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Spring
tide
Tony Allen describes
where to find the different
blazes of colour in
Andalucia’s glorious spring
This
is the time of year when Andalucía comes close to heaven. The austere
grandeur of the Sierra is flushed with green and overlaid by the
colours of a million flowers rushing to shed their seed before the
searing heat of summer.
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November brought the first hint of new life to roadside verges and
wasteland all along the coast, when the tiny bright green shoots of
Bermuda Buttercups began to push through the soil, quickly unfolding into
dense carpets of clover shaped leaves. By midwinter they bore a mass of
golden discs of flower - the first splashes of a rising tide of colour
which would sweep across the coastal plain and high into the mountains.
| More flowers swelled the encroaching tide, staining it with the pinks and
purples of convolvulus and bugloss and the blue of anchusa. Soon it was
probing into sheltered valleys, flooding them with pink and white almond
blossom.
Week by week, as the air and soil warmed, it lapped ever higher
up the mountainsides, taking on the colours of cistus, helianthemum and
sage. By late April the swirling tide is in full flood and the whole land
from the sparkling Mediterranean to the barren crags of the high Sierra is
awash with colour.
This is a walker’s paradise, whether in the mountains or among the olive
groves, orchards and meadows of the valleys and coast; the weather is
ideal and at every bend in the path there’s a fresh vista to wonder at or
a new flower to identify and admire. |
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Barbary nuts around La
Hermita de San Isidro |
Few other areas in the world can rival Andalucía for its wonderful variety
of wild flowers - over 2000 different varieties have been identified in
the Sierra Nevada alone - but to enjoy them to the full it helps to know
where to look.
A different aspect or even a slight variation in drainage
or soil can suddenly change the range of plants to be seen from one area
to another. For example, in the valley below la Fuente del Esparto, one
slope is dominated by pink cistus, while the hillside opposite is covered
with white helianthemum.
Generally, however, we can predict the type of plants we’re likely to find
in Axarquia’s five dominant habitats - cultivated areas, garrigue,
mountain river valleys, pine forest and the high Sierra - although their
boundaries are loosely drawn and some plants occur in all five zones. |
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The cultivated zone
These are the annual, biennial and fast-growing perennial plants which
spring up anywhere where the soil has been recently disturbed: not only in
fields, fallow land and meadows, but in roadside verges and orchards.
The
flowers come in a wonderful range of brilliant colours, but many are quite
delicate and if the soil remains untilled for more than a year or so, they
are quickly overwhelmed by the stronger plants such as thistles and the
range of colour becomes less intense.
They are often seen at their best in olive groves where regular annual or
biennial cultivation constantly renews and refreshes the under-carpet to
produce a stunning display of colour against the backdrop of ancient black
trunks and soft grey leaf. |
Olive grove near Comares |
The principal flowers to be found here are the glorious gold and white
crown daisies, purple bugloss, pink and red bindweed, sweet peas and
vetches, borage and anchusa, knapweed and thistles, snap dragons and
poppies. To name them all is quite impossible - I usually find something
I’ve never seen before on any piece of newly cultivated land.
Glorious in its colour and variety, this is the easiest of zones to
explore, comprising much of the coastal strip and lowland valleys. Near
Nerja, the walk to the Ermita de San Isidro (my September, 2004, route)
and to la Lastra ( January, 2005, route) offer some wonderful displays of
colour, while olive groves around the slopes of Masmullar (September,
2006, route) are stunningly beautiful at this time of year.
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Garrigue near
Maro |
The garrigue
This is the predominant habitat of most of the mountainous areas around
Nerja - open scrubland similar to the maquis, which is more common
elsewhere in the Mediterranean but less dense and generally populated by
smaller plants. It surpasses even the cultivated zone in the rich
diversity of different species it supports.
It’s a wonderland of aromatic herbs like thymes, lavenders, rosemary,
curry plants and sage; of the glorious rockroses, cistus and helianthemum;
of flaming golden gorse and broom; of daphne and strawberry trees.
Most
are tough, resilient plants capable of withstanding both winter frost and
the heat and drought of summer. But some appear surprisingly delicate; the
velvet-leafed Jerusalem sage,
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the dainty dianthus, the statuesque
spires of asphodels and autumn squill and, most delightful of all, the
orchids sparkling like brilliant jewels in the shadow of larger shrubs.
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Almost any walk in Axarquía will pass through attractive stretches of
garrigue but among the most spectacular and accessible are the areas
around la Fuente del Esparto and la Mina de la Furia (August, 2005),
Salares (May, 2006), and the Cerro de la Bandera (May, 2005).
River courses
The stony courses of the streams running off the Sierra make a difficult
environment for plants. Dry for much of the year, a sudden spate will
sweep away all but the most tenaciously rooted survivors in a tumble of
rock and water. Most of the plants here can also be found in the garrigue,
but they tend to be the toughest specimens. Esparto grass thrives in this
habitat and many watercourses are also densely crowded with giant cane
towering six or seven metres high.
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The strawberry tree is a
characteristic garrigue plant |
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Oleander flowers |
Some plants, however, are specific to this damp habitat.
Two examples from
opposite ends of the plant spectrum are the delicate feathery adiantum,
which clings to the damp rock above the high water mark, and the oleander
which cascades down the hillside to flood the river bed in brilliant
torrents of pink and red.
Oleanders apart, these water courses are rarely as colourful as the open
hillsides but the welcome shade of pines, sparkling water and picturesque
tumbles of rock make them no less attractive to the walker. Both the
Higueron and the Chillar river valleys are delightful examples.(October,
2003, and August, 2004, routes). |
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Pine forest
The flora of the pine forest varies widely with the density of the trees.
The more open areas are really extensions to the garrigue; conversely, in
thick forest the heavy shade and acidity suppress almost all other plant
growth. However, the marginal areas are home to many of the most delicate
garrigue plants and also to some interesting shade lovers like the
pinecone knapweed. There are some splendid areas of pine forest west of
Alcaucin (January, 2007).
The high Sierra
Between the garrigue and the barren mountain crests lies an alpine zone of
rock and loose scree sparsely scattered with small stunted shrubs and
conifers.
For a few precious weeks of spring, this harshest of all
environments, freezing and often snow-covered in winter and baked beneath
a relentless sun in summer, is transformed into an enchanting rock garden.
Alyssum and sedum cling precariously to tiny rock crevices and any of the
larger garrigue plants like helianthemum which survive at this level are
transformed by the harsh, dry conditions into dainty miniatures of their
normal form. Dianthus and sandwort, lime yellow |
Higueron gorge |
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Picverbascum thapsus is a garrigue plant |
euphorbia and brilliant
blue aphyllanthes are clustered in casual groupings that the most
inspired gardener would struggle for days to create.
To enjoy
this wonderful spectacle without having to climb too high, try the
walk from Frigiliana to la Fuente del Esparto (March, 2004).
The moment when this riot of colour begins to fade is always a great
sadness. I know that I shall have to wait another year to enjoy the Sierra
in its full splendour.
But with a little knowledge of the mountains it’s
always possible to squeeze another week or two of enjoyment before the hot
breath of summer stifles the last of the spring flowers.
As a rule of
thumb, I reckon that for every 300 metres you climb, the flowering season
is extended by 10 to 12 days. There’s a similar interval between the north
and south faces of most hillsides.
So it’s always worth climbing a little higher and exploring a little
further to squeeze the last days of pleasure from Andalucia’s glorious
spring. |
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