Meet Charlie Monk: the green-fingered guru of the Costa del Sol

Charlie Monk with daughter Matilda, Marbella's next generation gardener!

Charlie Monk, owner of Agave Marbella Gardening, is a true perfectionist when it comes to the garden.  Having worked on garden designs at Chelsea Flower Show, Charlie is one of the leading experts on garden design and lawn care on the Costa del Sol.

He talks to us about the differences between an English country garden and a lush Mediterranean oasis…

What brought you to the Costa del Sol?

We moved here when my daughter was just 18 months old. I had been living and working around Teddington in Surrey. At the time I had a garden design and construction business and was working for various top designers in London, Barnes, Kingston Hill and Richmond.

But the British weather was taking its toll and I got to a point where I’d had enough of working outside, in a country where the winters lasted three-quarters of the year with barely a summer to speak of. It’s not fun having to pump water out of excavations before starting work and lay paving under tarpaulins!

Charlie and his team are lawn care specialists.

Tell us about Agave Marbella Gardening

We arrived in Marbella 10 years ago and from the beginning the business grew very rapidly. My approach to gardening is knowledge-based. I’m a Landscape Architect and have been designing and building gardens for 15 years. I can see the potential in every outdoor space!

I work with the best materials, soils and plants available. In many gardens we work to improve them, zone by zone, over a number of months or years. The very nature of gardens is that they are often a work in progress. My focus, when designing new gardens, is how the garden will mature, how it will look in five years’ time.

We also have a specially trained maintenance team who look after both communities and private gardens. Our staff have all undergone my rigorous training programme, which allows them to maintain gardens to a very high standard, taking into account how plants grow and how to prune them sensitively. In turn this reduces dead wood and encourages the growth and flowering of all plants.

We produce a maintenance schedule for each garden for the year, providing our teams with monthly plans for maintenance, which are seasonally appropriate.

You’ve worked on gardens for the Chelsea Flower Show – what was that experience like?

Most of the work I did in England was totally inspiring. I’ve worked at both RHS Wisley and Kew Gardens, which is where my real horticultural training began.

I built my first set at the Chelsea Flower Show when I was 24. It was an amazing project. Chelsea is a magical place to work, surrounded by fantastic planting and creativity. It is an incredible environment to work in, with landscapers busying themselves all over the place to be finished in time for the opening. It’s the only time, I have laid paving and positioned and planted by the headlights of the truck! We built again in 2001.

Is it completely different designing a garden in Spain, compared to the UK?

In the UK, most of the gardens I designed were about changing the main focal point, drawing focus away from the back wall, or a neighbouring building, etc. The design was to create interest and flow through a generally much smaller plot. The point of the garden was to provide an interesting view from the house or to frame the view and screen overlooking neighbours.

In, Spain most of the gardens I have worked on have been massive in comparison, they usually have some form of borrowed landscape (a view of the Mediterranean or the mountains), so rather than trying to pull focus into the garden, I work to incorporate the borrowed landscape seamlessly into the garden.

Plus, in Spain we use our gardens much more than in the UK. And actually as a result of this I find gardens have a lot more uses to incorporate into the design. Gardens are used more as an extension of your home. We’ve been asked to incorporate cinemas, summer kitchens, thatched pergolas, lagoons, waterfalls, covered terraces, sunken seating and fire pits into garden designs.

Also it’s important to add that the planting here is different. I can use a lot of tropical and subtropical planting. In the UK we have a lot more variety, but we cannot take advantage of the structured leaves and vibrant colours of the tropical and subtropical species as they are devastated by frost and winter weather.

What are common mistakes when trying to organise your garden or terrace?

One of the main mistakes that people will make here is to not take into account the soil type of Andalucía (heavy clay). If planting doesn’t have nutrients and has very bad drainage, plants can literally become stationary. They don’t necessarily die, they just don’t do anything! They can remain in this state for many years. Before anything is planted, it is better to address the soil.

When people visit a garden centre here, they are unfamiliar with the plants and can be seduced by something pretty that catches their eye. It is a familiar thing for me to view gardens where someone has spent a large amount of money at the garden centre, on plants which are then planted in the wrong position and subsequently die from too much sun or exposure to salty sea air.

If you are buying plants in a garden centre, it will help to ask some questions:

• How many times a year does it flower? Or will it flower all summer?
• How much sun can it take?
• Is it drought tolerant?
• Is this plant for interior or exterior?

What’s your favourite garden in the world?

I have a soft spot for Stowe Landscape Gardens in Buckinghamshire. They are now run by the National Trust and include over 800 acres of landscaped gardens, lakes, bridges, monuments, pavilions etc. This is where I first fell in love with gardens. Stowe is also a boarding school, where I lived during term time for five years. It’s a truly beautiful place.

Do you prefer an English country garden or a Mediterranean garden?

I think my design style fits more with a warmer climate. I find warm weather plants more exciting. I love the architectural planting of the Med, there are so many interesting plants that I could never grow in a garden in the UK. The weather plays a huge part in my love for the Mediterranean, gardens feel more alive! The views of the sea and the mountains make every day special here.

How does bringing up children on the Costa del Sol compare to the UK?

I feel that children have more freedom here. There’s the beach, swimming pools, great weather and an outdoor life. The people in general seem happier too, both expats and locals alike. Everything is more laid back and family life feels more important, you can take the kids anywhere and they are always welcome! We now have three children and they have a real outdoor and active life.

Favourite place to get out and get some fresh air?

I walk my dog daily across the hills near Benahavís. Not only are there beautiful sunrises, but spectacular views of the sea, the mountains and the Marbella Club Golf Resort, where the grass is almost as good as in one of my gardens!  This gives me valuable thinking time daily without emails or a phone. Perfect!

Charlie Monk, Agave Marbella Gardening

Any tips for the amateur gardener on the Costa del Sol?

Here in Spain, with good soil, good irrigation and the sun, we can pretty much grow anything. If you can get these three things correct, your garden will thrive. Remember to check soil quality, and that plants are positioned well! If you have any problems, seek advice from someone who knows what they are talking about, to avoid further disappointment.

Charlie Monk is director of Agave Marbella Gardening and a VIVA Recommends partner. Contact him for a no-strings chat about your garden or lawn care requirements on +34 637 515 806 or visit www.marbellagardening.com