Category: Plants
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Geranium
In Switzerland I always had Geranium “Rozanne” – it is one of the longest flowering and most vigorously growing Geraniums I knew and I loved to see those gorgeous blue flowers all over my garden. But alas, it’s not made for dry Southern climes or soils. So for this garden I’m using as ground covers…
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Calendula
I don’t really like “hot” colors in flowers, like yellow, orange, or red. But there are some I can’t resist. Among them is Calendula officinalis or Marigold – one of my alltime favorites. Marigold thrives in a Mediterranean Garden When we first arrived here I tossed a package of calendula seeds in the vegetable garden and…
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Acanthus mollis
A true love-hate relationship. I had always wanted Acanthus in the garden for its beautiful flower heads and foliage – until I had one. In our first spring here I discovered it half-hidden under a thicket of painfully spiky and ugly-looking yucca and I really felt sorry for it. Poor thing. No light, no air,…
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Aloysia/Lippia citriodora/triphylla
I was very surprised to discover an Aloysia citriodora shrub of 2 meters height when we first cleaned out the garden. Having always had to keep this plant in a pot in Switzerland I wasn’t aware it grew that big. Aloysia citriodora is also known as Aloysia triphylla, Lippia citriodora, Lippia triphylla or simply Lemon…
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Bryonia: Nice name, bad plant.
Discovered totally by chance while cleaning up near the fig tree patch, Bryonia cretica (?) had already formed a thicket of long vines up to four meters long. I filled up a whole big leaf bag with it, tearing out whatever I could see and get to. Bryonia looks pretty but is very toxic when…
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Nigella damascena
One of my absolute favorites because it is sooo easy to grow and because it is sooo pretty. In late summer or early spring I just toss the seeds wherever I want to fill up an empty spot and throughout May and June I fill up my camera with pictures of these lovely lacy flowers……