Wellbeing

Gardens provide relaxation through the experience of nature within the landscape, and this particular garden provides an immersive experience of truly unique flora, only to be encountered on this desert island. With the shade of trees, the rustle of leaves in the wind, the chatter of birds above the gentle trickle of water from the pond, a sense of wellbeing is a central feature to my intervention in this landscape, which intends to provide what would naturally thrive here. Wandering through the twisty paths inspired by Cesar Manrique’s famous interventions, views of the mountains and the valley of Haría can be enjoyed all over the garden, revealing the contrasted barren and exposed landscape of this UNESCO World Heritage Site and Geopark.

Guests who stay at the apartment have access to other wellbeing facilities in the garden. The king-size jacuzzi and its gazebo are probably the most extravagant purchases I’ve ever made. My wife sometimes wondered if the money might not have been better invested in our pension fund, but as time goes by the soothing effect of those pulsating water jets on our ageing joints is increasingly appreciated by us both. If I’d had a bit more space and cash l might have gone for a pool instead – l’m glad I didn’t. I know a pool is considered essential for holiday rentals but most pool owners I know complain how expensive and time consuming they are to maintain, a big jacuzzi is a lot easier to run — and at least in winter, gets a lot more use than a pool would. The same applies to the sauna, which brings many benefits to the body and mind, especially during the colder months.

Children

For a few years I wrote a gardening column for the ‘Lanzarote Gazette’ – the writing below comes from an article expressing the pleasure of having a child-friendly garden. More articles about gardening can be found here.

I’m not immune to flattery and love it when fellow gardeners and botanists say nice things about my garden, but nothing delights me more than appreciative kids. A lot of the features in my garden were made with my own kid in mind and, and as he’s now grown up, it’s gratifying to see other kids having the same fun as he did at that age. Too often, however, visitors come with children who aren’t satisfied with the ten-minute tour and beg to stay and play. Last time that happened a friend’s grandchildren made me glow with pride by spontaneously declaring, “David, we love your garden – it’s a magic garden! Dad, do we have to go now ?” Then, as is frequently the case, Dad said indeed they must hurry. I was as disappointed as they were! Psychologists tell us that play is as important as learning for a child’s development. In my teaching career I’ve worked at schools with students from a huge range of cultural backgrounds; this has given me a fascinating opportunity to distinguish between types of play which seem instinctive, common to kids of all nationalities, and those games which differ and are clearly learnt (like the child’s language). A garden which caters to child’s natural instinct to play may well be more appreciated (and considerably cheaper!) than one full of expensive toys.

Guillermo Rodriguez has provided the accompanying photos – his delightful niece Lua is responsible for the smiles.

Hide & Seek

Just as I’ve never met a baby that didn’t enjoy peek- a-boo. I’ve never known an older kid that didn’t love to play tag and hide-and-seek. Its easy to speculate how playing such games taught our ancestors skills in their youth which were once essential to their survival as adults.

Life may be less tough nowadays, but the instinct for such types of play remains and can be a source of enormous fun. Most parents would love to see their kids spend less time in front of screens. but it’s little use telling them to go outside and play if ‘outside’ is unsuited to the sort of activities they instinctively like. Fortunately. many of the complexes on the island are thoughtfully designed and great fun for kids. I love the twisting paths and surprising little corners that are a feature of Manrique’s architecture and have shamelessly tried to copy some of his ideas. By doing so I‘ve made somewhere that most children love to run about and play in.

One thing to avoid is a child charging into a spiky cactus plant. After this happened to my kid (I shudder to recall that accident, it could have been a lot worse!) I moved all of my cacti together into one raised area and make sure that any eye-level spikes are carefully removed.

The Frog Pond

Hunting and gathering has fed us humans long before agriculture was invented, so it’s not surprising that children’s games can instinctively mirror these activities. Most little kids who visit my pond want to play frog-hunter, a game that can last a long time as the frogs don’t stay caught for long! A few kids have fallen into the pond while trying to catch a frog – they’ve come to no harm – but visiting birds make it impossible to guarantee that such a pond is free of harmful bugs. Therefore too much splashing around is discouraged.

The Garden Instinct

l lost the desire to play tag long a go but new urges kick in to replace those of our youth. Making a garden, especially a child-friendly one, is one middle-aged instinct that I find ever more rewarding to indulge. The resident tortoise, Suzy, and our chicken coop are greatly enjoyed by children.

The following images are a photo record of appreciative guest Marta Derska and her children in November 2017: