Category: Plants
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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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Mediterranean Iris
Live and learn… I had always thought of Iris as a delicate and overbred plant for experienced gardeners. But when I came here I found out that Iris are one of the most robust, hardy, drought and heat resistant flowers there are. They grow wild everywhere around here, from small Iris lutescens in the Garrigue…
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Springtime Bulbs
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…
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The Glory of Poppies
Common poppies or Papaver rhoeas are endemic to the Mediterranean countryside, growing in profusion along the roads and on fallow meadows, turning the countryside red in April. They are natives of North Africa but naturalized on almost every continent. A very “common” flower indeed, and yet, if one takes time for a closer look, how…
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Euphorbias
There’s practically no mediteranean garden – indeed not even a wild mediterranean landscape – without Euphorbias. I love the luminous bright green color and the pretty little flowers of wild Euphorbias appearing all over the place in February and March when there’s not much else. And I have grown to love the graphic look of…