Designing a Mediterranean Style Garden

Think of a Mediterranean garden, what do you see? Generally a pebbly or rustic pathway, sprays of perennials, mixed plantings of lavender and grasses flowing in the wind, some terracotta potted specimens maybe, and some junipers or olive trees breaking things up on the vertical plane, all sitting in a climatic zone between temperate and tropical. Long dry summers and mild wet winters echo the summers that we experience in some parts of Australia. Mediterranean gardens also lean on these grey greens or glaucous coloured plants like this Eremophila Blue Horizon. They suit Australia as they're perfect for the generally hot, dry climate that we're used to experiencing. There are some other Ozbreed plants that are perfect contenders for inclusion in Mediterranean style gardens. I want to show you a few to consider if this is a garden style that you love. Brugodia is native to every state. Ozbreed's Aussie Flatbush has been bred to handle all of them. Its cloud-like growth habit can be left informal or clipped to create sculpted mounds in your garden. Straight and narrow, Syzygium australe, better known as a lily-pilly, has a slender growth habit, exactly like those junipers you regularly see, like exclamation marks in a Mediterranean garden. Dot a few of those around to anchor the garden in its place, in odd numbers remember, and then plant around their base. Buxus, either clipped for a more formal look or left in its natural ball-like habit, can be replaced with the dry-loving, native Greybox Westringia. It can supply that pattern, repeated through the garden, its finer leaf creating a contrasting texture in the landscape, while the pretty white flowers attract pollinators in spring and summer. The iconic Mediterranean look can be captured using several of Ozbreed's grassy cultivars. Pennisetum nigriflora, Imperata yalba or Pennisetum purple-leaved all suit the Mediterranean scene. Choosing your preferred species, they can be planted sporadically through the space and left to flower, creating that fine, wispy texture that catches the wind. Succulents also appear in Mediterranean gardens. Plantings of the aloes in our mighty range, or sea urchin aloe, are yet another way to introduce a different leaf shape while creating an overall Mediterranean-style look. Again, they need little extra watering, unless we're in heavy drought, and their flowering in winter will brighten even the dullest of days. Raphiolepis cosmic pink, or in this case cosmic white, can really balance out those glaucus or grey greens with its beautiful, dark, shiny leaf. Sit it at the back of a garden bed and they'll really create the structure for everything else to just bounce off. Enjoy creating your own little slice of the Mediterranean with some amazingly reliable and no-fuss Ozbreed plants.