This week at Casa Grande we have been building gabion walls to create a retaining boundary for a patio and planting area. This patio is to the rear of the bread oven.

We want to use and save water effectively and efficiently at Casa Grande. As well as beautiful mountain water, the municipal supply here in the Mortagua area is excellent. That said, we still want to be mindful and not wasteful – as everyone should.

Gabion walls are highly permeable, eliminating the need to install drainage systems. We intend to run grey water from the bread oven to small veg’ beds that will edge the new patio area. It’s important that we don’t flood the area and compromise the patio foundation in any way. We need good drainage. Unlike a traditional concrete wall, building gabion walls will give us the flexibility and allow excess water to drain to the grass field area beyond the proposed patio if required.

Another appealing aspect of building gabion walls for me it the possibility of the stones cracks and crevises attracting wildlife. We have small grass snakes and salamaders here, as well as ladybirds, bees and beatles. I have noticed that our bird population here in the mountains is also very healthy. There are some really beautiful avian friends stopping by on our land. With all the earth turning and wall crevis cleaning going on at the moment, it’s a great spot for some light, afternoon bug picking. The circle of life 🙂

🌧 When I was taking these first pictures of our gabion wall building, rain in the mountains stopped play unfortunately. Not to worry, there’s plenty of rock to sort in the adega. It all needs working through. The baskets will soon be ready for their stones.

Watch this space as we’ll post updates here on this project, and be sure to follow us over on Facebook and Instagram for updates too.