Trying to improve the look of Costa Adeje is nothing new, but this week a stretch of Avenida de los Pueblos has had a bit of a makeover… and it’s actually quite nice.
If you know the road, you’ll know it’s one of the main routes through Costa Adeje. Thousands of cars every day, tourists wandering across the crossings, buses pulling in and out… not exactly the sort of place you expect to notice the gardening.
But recently the central reservation in the San Eugenio section has been completely replanted.
Around 3,000 plants have gone in, covering roughly 225 metres of the avenue and creating a landscaped area of about 850 square metres. Instead of concrete or plain soil and low maintenance shrubs, the council and EMSA have planted a mixture of oleander, lavender, geraniums, rosemary, daisies, limonium and dimorphotheca.
In simple terms… it’s gone from “bit dull” to a proper strip of colour down the middle of the road.
The work has apparently been going on for a few weeks. First clearing the area, improving the soil, then installing a new irrigation system designed specifically for the plant mix and density.
One thing that’s quite sensible about the design is that they’ve avoided grass completely. Grass looks lovely for about five minutes in hot climates and then spends the rest of its life demanding water and attention.
Instead, they’ve used mostly perennial plants that cope better with heat and need far less maintenance.
The local councillor for public works, Epifanio Díaz Hernández, also mentioned that the idea is to slowly turn more green areas into small “biodiversity refuges”. Basically planting combinations that attract insects and pollinators rather than just decorative plants.
Which, to be fair, makes sense in a place that gets this much sun.
It’s a small project in the grand scheme of things, but if you drive that road regularly you’ll probably have noticed it already. A bit more colour, a bit more greenery… and something nicer to look at while you’re sitting in the traffic.
And in a busy tourist area like Costa Adeje, those little improvements do make a difference.
If you want to see the full details of the project, you can read the original article here.