Spanish country garden

1 Oct '05 7:39 am

I recently spent a relaxing week in Asturias, northern Spain, with a few days at my friend’s country villa. The garden has been long-unloved, home to just a few fruit trees in need a good prune.

The house sits on the edge of a valley, so the garden slopes at a wild angle but affords an amazing view down the valley. The valley is a luscious green with pine trees, so unlike the barren plains of the south, and leads down to a secluded cove.

I visited at the end of long, dry summer, and there wasn’t much in the way of flowers or colour. The predominant colour was green! A cheap airline has just started flying to Asturias from London tho, so I hope to visit the area again through the seasons.

Asturias is famed for its cider. The villa has a few cider apple trees and a little cider-pressing house too. It was such a shame that the fruit couldn’t be eaten straight off the tree. Apples were all over the garden, going to waste.

There’s still a lot to be done yet on the house and as much as my friend would like to sort out the garden, I think other things will have to take priority – like an internal stair case, for example... But if anyone has any advice for planning a sloping garden, please do let me know and I’ll pass on the tips!