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One of those nice surprises that an older garden can offer: two different Oxalis plants that keep popping up where they must have been planted a long time ago. Oxalis is a South American native that has been naturalized in…
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Pears “Clapp’s Favorite”
The rather small old pear tree (half trunk), which had not been pruned for ages, produced only two pears after my first heavy pruning in early 2023. In the spring of 2024 it had developed masses of steeply vertical water…
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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 is one of the most robust, hardy, drought and heat resistant flowers…
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Eleagnus ebbingei (submacrophylla)
Heavenly Scent & Drought Resistance in One. The side of the garden towards the neighbors is largely planted with Eleagnus x Ebbingei, now known as Eleagnus submacrophylla or “Chalef” in Garden-French. This shrub was totally unknown to me and when…
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Little Beasties everywhere
Birds and bees don’t change all that much between countries and gardens. But there were quite a few little beasties I had never seen before, including a large Western Whip Snake, crawling at speed straight up the embankment, hissing and…
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Portulaca grandiflora
Portulaca: One of those simple and seemingly “stuffy” plants that I had always ignored – until I needed to find some pretty summer ground cover for two large pots on the terrace. These plants are everywhere and they are so…