Tag: scented garden

  • Salvia / Rosmarinus officinalis

    Salvia / Rosmarinus officinalis

    Yes I know that the scientific name is Salvia rosmarinus. But I’ve always known and grown to love it under the “Rosmarinus” name and I think there are so many kinds of Salvias in the world they won’t miss this one in the family. Besides, to me it looks and smells nothing like salvia. Anyway,…

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  • Lobularia maritima

    Lobularia maritima

    Another one of those seemingly boring little things that turn out to be “superplants” in the dry garden. Lobularia maritima is a Mediterranean native and a fast-growing, long-blooming ground cover with small white or purple, honey-scented flowers. In my garden, depending on location, they bloom in the spring before going dry in the summer (can…

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  • Lavandula

    Lavandula

    One of the quintessential Mediterranean plants, lavender comes in a variety of types, differing in size, height, and blooming season. It is not easy to tell them apart and depending on where you buy them they may all just be called “Lavande” (this is my major beef with most regular garden centers). All lavenders are…

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  • Perovskia atriplicifolia

    Perovskia atriplicifolia

    What a perplexing plant! I see it everywhere around here with its great big bushes of purple flowers abuzz with bees in late summer and fall. Perovskia are supposed to be superbly drought-resistant plants, thriving and rapidly growing in even the poorest, most arid soil. Yet none of the ones I’ve been planting in my…

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  • Caryopteris clandonensis

    Caryopteris clandonensis

    One of my “darlings” and a somewhat misguided beginner’s purchase because Caryopteris is not really a drought-resistant plant. Filippi gives it a mere 2.5 on the drought-resistance scale. But so far it has turned out to be surprisingly tough and has survived less than ideal circumstances in my garden. I planted it in March 2023…

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  • Mirabilis jalapa

    Mirabilis jalapa

    Soil improvement between 2022 and 2024 definitely had a big effect on the inherited, self-seeding Mirabilis jalapa. Whereas in the summer of 2023, despite regular watering, they looked practically dead most of the time, in 2024, with a lot less watering, they popped back to life every night and looked splendid each morning. Mirabilis is…

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