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Phlomis is another one of those plants I always found a bit boring – before I had a Mediterranean garden. Now I’ve grown quite fond of them although they do not bloom particularly long, mostly in May. Their foliage and…
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Goodbye Poppies.
Slowly spaces are opening up again as the beautiful masses of native wild poppies successively grew smaller. I’ve pulled them out as they faded and the other plants needed more space and less competition. I put the faded poppies and…
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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…
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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,…
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April Showers in May
Last spring was extremely dry and warm, as was the one before that. And the winter of 2023/2024 didn’t bring much rain either, so we still had critical groundwater levels and corresponding water restrictions this March. But relief was on…
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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…