Moving plants from UK to Spain

Hi. When my wife and l moved permanently to Spain we took a few plants with us but it was before Brexit. We also had to leave many established shrubs and it really upset me. I realised though two things - that they probably wouldn’t survive the journey and also that the climates of England and southern Spain are completely different and that many of the shrubs (rhodendrons, azaleas, English roses, honeysuckle etc) would require huge amounts of water so it wouldn’t be feasible. I’m now sourcing plants here that don’t require too much water and look attractive to plant in the garden. I hope this helps. Paul.

Hi Annie,

Some plants can be brought over, others can't - you can contact the relevant government department, depending on the UK country in which you're resident:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/export-plants-and-plant-products-from-great-britain-and-northern-ireland 

I agree with Paul, many plants traditionally found in British gardens don't thrive in Spain - if the heat doesn't get them, the soil conditions will finish them off.  Fortunately, in the areas with large British populations, the Spanish seem to have realised our obsession for gardening and there are many good garden centres in the area 😄

Kind regards,

Kim

Thank you for your reply Kim . The link you supplied clarified the situation somewhat . I will now look forward to looking around at the many viveros around. I hope they offer a delivery service as we will not be taking a car though ....

Regards Annie 

I've spent a small fortune in garden centres over the years so here's a few tips that might help. Before you check the garden centres check out gardens around you. That'll show you what grows best. Hibiscus, bougainvilla (messy but beautiful), oleander, lavender, rosemary, plumbago, lantana, are great for shrubs and if you mix them up into a hedge the results are stunning. I've had a lot of success with roses and gaura is an excellent plant to grow. For extra colour I add in petunias, sweet peas, michelmas daisies, pelargoniums and geraniums. Bulbs are great for not having to work at it, geraniums and irises come back every year.

And now you would suppose that I have an award winning garden, I don´t but I'm still trying.

Hello

Hi Myra

Your opening sentence made me laugh as I too, have spent lots of cash &  had more  failures than successes over many years  in my south facing garden. It is survival of the strongest... succulents, cacti & a few others you mentioned during the scorching summer months. In the cooler months I have more flowering plants  in pots. 

Ive almost got it right but still can't resist splashing a few euros on some new bulb/ corm or seeds to give it a go - I love it but success is not guaranteed here.

Cheers

Elinspain

But please don’t attempt to grow an English lawn. It will take huge amounts of scarce water (don’t get me started on the subject of golf courses!) and will inevitably suffer from scorching etc.

And think yourselves lucky we aren’t in New Zealand! My friend who is from there, returned home some years ago after 20 years in uk. As part of his household possessions he took a sealed decorative tray filled with different herb seeds and spices, given to him as a leaving present. This was instantly confiscated and destroyed due to possible contamination! NZ is nothing if not rigid about what one may takethere!

So true...  Succulents and cacti make sense but I keep planting flowers.Keeps the neighbours amused. 😄

Hi Myra,

Learn to love cacti and succulents, the varying colour of the foliage is amazing - and when an innocuous looking cactus throws up an incredible flower, it's a wonderful surprise!  I've also discovered that they're incredible value for money - I've just chopped off bits and pushed them into the soil and off they go!

I found a picture of a look I loved on Pinterest, so I recreated it in some of our beds - coincidentally, we had a couple of guys deliver some furniture (in 2019!) and they said how beautiful our "Mediterranean" garden was - I'd never really thought of it in those terms, so it was lovely to get their unsolicited feedback.

The fastest way to waste money in a Spanish garden is to try and create an "English" garden.

Kind regards,

Kim 

Thank you Myra . Appreciate the tips.  Annie