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Downtime home and Gardening-National News Gardening the Mediterranean way
| Gardening the Mediterranean way |
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| Friday, 12 October 2007 | |
Christine Brice has some tips for achieving that sultry southern look and how to adapt it to colder gardens. Here in the southernmost corner of France we are blessed with a climate which supports many exotic, tropical and Mediterranean plants which may once have been unfamiliar in gardens further north, although that is changing along with the climate. It is worth remembering that autumn (or at least when the intensity of the summer heat has passed) is an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs which have all winter to settle in. New plants may still need watering nevertheless so keep an eye and don’t let them dry out. (Avoid watering in temperatures below freezing.) A straw or other mulch will help keep the roots moist and protected from the cold. Palm and olive trees, pines and fig trees provide a natural and timeless backdrop to Mediterranean gardens and there are now some more frost-resistant varieties of olive trees for colder areas. Oleanders (lauriers roses) come in a wide range of colours, from pure white through to delicate apricot and pale pinks to the deep pink of Nerium oleander, an evergreen favourite in this dry region because of its knack of seeking out underground water. In the wild, they are often seen growing along dried water courses or river beds. They will survive slight frost or can be grown in tubs and brought in. Large trees give shade, which is crucial in the south for many months of the year, and the long-lived plane tree may fit this bill. Adept at coping with town pollution it also has attractive bark patterns not unlike camouflage. In the autumn, the spiky round fruit pods often grow in pairs like big cherries. Another popular tree here is the Catalpa bignonioides or Indian bean tree. Besides its large leaves and white flowers earlier in the year it is particularly resplendent as autumn approaches with its long brown seed pods or cosses. Catalpas will grow in most climes but be aware though that the entire family is notorious for sending up offshoots (drageons). Another favourite tree here is the micocoulier, an Australian native (Celtis australis L or European hackberry). For years the wood has been put to many different uses but most famously for making whips as the slender branches are flexible but strong. The village of Sorède (66) has one of the few remaining whip factories. The feathery leaves and dusty pink sprays of tamarisk, fragrant yellow mimosas and graceful albizzias will add an exotic look to non-Med gardens though mimosas will need the protection of a wall or covering in winter in colder northern areas.  Popular climbers are the unscented but spectacular Bougainvillea (which can only resist light frost) and the heady, heavily scented jasmine. Jasmine officinale and Jasmine polyanthum both have delicate white flowers tinged with pink. The glorious annual Morning Glory is easy to grow from seed and comes in a range of intense blues. It can be encouraged to grow up and through a dead tree for example to great dramatic effect. For structure, it is difficult to beat the cordylines, yuccas, aloe veras and a personal favourite the perennial Strelitzia or Bird of Paradise plant. Apart from the hardier forms of yucca (try Y. baccata), these won’t survive a winter away from the Mediterannean zone. Fill in with annuals such as coleus, salvias, nasturtiums and impatiens to create striking contrasts of form and colour. Bulbs and corms sometimes struggle in the Mediterranean heat but one success story has to be the exotic canna. Varieties offer different heights and hot colour combinations, reds and yellows and almost theatrical oranges, browns and purples. All have huge broad leaves, some with fabulous bronze stripes, which grow the length of the stem giving a tropical lushness to a flower bed. In colder areas, protect them with a thick mulch over the winter. Watering is of course an issue, especially in these days of increasing restrictions. Saving rain water, recycling ‘clean’ domestic water (eg, after salad washing), mulching and choosing drought-tolerant plants, is becoming increasingly important for gardeners in most parts of the country. The hardy succulents such as sedums and sempervivums, will grow in most gardens given plenty of sun. Day lilies (hemerocallis) are equally easy and put up with dry conditions. If on chalk, most grey-leaved plants and perennial herbs thrive in dry alkaline soils. In the Mediterranean, shelter from the destructive winds, the Tramontane in my area, is also vital and should be carefully considered when siting new plants.
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