CREATE A MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
Plants that will add a touch of Med magic
Many of us have been on holiday to the Med and enjoyed the floral delights. In late winter you’ll often see acacias and citrus in their full glory, in spring crocus, annuals and cistus take centre stage, and into the summer it's bougainvilleas, pelargoniums and oleander and that we’re most familiar with. Then, in autumn, there’s a smaller burst of beauty with the likes of cyclamen and autumn crocuses, with rosemary often flowering the year round.
By the Med we mean the countries that surround the Mediterranean sea – Spain, France, Greece, Italy and so on. Some plants that we grow are genuine Med natives, some are from similar climates in California, South africa or South america but all are adapted to the Mediterranean climate. and now that here in Britain the climate is changing with milder winters and a longer growing season, it’s becoming much easier and easier to grow these plants in our gardens.
In the wild, Mediterranean plants enjoy damp and relatively mild winters followed by dry sunny summers. Many grow through the winter, flower in spring, set seed then take a break.
In our gardens, most Mediterranean plants enjoy sunshine and good drainage for although they need winter moisture they hate winter sogginess. Many, especially bulbs, appreciate dry – even parched - summer soil.
a sunny slope, like a Mediterranean hillside, is ideal for Med plants but any sunny area will work well. I’ve seen whole front gardens turned over to Mediterranean plants, with a gravel mulch to keep the crowns dry and to provide an appropriate background. If you have a gravel driveway, continue the gravel across the rest of the front garden and create a Mediterranean landscape. In fact, a gravel mulch works
“Good soil drainage is important”
well for even a small planting.
Alternatively, choose a sunny corner of the garden and give it a Med theme with appropriate climbers on the walls or fences and perhaps a container or two to highlight aromatic evergreen Mediterranean shrubs.
In small gardens, in particular, providing allday sunshine can be difficult as fences and walls cast shade. But many Med plants are happy in the partial shade of a fence – it’s overhead shade from trees and large shrubs that’s more of problem.
In the north where, if anything, the climate is becoming wetter, choosing the right plants, the more adaptable and tolerant plants, and giving them good drainage and all the sun you can, is more crucial.
Creating the right atmosphere
Few Mediterranean gardens have room for a tree, but an olive or a dwarf palm such as Chamaerops, can be grown in a container and instantly creates the right atmosphere.
Amongst climbers, the Mediterranean classics include grape vines, sweet peas, and winter clematis. Choose a reliable outdoor fruiting vine such as ‘Regent’ or ‘Phonix’ or Vitis ‘Brandt’ whose grapes are on the small side but which has spectacular autumn colour.
Although we think of them as quintessentially British, sweet peas are in fact Mediterranean natives. The best advice is to sow in autumn to fit in with their natural growth cycle, while for winter, the various forms of Clematis
cirrhosa such as ‘Freckles’ and ‘Wisley Cream’ generate delightful creamy bells amongst bronzed evergreen foliage.
Many of the best Mediterranean shrubs are evergreen aromatic herbs and these include bay, rosemary, sage and lavender. Bay can become uncomfortably large over the years but the others are more manageable. When choosing rosemary there are trailing types, arching types, bushy varieties and also upright ones so choose the right plant for the situation.
"Bougainvilleas look the part"
Lavenders now come in an increasing variety, many with silver foliage, and many are nicely compact so avoid becoming straggly as they get older. English lavender is by far the hardiest type, while French lavender may need winter protection.
Cistus is an iconic Mediterranean shrub, with large bowl-shaped flowers in white or pink, often with bold contrasting blotches, set against attractive evergreen foliage. Most remain usefully modest in size.
South American bougainvilleas look as if they’ve always grown in the Med, they just seem part of the place. Here, they’re seen more often in garden centres and flower shows these days. Grow indoors and move their pots outside in June, bringing them back in from October.
Moving on to perennials, Euphorbia
characias should be high on your list for its spectacular heads of yellow or chartreuse flowers in late winter and spring, while perennial foxgloves are also a good choice, the pale rusty flowers of Digitalis ferruginea fit in particularly well with Med planting schemes. Amongst bulbs, tulips (especially the smaller species) and crocus stand out; they should bulk steadily, especially if given two or three liquid feeds after flowering. Dainty hoop petticoat daffodils, Narcissus
bulbocodium, also bulk up into prolific clumps and anemones, especially A. coronaria, love the sun. The bulb catalogues are out, order them now.
Finally, many familiar annuals originate in the Med and, in addition to sweet peas, think about annual chrysanthemums (‘Polar Star’ will fit right in), cerinthe, calendulas, larkspurs, and nigella and remember to sow in September to replicate their natural growth cycle and to create large plants for late spring flowering. n