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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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Catananche caerulea
A very pretty, cornflower-like flower in blue, lilac, or white with a blue middle, depending on variety. Catananche caerulea supposedly blooms June through July, in my garden it blooms profusely all through May and then a little bit less in…
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Geranium
In Switzerland I always had Geranium “Rozanne” – it is one of the longest flowering and most vigorously growing Geraniums I knew and I loved to see those gorgeous blue flowers all over my garden. But alas, it’s not made…
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Calendula
I don’t really like “hot” colors in flowers, like yellow, orange, or red. But there are some I can’t resist. Among them is Calendula officinalis or Marigold – one of my alltime favorites. Marigold thrives in a Mediterranean Garden When we…
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Acanthus mollis
A true love-hate relationship. I had always wanted Acanthus in the garden for its beautiful flower heads and foliage – until I had one. In our first spring here I discovered it half-hidden under a thicket of painfully spiky and…
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Aloysia/Lippia citriodora/triphylla
I was very surprised to discover an Aloysia citriodora shrub of 2 meters height when we first cleaned out the garden. Having always had to keep this plant in a pot in Switzerland I wasn’t aware it grew that big.…