Desert Gardening, a sustainable landscape for El Gouna

Text and photography by Gabriel Mikhail 

 

In Egypt’s Eastern Desert, where Gouna is located, there is a great variety of indigenous trees and shrubs which have adapted to this region’s hot and arid conditions.   

Desert gardens have become fashionable in many hot and arid climates around the world. Native plants use less water and insecticides, feed the local wildlife such as birds, are authentic in their setting, show sensitivity to the environment and some are used as medicinal plants.   

From earliest times the Ancient Egyptians were renowned for their knowledge of medicinal plants. The Papyrus Ebers, an Egyptian medical papyrus of herbal knowledge (c. 1550 B.C.), compiled about 900 remedies, mostly plants, were being used by physicians. Many of the plants that are listed in the Papyrus Ebers are still used for purposes that include slimming and treating ailments such as skin diseases, intestinal parasites, rheumatism and urinary tract diseases.  

Many Red Sea garden homeowners and landscapers have faced problems with introduced plants through lack of information and guidelines for suitable planting. This is particularly so in this region, where salinity and limited fresh water supply have created difficulties in the establishment of green areas. Cultivation of native salt-tolerant and drought-resistant plants, including some acacia and tamarisk species, the toothbrush tree, caper shrubs and the common fig, could help to solve such problems. With increasing awareness of environmental issues and promotion of green destinations, the cultivation of indigenous plants, many of which are threatened species, would create small islands of wildlife, contributing to biodiversity protection in Egypt.

    

A few weeks ago, I met my old friend Dr. Irena Springuel (above) author of the book “The Desert Garden”. I have known Dr. Springuel through the late Dr. Abd-EL Fatah El Kassas, one of the most extraordinary scientific luminaries in Egypt, some twenty years ago. Back then, Dr. Kassas tagged me along to see her pioneering project of restoring desert habitats by planting indigenous desert plants with high market value in Wadi Allaqi Biosphere Reserve in the south of the Eastern Desert.

 

 

 

This time around, Dr. Springuel graciously gave me a detailed tour of her indigenous garden project by the Red Sea. I was impressed by the considerable size, scale and diversity of this thriving flora by the sea which she established only three years ago.

 

As I followed her through the gardens, Dr. Springuel showed me the different desert plants trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses she has established. She briefed me about the methods of collection and propagation of these plants, treatment and storage of seeds, containers and soils used and protection of seedlings, irrigation techniques; subjects well explained in her book. 

  

We went through the maze of Egyptian plum trees Balanites aegyptiaca (Arabic: heglik) (above), one of my favorite desert trees which was widely used in ancient Egypt.  The Egyptian plum can grow in any area of Egypt, other than on the Mediterranean coast and in high mountains. It is adapted to a wide range of soil from sandy to heavy clay and can stand moderately saline soil and short inundation. It is one of the very few trees able to bear fruit during periods of drought and to survive flooding and fire.

Different parts of the Balanites tree, which include the fruit, kernel oil, leaves, resin, root, bark, shoots and seeds, are used to treat a wide range of illnesses and complaints. 

 

We strolled along numerous tamarisk Tamarix aphylla (Arabic: tarfa or athel) planted close to the coast (above). Tamarisk has a broad ecological amplitude growing in the riverain, desert, and seashore habitats. It can withstand long inundation and tolerates hot temperatures as well as frost. The recycling of salts is another interesting ability of this plant. The deep roots absorb underground water, which often contains a high amount of dissolved salts. Absorbed salts accumulate in the leaves, which add to the soil salinity when the leaves fall to the ground. For this reason, only salt-tolerant plants can grow under the canopy of Tamarisk. 

Tamarisk was a tree sacred to the god Osiris, the wood has been used from the Ancient Egyptian period until today as timber, for making small items of furniture, used as fuel and for the construction of house turnery. The plant can be used for shade, screening from wind, dust, and blown sand, and for soil stabilization and habitat restoration. It is usually a tree but can be sheared into a dense hedge

Medicinal values of tamarisk include use as a diuretic, depurative, and sudorific; they are prescribed in Chinese herbal medicine to help measles erupt, also as an emollient for urination, and further to treat alcoholic poisoning; externally, they are used as a wash for skin allergies and as a carminative. Also, the branches and leaves were combined in making a bath or lotion to bathe children with measles. 

 

 

The Christ-thorn Ziziphus spina-christi (Arabic: sidr) (above) is one of the iconic tree species grown by Dr. Springuel in abundance. It is a relic of the pluvial periods in the wadis in the Eastern Desert and Sinai. It was one of the most important and well-known plants of ancient Egypt, being native to the country and used as food, medicine, and timber. The fruits have been found in pharaonic tombs, and the wood was used to make some of the shrine dowels in Tutankhamun's tomb. Because of a pair of very sharp unequal thorns, it is said to have been used for the crown of thorns of Jesus Christ, hence the name spina-christi, the 'spines of Christ'. 

Fruits are green, turning yellow when ripe, sometimes with a reddish tinge. The largest fruits are up to 3 cm in diameter. It is a popular fruit and widely sold in the markets of Upper Egypt. Containing an extremely high proportion of vitamin C, it is an important source of that vitamin for Bedouins living in remote desert areas. Fruits in pharaonic times included in breadmaking, a use that was recorded as having continued in modern Egypt until the beginning of the twentieth century. 

 

The caper, Capparis spinosa (Arabic lassaf) (above) is one of the favored bushes planted by Dr. Springuel who makes caper jam from its fruits. It prefers heavy clay and silt soils and can grow on rocky ground and nutrient-poor gravely soil. It tolerates saline soil, and inhabits rocky cliffs and stony walls near the sea. It requires direct sunlight and tolerates drought. In Egypt, capers grow best in the north and here, on the northern coast of the Red Sea. 

The terminal shoots and semi-mature fruits (the caper berries) of this plant are edible when they are pickled. The capers are familiar as a seasoning, the flower buds are cooked or pickled. The root bark is used as a laxative, diuretic, and analgesic, as well as for the treatment of rheumatism and paralysis. The leaves are used for treating earache, coughs, and diabetes. The caper was used by ancient Greeks and ancient Egyptians. 

 

 

One of the interesting flora in the garden is a Cocculus pendulus plant ( Arabic Ol-leek) climbing on anatural boulder in the site (above), well fitting into the desert garden.  Cocculus is a much-branched climbing vine or scandent shrub. The flowers are added to food while the fruits are edible and was used for making an intoxicating drink

Harvested from the wild, the plant is used in traditional medicine. Various parts of the plant, but especially the root, are used in traditional medicine throughout the range of this plant. It is used in the treatment of fevers, including intermittent fever, is the most common use, and a range of other conditions. 

After the tour, I had lunch with my courteous host and headed back home with more appreciation and belief of the potential of desert gardening. 

El Gouna and desert gardening? 

Desert gardening in Gouna makes a lot of sense. Growing indigenous desert plants with a low water intake, some of which are saline resistant or can even be salinity loving, will enrich the biodiversity of the gardens, solve the salinity problem, and considerably decrease the water bills. In addition, residents will love it because of its aesthetic value, Gouna management will appreciate its lower maintenance and water intake and tourists staying in hotels will be interested in the local flora, which will also attract the local fauna, particularly birds.  
 

Many residents in Gouna care about the environment.  Last year we planted some 2000 mangrove trees (above) with the much-appreciated help of Orascom through Mr. Oudad Khier the town manager and his staff. We aspire that El Gouna will strive to compensate the environment for the negative human impactas much as viable, play a welcome role in the protection of the country's biodiversity while help promote Gouna as a green destination. 

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