Bringing the Mediterranean to your garden

We are all looking forward to some sun at this stage, the chance of overseas holidays again this year is probably minimal so I thought I’d bring you some Mediterranean inspiration for your garden. If we can’t get to Spain, Italy or Greece then we can bring touches of the Med to you.

The first thing we think of on the nursery when we think Mediterranean is Olive Trees and do we have some beauties to bring you, from our mini olive trees that are perfect for smaller terraces and balconies or by the door or bringing inside in a light and airy spot. We have lots of mid sized trees around the 6ft size, great for around the terrace or planting through the flower beds. Try underplanting with Lavender or Nepeta to create a carpet of lilac-blue under your Olive tree.

Olives grow very well in Ireland, the foliage grows full and well through our Spring and Summer and on a colder Winter it can loose some of its leaves but it soon recovers and the new growth is fuller and fresher. Our more mature Olive trees are a very firm favourite with probably the most popular being the wide, chunky stemmed trees with short trunks and full heads of foliage, great displays of silvery foliage going that real Mediterranean feel, again in a bed or a feature within a terrace or if you can find a pot large and low enough.

Italian Cypress trees bring me back to Tuscany each time, the tall slender tree are fantastic planted in a row or as a grouping of slightly differing heights are great for adding height and structure to a garden without overpowering a smaller garden and blocking light. Fig trees remind me of Greece and the beauty of a sunnier spot in the garden, preferably against a South facing wall you will get fruit from this tree and the fabulous shape and wonderful large leaves will make it a great addition to the garden.

Adding Palm trees to your garden can add a lovely semi tropical feel, I am working on a design currently with our designers that includes a beautifully simple beech bench with a backdrop of palms and bamboos layered to create a real tropical feel to this compact garden adding a couple of Evergreen Magnolias to this South facing corner will include amazing flowers in the Summer with that wonderful lemony scent.

I’m still adding scent everywhere around the home and office and bringing eucalyptus and scented foliage and flowers, Accacia/Mimosa is in season and its smells divine in a well placed vase. Candles are my got to mood booster and I love the string lemony scent, I had one last year that smelt of that Greek/Italian evening, lemony & wood I must find that one again, it always gave me a lift.

Summer evening to me mean sitting outside with a glass of wine and for me pizza oven is invaluable, We cook so much in it, definitely not just for pizza although we do tend to have garlic ciabatta with most meals, We cook a lot of meat and fish in it, we love cooking outdoors as a family and this is the prefect way to do it for us. Sitting around the fire bowl afterwards makes the most of the evenings as it gets slightly cooler. We are going to be so dependant on our gardens this summer to lift our spirits so lets hope for some amazing weather to do the same.