leaved pelargoniums do well in pots too and they tend to trail their tiny leaves and flowers over the edges, which makes them useful plants to grow in hanging baskets or along a wall.

Plant of the month – Agapanthus

The agapanthuses that are for sale here are generally Agapanthus africanus, known as ‘the African lily’ or sometimes ‘lily of the Nile’, but which were found growing originally in South Africa. 

This stunning plant grows from a rhizome and can reach 25 to 70cm in height. The leathery leaves are long and strap shaped. The flowers are broadly funnel-shaped, pale to deep blue, and thick-textured, some with a dark blue stripe running down the centre of each petal.

They are available in shades of blue and there are white flowered ones too. Latterly someone has bred some with pink flowers. A few years earlier, someone else tried crossing them and came up with an attractive striped one, but I haven’t have seen either of them here.

Even so, there are hundreds of hybrids listed so there should be something to delight you.

The flowers grow in large clusters atop a tubular stem and will start to flower in early summer here. They can easily become overcrowded but do better if not divided up too often.

Agapanthus enjoy full sun which encourages lots of flowers to appear and will grow outside quite happily but may need some protection in very cold winter gardens. However, in our sunny and drier Mediterranean gardens they usually thrive.