Countryside Holiday Homes - A Dream Undone

The idea of a holiday home in the Bulgarian countryside paints this lovely picture of living in a beautiful unspoilt part of the world with an abundance of nature around. Wake and get real, it is a major headache for many who fall into this trap of 'The Garden of Eden' waiting for them.

It's not so bad in towns and cities without gardens, perhaps just a yard, but in the villages and rural areas, it can be a nightmare with the land that comes with the property. Nature being nature takes over is left to run free and invade the land turning into a jungle and breaching the property with their wedge affect roots, lifting cement based foundations with ease. The vermin and insect community take residence there and eat their way into every nook and granny. Ants actually enjoy picking up a grain of mortar and storing it elsewhere, so even if you think you property is sealed, think again, eventually, a maze of tunnels will give access to more insects and vermin if left unattended.

My brother has a house in Bulgaria some 15 kilometres from Yambol City, right next to the River Tundzha. To be quite honest you couldn't get a better setting. It is a dream house in a dream position and bought and renovated at a dream price. It is only used for maybe two or three weeks a year.

It is left for up to 6 months without anyone living there and the problems with this are dream shattering and soul destroying. We went there recently to find that apart from all the overgrowth in the one acre of land that surrounds the place, the pathway had been decimated with couch grass roots, a massive outbuilding have collapsed and was in rubble, nicely kept flower beds where shrubs had needed pruning in the autumn were ruined. Quite a few vines had toppled down during the winter; some will no longer produce grapes.

In the house the rats had got into the kitchen and had eaten away at the fridge door, the food and utility cupboards had been breached with big dropping and electric plugs and plastic gnawed everywhere. To the side of the house, a big crack had appeared where a small leak had been left unattended, which had frozen and defrosted. To get the electric connected again you needed to pay a fee on top of the last bill and this would take three days to get switched back on. So when he arrives there would be no electric for that amount of time. Luckily this year we had insulated the water mains garden shaft and drained the system to prevent bust pipes, this is what happened last year and the year before so we knew. The list of problems goes on.

Many holiday homeowners have exactly the same problem and maintenance and a weekly check on the house is essential to keep in check of the problems of absent owners. The biggest problem is finding someone to do this without taking on specialist expatriate companies and paying extortionate prices. Local Bulgarians can usually take care of security in the villages, they are around all the time, but the foreign styled garden and modern house maintenance is a major hurdle and headache for all.

We were away from our village home for six months the year before last, but we knew all the problems that are involved with being away and we made sure our time away was in the winter when the growth in the garden is minimal. When we got back everything was in order. We had our neighbours to pay our electric and water bills throughout so no need pay and wait to reconnect. We even put the Lada car battery on a trickle charge on a sunny windowsill with a solar charger - It was fully charged when we got back.

These problems with countryside residences are not restricted to Bulgaria of course, anywhere where nature can take hold is a headache.

Stressing Out Over Garden Roses

For the last 5 weeks all I can think about is pruning the roses in the farmhouse garden. There are a few reasons for this; the first is going back two winters ago. I was living full time in the farmhouse then and in the winter the roses were pruned and buried well in time for the cold winter ahead. This is the Bulgarian way and it works very well. The following spring right though to December there was a single rose picked for Galia every single morning we were there.

Then there was last winter, I was working away from the farmhouse and didn't get to prepared the roses for winter, no pruning no covering them up with earth as they are left to face the elements throughout winter. This spring and all through the year right up to now the roses were very poor, in fact hardly any worthy of picking for a Bulgarian princess.

The thought of going through three Bulgarian seasons without vibrant perfumed Bulgarian roses in the garden is something that I never want to happen again. It was my intention to prune and bury some five weeks ago, but we had guest in the farmhouse and for the last week I have slipped a disc in my back, so it still hasn’t been done. We have been very lucky there has only been one or two night that the temperatures have fallen below zero, so no damage done so far. There is however the forecast of a cold break in the weather and snow on its way for Christmas Day. We do not plan to go to the farmhouse initial after Christmas what with family festivities and my bad back.

Throughout Christmas the roses will be playing on my mind and frustration not being able to physically do what needs to be done. We just hope that there is a speedy recovery and this garden chore can be done within the next week, even is it means clearing the snow out of the way to do it.

Does anyone else have such a strong urge to do garden to the point of getting stressed out about it?

Bulgarian Land Management

Land management in Bulgaria is easy and makes your visits here so much more enjoyable if organised with the help of the friendly Bulgarian community around you. A big concern for many is the maintenance of grounds whilst away from your property. What makes it worse is that many have taken on big areas of land to maintain no really taking into account that these need maintenance as well as anything else.

These are Bulgarian gardens and the growth rate of weeds and grasses is extraordinary especially during April to August. Unless there is someone maintaining your garden on a weekly basis or even a bi daily basis in the spring, the jobs become too great to cope with. This area of garden maintenance is another topic in itself - cultured gardens have no short cuts in terms of the required attention they need.

The main story here is to advise on the management of waste ground or fields that you may have alongside you property. To many this is a hay haven and food that is needed by many a livestock holder for using or storing for winter.

Many a question is raised into how much to pay a local to cut the hay on occasions just to keep it down, well this shouldn't be in question in most cases the feed alone should pay for the effort. If the local didn't cut his hay there he would be cutting it elsewhere for nothing after all. This is what my neighbour does on my vacant field, he is paid with the feed he gets, well on occasion he gets a rakia thrown in, but he gets that anyway!

There may however be another problem - perhaps the ground is not suitable for hay or such poor quality it isn't not worth cutting for animal feed. If this is the case and you have access for a tractor then twice a year this can be ploughed over, November and February respectively.

Everyone in your neighbourhood will know someone who has a tractor, your local mayor will certainly be aware of this. Ploughing can be arranged locally beforehand or during the November and February months when tractors are out and about ploughing other lands. All lands should already have access points for tractors, if would be very unusual if there wasn't, you will also have to ensure that keys for locks on the gates are left with neighbours.

The reason November is the best time for a plough is it is just before frosts set in for winter. this then will break the soil down over the in winter giving a fine tilth in the spring when plough again in February.

On the times you are over here in Bulgaria try to get this organised with your locals, it's not difficult but don't give in to being ripped off, better to leave it than pay over the odds.

It is difficult to come over for your holidays and have an overgrown field on your doorstep, many spend the first few days getting it hacked down, the secret is to make provision for this which in affect will extend your relaxing time on holiday.

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