Category: Plants
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My Garden Center Pet Peeve
After cutting back all the gigantic old Atriplex halimus shrubs eaten up by Monoxia obesula we needed to plant other shrubs to provide soil cover on our steep slope and to replace the Atriplex over time. Replacement plants needed to fulfill some very specific requirements: The gardener as well as the garden center people had…
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Syringa vulgaris
I love the scent of lilac and the flowering season is always too too short. Even more so in this Mediterranean garden, where it lasts all of two weeks in April. The rest of the year the shrub seems solely focused on surviving. It is an old plant, growing in all-day full sun on the…
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Rhamnus alaternus
Rhamnus alaternus is an evergreen shrub with small fragrant flowers in spring and red berries in summer. It is native to the Mediterranean region, pretty drought-tolerant (Filippi code de secheresse 4 of 6), hardy to -12℃, thrives in sun or shade, and can grow up to 5m high. It can grow in hedges or by…
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Muehlenbeckia complexa/axillaris
I’ve fallen quite in love with this dainty-looking, but vigorous ground-cover. I’m not quite sure whether I have Muehlenbeckia axillaris or complexa – or both – in my garden. Regular French garden centers sell it cheaply but almost always without naming the species. Given the shape of the flowers and fruit and the growth habit,…
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Aizoacea & Mesembryanthemum
The Aizoaceae family is endemic to South Africa and has brought forth a multitude of mostly low-growing, spreading plants with fleshy leaves and bright flowers that work well as ground cover on dry soils in full sun. Several of its members are know as “ice plant” or “mesembryanthemum”. Interestingly, even “New Zealand Spinach” that grows…
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Plumbago auriculata / capensis
Plumbago auriculata or capensis is a native of South Africa where it is typically part of the undergrowth under larger shrubs and bushes. It has become quite popular as a smallish climber in regions with mild winters. The foliage will be killed off by frost but a well-established plant can withstand up to -8°C, growing…