Home And Family

Mediterranean gardens have become popular in recent years for several reasons, first they bring a relaxing and unique atmosphere to a yard and house, the second reason is they are a garden that once in place will need somewhat less care over the perennial garden. These are gardens often found in places like Spain and Italy where the climate is hot and the plants lush and green.

The Mediterranean garden is filled with plants, flowers and herbs that are indigenous to the areas these gardens are found. One of the plants is lavender, there are also herbs that are aromatic, while also adding to the lush look and feel of this garden like basil, thyme and sage.

One other element that is often found in this type of garden is statues and benches, along with flowers and herbs in decorated pots. This lends a certain charm to the garden that is not usually found in most gardens, it is also a garden that can become the backdrop for an outside living area. Other plants that can be added in this type of garden are vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and other colorful edibles, they not only provide something fresh for the dinner table but they lend color to this outside living area.

The area where the garden is built in is not as important as what goes in it to make this a magical place to sit or relax. For relaxing, the Mediterranean garden is built on the edges of a patio where there are lounges and other furnishings. The garden that is built for sitting is often further from the home and will have stone or concrete benches hidden in the garden paths.

One of the other main attractions of this type of garden is the pathways, which are usually of gravel throughout the garden giving it a romantic and magical feeling of having a secret hiding place.

Many of these gardens also are hidden away by trees and shrubs like olive trees, citrus trees or boxwoods and bay trees on the outer edges of the garden and often in the garden for shade. These will return year after year with little care and some of these can be planted in terra cotta pots for a dramatic effect.

The Mediterranean garden is an easy to care for garden that requires replanting of some plants each year, like the vegetables and the herbs and there are advantages to this type of garden. There is the advantage that it can be a relaxing environment and it will also lend fresh herbs and vegetables to the dinner table. This is also the type of garden that can be the perfect backdrop for outside functions because the Mediterranean garden holds charm and beauty that many other gardens only have at just the right time of the season. Even when the colors of the vegetables are gone there are still the lavender and other flowering plants that give the garden color.

Check out Roger’s Gardens for more info on Mediterranean gardens and outdoor entertaining. See ABN for more helpful gardening articles.