Follow the story of our garden-in-the-making in the South of France:

  • 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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  • Periwinkle as ground cover The Eleagnus and Photinia shrubs near the entrance portal grow in half shade and were surrounded by naked or weedy soil. I decided to try Geranium macrorrhizum and Vinca minor there. The Vinca plants from the…

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  • The “Ice Saints” in the South of France. No, there are (usually) no more sub-zero temperatures in May or even in April here in Capestang. February and March offer many days with warm sun and 20+ ℃. And it can…

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  • The laurel-leaved Viburnum is a native of the Mediterranean region, the Near East and North Africa. Supposedly it prefers shady, humid areas – in my garden I have an older specimen in full sun and it does just fine. Another…

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  • Along with eleagnus ebbingei, our garden is bordered by a few big Photinia fraseri “Red Robin” bushes. Apparently it is one of the most widely planted evergreen hedge shrubs in European gardens. Despite its elegant looks and soft glossy leaves,…

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  • “Garten heisst Warten” – a German phrase I coined a few years back in my Swiss garden. It means that gardening is mostly about waiting: Waiting until you can plant stuff.Waiting for stuff to grow. Waiting for stuff to bloom.…

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