Category: Plants
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The Orchard
This garden had been an orchard once upon a time. There was a cherry plum (prunus cerasiferus) that had created its own little forest, damaging the garden wall in the process. A big old fruit tree of unknown kind that was more or less dead on its legs. Two stunted old apple and pear trees,…
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Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Unsung heroes 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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Centranthus ruber
A pretty plant that comes in its original reddish pink tone, a brighter pink, as well as in white (Centranthus ruber albus). It’s fairly heat and drought resistant with occasional deep watering. It is supposed to bloom from May through August. In this hot Mediterranean garden it will bloom April through June and then again…
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Wildflowers & Weeds
I have never seen as many different flowering weeds as I have here in the South of France – within my garden and also on my walks around the villages or in the garrigue. They provide great inspiration and ideas for what kinds of plants will “work” in the garden and/or they can be used…
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Veggies in Winter
I used to be happy when the gardening season was over for the winter. It just gets to damn cold in Switzerland. Looking at frozen radiccio and harvesting brussel sprouts in subzero temperatures is just no fun at all. Here I finally live in a part of the world where even in winter things actually…
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How about a lawn?
Not that we are all that crazy about having to mow lawn… But since there is this big area with nothing growing on it and since there are these grass seed mixes for “dry garden lawns”, we decided to give it a try and sowed “lawn” at the end of November. And now, at Christmastime,…