We’ve been working on clearing out an overgrown corner of the Smallest Smallholding so we can have a Mediterranean-style eating area with loads of wildlife/bee-friendly, drought-tolerant plants. It gets sun pretty much all day and the soil is incredibly poor… but that’s OK for some plants! A massively, huge, immense job but I’m determined to get it done this year. I’m a bit fed up already with doing trips to the tidy tip – we should have gone a green skip!
Here’s what I’m thinking of planting in this area:
- A selection of lavenders
- There’s already an old rosemary – it’s very old and woody so it might have to come out and be replaced
- A selection of herbs that flower – chives, hyssop etc.
- Rudbeckia
- Some sort of scabious
- Some grasses
- Perhaps a few pots with climbing beans and tomatoes
We may have a small paved area to put seating on, and gravel the rest, or perhaps keep some mulched borders – we’re not sure yet!
Got any other ideas or tips? Let me know 🙂
Sounds lovely!
I’ve never understood the standard gardening advice to replace old, woody rosemary bushes (and the same goes for lavender). They still have tender stems and fresh leaves, so why does it matter that these are growing on a woody centre? I love old rosemary bushes, especially when they’re covered in flowers!
That sounds like such a lovely idea – I hope we get lots of sunny days so you can enjoy it 🙂
As for tips…
An artichoke – a great architectural plant that the bees and insects will love (and you can eat some too!)
Do you grow savoury? – if not try some, highly recommended!
And, a bay tree 🙂 If it gets a bit big chop off some branches and use for Christmas decorations.
Celia
x
Sounds like a lovely plan, will be nice to sit out there with a meal and glass of wine come the summer. 🙂
As for tips, well from personal experience gravel isn’t that good for putting a table and some chairs on unless they’ll always be in the same position all the time, so I’d go with a paved eating area… 🙂
Sounds beautiful. Verbascum, for flowery spikes to contrast with the scabious buttons and echinacea daisies? And what about eryngiums? Also much loved by insect life and come in such wonderful shades of blue.
Sounds really lovely 🙂
How about some tomatoes, basil, thyme, marjoram – basically any plant that you associate with the Mediterranean and can eat 🙂
Sounds great to sit amongst a mix of flowers, herbs and veg all summer. A nice little project and hope our summer will be obliging!
I’m doing pretty much the same tthing! Hadn’t thought of it as meditterean but we have all the same plants, it’s a gravel area at present but my husband has begun paving an area for a table and chairs.
The herbs are all in along one side, we’ll have a floral border with thyme as a ground cover along the oppsitte side. This will also have runner-beans growing on bamboo wigwams. And at the bottom, below the fabulous view, we’ll have sweet peas and roses growing along a trellis.
Can’t wait to see pics of yours. Will you have a ‘covered’ area? We’d like to create a floral barrier between our seating area and the neighbours, without ruining the view, very difficult!!!
X