Category: Plants

  • Ceanothus

    Ceanothus

    Ceanothus is an American native, growing mostly in California. It thrives on rocky or sandy soil and is resistant to salt as well as to drought. Soil that is too humid or a location with too much shade will shorten its life expectancy – which is only around 10 years anyway. The colors of Ceanothus…

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  • Lettuce Tips & Tricks

    Lettuce Tips & Tricks

    In this Mediterranean garden I plant lettuce between September and May. The mild winters are wonderful for growing lettuce and lots of other hardy greens and vegetables like cabbages and beets. Summers are definitely too hot – even when grown under a shade canopy, lettuces won’t thrive, will suffer from pests, and will taste bitter.…

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  • Cotinus coggygria

    Cotinus coggygria

    Cotinus coggygria is a Mediterranean native but also grows in Southwest Asia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and China. It thrives on sunny and dry, rocky slopes up to altitudes of 2400 meters. It reasonably thrives in my low-lying mediterranean garden at 50 masl but it doesn’t grow very big, staying far below its potential of 2-3…

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  • Salvia / Rosmarinus officinalis

    Salvia / Rosmarinus officinalis

    Yes I know that the scientific name is Salvia rosmarinus. But I’ve always known and grown to love it under the “Rosmarinus” name and I think there are so many kinds of Salvias in the world they won’t miss this one in the family. Besides, to me it looks and smells nothing like salvia. Anyway,…

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  • Asparagus acutifolius

    Asparagus acutifolius

    In March and April seemingly all of Occitanie goes crazy for wild asparagus. It is found in woody or uncultivated places, like the garrigue, on dry and sunny soil. I haven’t found masses of it while out walking but every spring I do find quite a few young shoots in the garden on the slopes,…

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  • Lobularia maritima

    Lobularia maritima

    Another one of those seemingly boring little things that turn out to be “superplants” in the dry garden. Lobularia maritima is a Mediterranean native and a fast-growing, long-blooming ground cover with small white or purple, honey-scented flowers. In my garden, depending on location, they bloom in the spring before going dry in the summer (can…

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