Tag: shrubs
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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, even those said to be robust and resistant. And there are a lot of aspects…
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Syringa vulgaris
I love the scent of lilac and the flowering season is always too too short. Even more so in this Mediterranean garden, where it lasts all of two weeks in April. The rest of the year the shrub seems solely focused on surviving. It is an old plant, growing in all-day full sun on the…
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Rhamnus alaternus
Rhamnus alaternus is an evergreen shrub with small fragrant flowers in spring and red berries in summer. It is native to the Mediterranean region, pretty drought-tolerant (Filippi code de secheresse 4 of 6), hardy to -12℃, thrives in sun or shade, and can grow up to 5m high. It can grow in hedges or by…
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Caryopteris clandonensis
Caryopteris is one of my favorite shrubs, but for a long time I thought it was a somewhat misguided beginner’s purchase: Filippi only gives it a mere 2.5 of 6 on the drought-resistance scale. However, in this garden it has turned out to be surprisingly tough and has even survived under less than ideal circumstances.…
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Colutea media
Colutea media “Copper Beauty” seems to be a longer-blooming cultivar of Colutea arborescens, a native of Southern Europe from Spain to Roumania. In the wild it grows in well drained, chalky soil, mostly on dry slopes and rocky meadows, and likes full sun. Colutea media blooms from May through September and its flowers turn into…
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Myrtus communis
Myrtles are one of the most ancient Mediterranean plants. They grow very old, but they also grow veeerrrry slowly. And they’re not quite as robust – at least in my experience – as one would think. Over the past three years I lost two of them and managed to keep two others alive only with…