Tag: flowers
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Lomelosia minoana
Also called Scabiosa minoana, this native of Crete is simply a joy to grow in a Mediterranean garden. I bought this plant from Jardin sec and planted it in December 2023. It has been growing wider and heigher since, blooming profusely in soft mauve from May through July. The cream-colored seed heads stay all through…
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Hyssopus officinalis
Native to Europe and the Middle East, Hyssop has been both a kitchen and a healing herb since the Middle Ages. In the garden it is a small woody (sub-)shrub (about 45×45 cm), with semi-evergreen aromatic foliage and purple or pink flowers from June through July or even through September in less hot regions. It…
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Santolina
Somewhat unspectacular plants, but very good shrubs to have in a Mediterranean garden. Santolina chamaecyparissus An evergreen Mediterranean shrub, growing to 50 x 80 cm. The very aromatic, grey-green leaves have a scent reminiscent of Chamaemelum nobile. The round yellow flower heads appear in May-June. Santolina chamaecyparissus has been a feature of Mediterranean herb gardens…
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Agastache aurantiaca
Another one of those plants where it pays to look very closely… Garden centers will sell Agastache aurantiaca as suitable for Mediterranean climates, mentioning maybe that it comes from Mexico. Looking closely however, it is native in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Durango which are both mountainous. Thus it likes cool nights, cold winters,…
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Nepeta
When I came here I had some bad memories of Nepeta becoming the mangled victim of deadly cat passion with my own and the neighbors’ cats rolling around on it, digging it out, eating it up, and finally killing it. But it turns out that not all cats are created equal regarding the effects of…
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Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Unsung hero of the dry garden. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides – the “blue-flowered leadwort” – is a native from Western China. It grows and grows, unfettered by heat or drought, and blooms from June through September in a very beautiful bright blue over somber green leaves. The leaves may also turn red in the fall. I had…