Category: Plants
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Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Unsung hero of the dry garden. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides – the “blue-flowered leadwort” – is a native from Western China. It grows and grows, unfettered by heat or drought, and blooms from June through September in a very beautiful bright blue over somber green leaves. The leaves may also turn red in the fall. I had…
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Teucrium – Germander
Teucrium, also known as “germander”, is a large plant genus with about 250 species of flowering perennials and shrubs worldwide. Most of them are native to the Mediterranean region and thus are pretty heat- and drought-tolerant while also being frost hardy to -10℃ or more. They are simple to cultivate, have no great demands besides…
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Lychnis coronaria
The friendly and well-behaved sister of Silene latifolia, Lychnis coronaria is found in the wild anywhere between Italy and the Himalayas. It grows on rocky slopes and in dappled woods and copses and in our Mediterranean garden it tolerates sun, heat and drought quite well. Along with the three bright pink plants I put in…
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Soil Retention and Stabilization
Our garden is located on the middle level of a terraced hillside and on its Northern edge bordered by a steep and almost straight slope of about 6-8 meters height. From what we can see, the hill seems to be made mostly of clay with a few firmer rocks in it. We do hope that…
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Trees for a Dry Mediterranean Garden
When we re-did our garden layout in the winter of 2023/2024, the goal was to turn the wide open vegetable and flower garden, where everything burned up in the summer, into a “park garden” with lots of shade trees. I researched a lot and made up a nice little shortlist of more or less drought-tolerant…
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Asphodeline lutea
Asphodeline lutea is a native of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region as well as Northern Africa, growing in grassy meadows and in the Garrigue or Macchia. It’s an easy-to-grow plant, a sunlover, and very drought-tolerant (Filippi code de secheresse of 5) – indeed I think I killed one this summer by watering it… Like most…