Greece is the Word
Tim Sykes explains how to create your own Greek oasis - a Mediterranean garden that will thrive in our local climate.
From a feature article that recently appeared in Wealden Times
It’s a romantic thought, but actually a very sensible idea.
The climate is changing and last year was a salutary lesson to all traditionalists. From the extremes of snow and rain to drought, how can our poor English plants and soil cope with all this? Well one option is to put in a watering system, but beware of any hosepipe ban and ensure that your irrigation works on a low pressure system.
Last summer, we saw literally hundreds of plants fail, despite uk gardeners best efforts to take action.
The great Beth Chatto had ideas on this. Her research into drought tolerant plants that could also stand the test of our own temperate climate culminated in a book she published in 2000, “ Drought-Resistant Planting, from Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden”.
In Beth’s garden, she used gravel as a mechanism to aid drainage around plants and to protect the soil below from the heat of the sun. In her garden the water drains to a lower level, thus encouraging stronger root growth, but also the soil below the surface remains cooler and this helps stop the water from drying out so quickly in hot periods.
This characteristic is often a natural phenonimum in Mediterranean climes and I'll bet was one of the considerations in the design of the Delos Garden at Sissinghurst. Originally conceived by Vita and Harold Sackville-West the garden recently underwent a transformation by the acclaimed British Garden Designer, Dan Pearson. The work was completed in Spring 2020 and officially opened in 2021.
Just checking my i-phone photo library, we last visited Sissinghurst with some great gardening friends in 2022. I was really impressed by the new Delos Garden, it was inspiring. The sun was shining and the Delos looked amazing, you could easily feel yourself being transported off to a turquoise blue Greek idyll.
Armed with the inspiration of Sissinghurst why don't you try to recreate the essence of the Mediterranean in your garden?
What are the ingredients that could help create this for you?
1. Stone columns reminiscent of a greek temple ruin
Local Stone supplier Chilstone can provide many excellent examples including new stone columns and weathered options www.chilstone.com
2. Large stone boulders
Local landscape supplier Corker Outdoor Living www.corker.co.uk will source you excellent examples of large stone boulders. This beautiful example is from Lovell's who supply Corker’s with their Purbeck Stone.
Corker can also help provide you with the decorative aggregate for your pathways and the gravel for your ideal soil mix.
3. Italian Cypress and Gnarled Olive trees
Italian Cypress Trees (skyrockets) work well with the stone columns, check out Heathfield based, English Woodlands who stock some excellent examples www.ewburrownursery.co.uk
What could look better than a gnarled old Olive Tree? This multi-stemmed beauty can be purchased from Sutton Manor Nursery www.suttonmanornursery.co.uk
4. A large Greek Urn
There is no better place locally than Pots and Pithoi for that classic Cretan urn. Check out their website and enjoy your visit to their Turners Hill showroom www.potsandpithoi.com
5. A drought resistant planting strategy
Talk to us about a planting strategy and a design for your Mediterranean Oasis www.gardenproud.co.uk but here are a few excellent drought tolerant plants you may like to feature in your garden:
- Lavender Hidcote - a well tested and stunning lavender that gives months of purple colour
- Salvia Microphylla - a striking bushy Salvia with white flowers tipped with red. Often referred to as "Hot Lips"
- Verbena Bonarensis - a tall perennial that goes on and on and creates clusters of gorgeous purple flower heads
- Euphorbia Wulfenii - with its bright green upright stems, topped with huge heads of yellow/green flowers this is stunner in springtime
- Santolina Chamaecyparissus - Cypress Lavender - silvery foliage with yellow button flowers makes this an excellent choice
- Anemone Blanda - Grecian Wildflower - it's all in the name a dwarf spreading plant with delicate white flowers, mix with Anemone Blanda Blue to create an interesting vista
- Eryngium “Victory Blue” - Sea Holly - this spiky star looks very dramatic in any planting plan
- Rosemary - growing into strong outcrops its evergreen leaves combined with small pale bluish/lilac flowers
- Stipa Gigantea - A beautiful tall statuesque grass with large flower heads that float in the wind
- Pennisetum Hamelii - a delicate mid height grass with soft flower heads
- Erigeron Karvirnskianus - this is a bundle of joy, it looks stunning in gravel pathways and among rocks with its profusion of small pink, yellow and white flowers
- Thymus Mongolicus - a perennial herb with evergreen foliage and tiny purple flowers that bloom throughout the summer
- Sedum Spathulifolium “Cape Blanco” - This low lying succulent has delicate yellow flowers and looks brilliant among the rocks
Good places to source these plants online include, Sarah Raven www.sarahraven.com and Farmer Gracy www.farmergracy.co.uk but do talk to us first and we’ll help you create a comprehensive plan.
Hopefully you are now feeling that warm Mediterranean glow!