Category: Techniques
-
Oh My Darling Clementine…
I was hankering after a citrus tree and I needed to have something vertical on the terrace… so I planted a clementine tree in a large pot. At the moment I’m not sure whether that was really a good idea or more a bit of plant abuse. I planted this “Clemenules” (Citrus reticulata, Clementina fina)…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Soil Improvement
When we first saw the garden in February 2022, the soil was bare, chalky-grey, and powdery soft. In parts of the garden I sank in to my ankles. You could have dug it with a table spoon and yet, about 30 cm down, you needed a pickaxe to make any kind of a hole. In…
-
The Joys & Challenges of Mediterranean Gardening
I was very honored to do a presentation on my approach to Mediterranean Gardening for VEEM (Vivre Ensemble En Minervois) in Olonzac on March 6, 2025. Many of the more than 40 gardeners who came are way more experienced than me and I thoroughly enjoyed the very interesting exchange of experiences. Here’s the presentation, changed…
-
Water Management in a Mediterranean Garden
Water management is a constant topic for gardeners and even more so in Mediterranean regions where rainfall may be scarce and/or erratic and water usage heavily restricted. This year, after two years of drought, we have had a relatively wet and cool spring. Between the beginning of October and until the 6th of July we’ve…