Cumberland Landscaping & Design

Monday January 4th , 2010

Turkey is highly regarded for its flora and fauna and has almost as many species of wild flowers as the rest of Europe combined. With 9000 species already identified, more than one third are native to the country and many are not to be found anywhere else on earth. This gives a rich and diverse selection of natural plant life both to choose from and inspire us.

Being green and eco-friendly is now near the top of everyone’s agenda and it had not gone unnoticed at Cumberland Properties. After constructing and selling property in Turkey for many years we had already implemented measures to use during our building processes to become more environmentally friendly but here is a look at something else we have developed in an effort to build long-term green sustainability.

After the overwhelming success of our in-house nursery we decided to expand our operations and create Cumberland Landscaping & Design. This was not an easy task, as our plans for expansion had outgrown our existing nursery so consequently a search began to locate a site with the perfect growing conditions. A local couple were drawn to our attention both of which had green fingers and handily knew of an area of disused farmland close to their home. We ended up purchasing half an acre (approximately 2000 square metres) and work began, we couldn’t have been happier.

The location couldn’t have been more ideal, as you travel around Turkey the most common landscape you will see is called “Steppe” and is characterised by the diversity of life that it sustains. In the spring especially, the rolling landscape is carpeted in a multicoloured profusion of delicate featured but hardy flowers bringing the county-side to life. Here in the Mediterranean Floral Area the mild climate enables the valleys and lowlands to grow a range of tropical fruit and the Aegean region in particular is known for its olives, grapes and cotton. This is the perfect eco-system for us to cultivate the plants and flowers we need.

Cumberland Landscaping & Design is near a very small village called Sazkoy located in the beautiful green valley of the Mumcular municipality, about 10 miles inland from Bodrum. This area is where most of the peninsulas agricultural farming takes place due to a dam constructed in the late 80’s on the Kocadere River. This feeds into state water channels that run along the valley floor and adjacent to our land providing an excellent system of irrigation in an area where rainwater is scarce.

Development at Cumberland Landscaping & Design began at the end of 2008 bringing in water and electric utilities and the construction of basic facilities. Next we erected two large greenhouses and with the addition of our own small irrigation system they are now home to a variety of plants. Now this site is self-sustaining we will be using it for all our future developments.

Currently at Cumberland Landscaping & Design we have almost 20,000 flowers, shrubs, trees and herbs being grown simultaneously. Palm trees from seeds, basils, daises, cacti, roses and banana trees are the more recognisable names but the majority are local flowers and perennial plants that help us achieve a constant stream of blooms in our gardens.

Our team of gardeners are constantly on the go, maintaining the site is highly labour intensive; plant care requires constant attention, good judgment and manual dexterity. Luckily our local couple have two life times of experience to call upon and an unbounded knowledge of the native flora and fauna of Turkey and, most importantly, specifically the Bodrum peninsula.

So Cumberland discovered one of the most instant ways to reduce our own carbon footprint was one of the simplest – just grow some plants.

For more information visit:
Web: property in turkey,
Contact:gozde@cumberlandproperties.net