Surprising as it may seem, it is not a house with a pool that is the most sought-after feature demanded by homebuyers in Spain, agents across the country are inundated with requests for properties with a garden.
No aspect of living in Spain varies more according to the region you are in, than tending a garden. Large rainfall in northern areas such as Galicia or La Rioja will provide you with a truly green space that will resemble gardening in the UK.
Own a garden in barren areas like Almería and you’ll want to grow drought-tolerant plants. Cold weather can do great harm to a garden in mountainous areas such as La Alpujarra, where only the hardiest plants grow at 1,400 metres above sea level.
We took a gardening journey through a province that experiences great extremes of climate, Granada. This includes not just the city itself, but also the Sierra Nevada mountain villages, pretty valleys where oranges and lemons dominate the scenery, and the very humid coastline of the Costa Tropical.
Green space
Martin Bright of Spain Costa Tropical confirms British buyers are quick to view houses with a garden. “In the last few years they have started to list a garden as a ‘must have’,” he says. “They ask for a property for less than €100,000 with a garden. On the Costa Tropical, to find such properties requires a much larger budget.”
Across Spain gardening is taking off and garden centres report booming business. So why are properties with gardens so hard to fi nd in the first place?
Martin says: “Two factors have infl uenced the scarcity of gardens in Spain. The first is economic and the second cultural. “There is a great variation in the values of rural and urban land – in some regions of Spain we can be talking differences from €10-€15 per square metre for rustic land, against €200-€300 per square metre for urban plots. This means owners favour maximising the built area for the property, rather than using a portion to make a garden.
“Secondly, there is a tendency to see land as a source of income and sustenance. Most Spanish families will have a plot upon which they produce a range of fruit and vegetables to share with the family or to earn an income. The land is more likely to be cultivated than landscaped.”
Nola Lyttle is a creative gardener working throughout the Granada province (www.granada gardens.blogspot.com). She confirms expats search high and low for green space.
“If someone discovers a property for sale that has a garden they will keep its location secret even from their closest friends,” she reveals. “They are more likely to divulge their income than the whereabouts of such a rare find.”
Nola is herself selling her five-bedroom, Moorish house in the village of Mondújar for €350,000. Casa Jazmin is 20 minutes south of Granada and the closest beach is a similar distance. Over four years she has created a classic Andalucian patio garden in an area once reserved for a mule.
She says: “It is a beautiful space, shaded in summer by a large fig tree and with trailing ivy, roses and clematis. It is typical of patio gardens found all over Andalucia. Tranquil, secluded and cooling. If I want the sun I go up to the roof terraces which are decorated with numerous pot plants.”
At work Nola is currently advising the Spanish author, Luis Benavides-Barajas. He wants to get his garden in better shape as he is selling his home just 10 minutes from the city centre of Granada. The four-bedroom property with a 1,500 square-metregarden, and a vast swimming pool, is for sale for €500,000 with Tropicana Properties.
Luis says: “Since the death of my wife, the house and garden have become too much for me. A family should enjoy the grounds. The trees are full of grapes, lemons and pomegranates. It just needs some TLC.”
Back on the Costa Tropical, Jan and Joe Lee are selling their home in Almuñécar for €540,000. They have worked hard to create a typical Spanish courtyard design. The very large cacti are set against a backdrop of a colourful bougainvillea, which flowers almost all year round on this stretch of coast. Some homebuyers are greedy. They ask agent Martin Bright not only for a garden but also a sea view. So how much would such a property cost? “A garden here on the coast, with a sea view, shifts the property price to another league,” explains Martin. “A villa with garden, pool and distant sea view would start at around €600,000.”
Above the quaint coastal town of La Herradura, Heinrich and Brunhilde Siecker are selling a property that has a garden and sea view, but no pool. The asking price for the four-bedroom villa is €535,000. The outdoor space won Nola’s admiration.
“What I especially like about this garden is that it is so varied,” explains Nola. “It includes a little of everything that grows well in this very humid area – specimens of Brugmansia, Nispero, Strelitzia (bird of paradise), Agave, and many succulents.”
Shady terraces
Inland gardens present different problems to those experienced along hot and humid coastlines. In those closer to mountain ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada, plants may experience high summer temperatures followed by sub zero conditions in winter.
Tim and Lyn Jenkins live in the village of Melegis in the more sheltered Lecrin Valley. Their threebedroom property, with pretty garden, is for sale at €299,000 via www.evoyage.co.uk
Lyn says: “I wanted to be able to stand on some English grass in summer so I brought some seeds from the UK and cut the small patch of lawn with sewing scissors!
“Tim has his herb patch which does well despite being in the shade. He also threw some wild seeds down so we now have an area that resembles a cottage garden. In one corner we have the large prickly pear (opuntia fi cus-indica) which is so typical of this area. We got our first fruit from it last year. Meanwhile, I take cuttings wherever I go, including a little palm tree I brought from Thailand.
“The strength of this garden is it has seating areas for all times of day. There is a sun-drenched terrace, a secluded corner that backs on to the village church, a designated eating area and a lower terrace for shade.”
Beautiful borders
Around the corner is another property for sale with a garden created from scratch by Nola. Casa Molinito is for sale with www.lecrinvalley.com at a price of €650,000. The three-bedroom house has a large pool surrounded by borders where many temperaturetolerant specimens have been planted, including a large pomegranate tree (granado) – the symbol
of the city of Granada.Andy and Alison Guest live in the Rio Seco countryside, 20 minutes from Almuñécar. They are selling a four-bed, detached house for €349,000 through Spain Costa Tropical. Alison’s parents, Patricia and David Manley, look after the garden.
David says: “The garden is 2,000 square metres. The main feature is the spectacular view over the orchards to the mountains beyond. The wild flowers at this time of year are amazing, and include lavender, sweet peas, and poppies, providing lots of colour.”
Last year Nola created an inland garden on the construction site of a new home.
She says: “It was a challenge. I was working with soil that had been excavated from the site where a swimming pool would be built. It was full of rocks, discarded fencing, and took many days to dig over with an essential gardening tool in Spain; a mattock.”
So is it essential to hire an experienced gardener like Nola or can you, as some television programmes claim, find a Spanish neighbour who will look after your garden for free? We asked Martin.
“In short, this romantic idea is far from reality,” he says. “Asking a neighbour to tend a garden in your absence can be expensive. It is worthwhile finding a local gardener who is knowledgeable and trustworthy. Most country properties come with a few acres of established fruit trees. You are sure to find a local willing to farm the land on your behalf. In trade for his work he will manage the sale of the fruits – your fruits! Be careful. After all, you could be losing a sizeable income from your estate.”