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Alcea rosea (Hollyhocks in English or Rose trémière in French) are another example for plants that – in my experience – grow best if left alone to do their thing. They like to sow themselves where they please and need…
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Tomatoes
Tomatoes, well, surely tomatoes grow like crazy in the Mediterranean!? Yes and No. When I first planted tomatoes in the open vegetable plots in 2022 I was shocked to see them turn completely white on one side with “sunburn”. In…
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Helianthus annuus
Helianthus annuus or the common sunflower is a native of North and Middle America and needs rich soil as well as sufficient water to thrive. I would therefore never have bothered planting it – the birdfeeder took care of that…
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Roses for a Mediterranean Garden
A garden without roses? It’s possible but is it necessary? I did my research in 2022 and chose what I thought was a varied selection of robust roses. My experience so far shows that there are huge differences between varieties,…
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In the shade
Minimizing Water Evaporation in the Vegetable Garden After a very changeable spring it got up to 25 and 29 degrees in June with nary a cloud in sight. So I started to test my idea for shading the vegetable garden…
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Eschscholzia californica
As I keep saying: I don’t really like orange or yellow flowers. But there are some lifelong favorite exceptions like Calendula officinalis or Eschscholzia californica. You just have to love these totally uncomplicated flowers with their deeply luminous orange color…