Francisco Bermejo's family had a gardening business in his native Cantabria, so at a young age he moved to a specialized center in Reus, Tarragona, where he obtained a degree as a specialist technician in ornamental horticulture and gardening and later, in the French town of Angers, he trained as a landscape architect.
After working for ten years in France, during a vacation in 1992, "my wife and I fell in love with Lanzarote. It seemed like a dream to live here, we said we would come for retirement, but due to family matters, we moved it forward."
Smart irrigation, xeriscaping, and a patent to save palm trees
Once in Lanzarote, Bermejo applied all his experience to create the Lanzarotean company Canariensis, which has been a pioneer on the island in intelligent irrigation systems; in xeriscaping, a model that minimizes water needs; and in the recovery of sick palm trees and other trees.
“I saw that the palm trees were sick and I didn't know why. The weevil, the *diocalandra*, wasn't being talked about yet, at least not publicly. I did some research and discovered some endotherapy systems for treating palm trees that seemed good to me. I called a factory in Córdoba that has a patent and I became their distributor in the Canary Islands.”
To explain xeriscaping, which originated in the United States in the seventies, Bermejo contrasts it with gardens featuring tropical plants.
"The problem with Lanzarote is that, if you have water, any plant works"
"The problem with Lanzarote, in my humble opinion, is that if you have water, any plant will grow. So many hotels and public gardens have planted tropical species that require a lot of water, and besides being an exaggerated water expense, this also means much more care and many more treatments," he explains."It's a vicious cycle. These are plants that, due to that amount of water and those conditions, are more prone to pests and diseases, so we are spending more on water and insecticides," he adds.
“When we design gardens that require almost no water, with plants adapted to the climate and water conditions of Lanzarote, we make their maintenance easy and low-cost. The difference is abysmal.” It is estimated that this type of garden requires between 5 and 10% of the water needed by unadapted gardens.
Canariensis, a growing company
Canariensis has five permanent employees, but the company is experiencing a period of great growth, so the team could expand. For now, they have just opened a physical store in Tías selling gardening supplies, which is in addition to the company's warehouse for logistics, located in Uga.
“Living and working in Lanzarote, we realized the difficulties professionals have in finding certain materials and tools, so we decided to open a store.”
When asked about the Canariensis project on the island that he is most proud of, Bermejo highlights "a private garden in Playa Blanca, very Manriqueño. We did everything, the pool, the terraces." Among public projects, Bermejo points out the gardens of the Yaiza dog park."I've been an admirer of César Manrique for many years. Without imitating him, because Manrique is inimitable, but always keeping his values and philosophy in mind," he adds.
