Discover the vibrant beauty of Santa Rosa’s gardens

Some of HPB’s gardens are stunning, even award-winning, but they always delight the senses, thanks to the hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining them. 

Santa Rosa is a perfect example, though it faces challenges such as a dry climate, strong winds, and being a shared site. Despite this, great efforts have been made to make it a beautiful and enjoyable place.

Santa Rosa wasn’t HPB’s first Lanzarote site, which was Playa Bastian, bought in 1986. However, the Bond was forced to leave after it was designated for residential use. In 2004, HPB bought 77 of 225 units at Santa Rosa, which was nearing completion. Because of this, HPB had limited input into the construction, including the garden design. Thierry Szymaniak, the site manager from 2007 to 2010, said his priority was to maintain the existing gardens, though he did start adding a few shrubs and flowers. The real transformation came under the current site manager, Lidia Quesada Martin, whose efforts have significantly improved the gardens.

The HPB section at Santa Rosa is easy to spot, thanks to its vibrant gardens. Lidia’s passion for gardening is evident in her work. Growing up near Madrid, where her father maintained a large garden, she developed a love for plants that continues today. However, Santa Rosa’s dry climate presents challenges. Water is scarce on the island, and while the site once used recycled water, it now has to be shipped in regularly for irrigation.

Strong Atlantic winds also threaten the plants, but the design of the site, with its ‘V’ shape, allows the walls to protect the plants from the worst of the winds. This thoughtful design has helped Santa Rosa become one of the most beautiful gardens in the area. Local resident Ray Pattenden has even described it as one of the lushest gardens in Lanzarote.

Another challenge is pest control, particularly with the citrus mealybug, which can damage plants quickly. This pest often targets hibiscus plants, which have decreased in number. As global warming accelerates, pests multiply faster, making control more difficult, especially as pesticide regulations become stricter.

Overseeing the garden maintenance more recently has been Jonay, the site’s Maintenance Manager. However, as attention to the gardens grew, Lidia hired Hector as a handyman to focus on improving the gardens, which had been neglected during the pandemic. Additionally, a local garden designer now visits twice a year to help refine the design.

The mild temperatures of Lanzarote allow for tropical plants to thrive, and the gardens have seen the addition of lemon, orange, and peach trees. Succulents, which suit the conditions, are also more prominent now. Other plants such as plumbago, ficus benjamina, and monstera deliciosa, which are often seen indoors in cooler climates, now flourish outdoors, contributing to the garden’s tropical feel.

To protect the plants from the drying effects of sun and wind, the gardens are covered in picon, a volcanic gravel that helps retain moisture around the plants. This mulch, sourced locally, also blends well with the island’s volcanic landscape.

Lidia has a particular fondness for the royal poinciana (flame tree), which blooms with vibrant orange-red flowers in the summer. She also appreciates the elegance that pampas grass (cortaderia selloana) brings to the site during the summer. Other plants such as geraniums, jasmine, and ceanothus add further color to the gardens.

Over the next year, guests at Santa Rose will be able to see how the gardens continue to evolve, and whether Lidia’s efforts yield even more beauty.