Category: Plants
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Convolvulus
Convolvulus cneorum One of those absolute specialists for poor, dry, alcaline, clay, sandy or gravelly soil and full sun exposure. The evergreen plant makes a little bush of about 50cm high and 70cm wide. It is hardy up to -10°C, when well established and in well-drained soil. Olivier Filippi gives it a drought resistance rating…
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Phlomis
Phlomis is another one of those plants I always found a bit boring – before I had a Mediterranean garden. Now I’ve grown quite fond of them although they do not bloom particularly long, mostly in May. Their foliage and spent flowers are quite attractive and they are allelopathic plants, meaning that they discourage the…
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Goodbye Poppies.
Slowly spaces are opening up again as the beautiful masses of native wild poppies successively grew smaller. I’ve pulled them out as they faded and the other plants needed more space and less competition. I put the faded poppies and other desired “weeds” on the service walkway that goes along the side of the garden…
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Antirrhinum
I always judged Snapdragons to be a bit of a stuffy, boring flower for stuffy, bourgoeis gardens. How unjust I was – and how wrong. Since they kept popping up in my garden uninvited I have learned that Antirrhinum are a Mediterranean native and very drought-tolerant. They can be annuals or short-lived perennials that grow…
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Nassella (Stipa) Tenuissima
Many grasses need humid soils but as a native of the Southwestern US and Mexico Stipa tenuissima is perfectly made for dry gardens. It needs no watering at all and loves sunny spots in dry well-drained soil, even poor, chalky, stony or sandy. It is hardy to -12℃. Care should be taken not to let…
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Springtime Bulbs 2024
I did a lot of research before starting my garden here – and I’m still researching. But sometimes I also just try stuff like springtime plants I’ve grown in more northerly gardens. I’ve found that a plant’s natural habitat can make a big difference here at sea level in the Mediterranean. Plants from more mountainous…