Gardening for the future - Trisha's Meanderings
June 2025
A month in Greece has opened my eyes even more to the way I want to garden in the future.
With more than half of Australia gripped by severe drought, there is much to learn from the dry Mediterranean—where rain arrives for just a few short months a year, followed by nine months of nothing. In that context, design is everything. And often, choosing a single protagonist can be the secret to a truly fabulous dry garden.
The One That Stopped Me in My Tracks: Salvia ‘Allen Chickering’
The absolute knockout plant from my four weeks wandering some of the Mediterranean’s most remarkable gardens was Salvia ‘Allen Chickering’. A Californian native that thrives in full sun and good drainage, it is now my desert island plant. I would plant it en masse, without hesitation.
I’ve long been inspired by the gardens of the Leigh Fermor home on the Peloponnese in Greece—with their timeless combinations of lavenders, thymes, rosemaries, olives, and gravel. The mosaic paving, water-washed stone, and perfectly integrated architecture have stayed with me. But this year, it was a whole bank of that Salvia in bloom that took my breath away. Pure wow.
Hardy Beauties: Cistus, Oregano, and Evening Primrose
The free-flowering Cistus caught my eye again and again, with its silvery evergreen foliage and papery blooms—hardy as hades, and beautiful to boot.
I also fell for Oregano all over again. Don’t relegate it to the herb garden! It deserves a place in the hottest, driest parts of your landscape where it will thrive without water, rich soil, or fuss. Mine has taken over what used to be a gravel tennis court—flowering and spreading happily under the toughest conditions.
For those who want soft and pretty, I have to mention Evening Primrose, with its gentle baby-pink blooms. It’s so generous with its flowers—and a favourite of my mum’s.
Garden Lessons from the Med: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
One of the most powerful Mediterranean gardening tricks? Repetition. I saw it everywhere—masses of a single species for dramatic, cohesive effect.
Hypericum with its bright yellow pop, Phlomis fruticosa, and low-growing thyme lined paths in stunning sequence. Rosemary, too—for its scent, structure, and resilience.
The Most Beautiful, Impossible Plant: The Caper Berry
Perhaps the most striking flower of all was the elusive Caper Berry. Notoriously difficult to grow in gardens, it thrives in the most improbable spots—wedged between rocks, sprouting from cliff faces, or cracking through cement. It’s a plant that demands true tough love.
Summer Dormancy: A Survival Strategy
In truly dry places, plants don’t just bloom and tough it out. They adapt. I noticed how Euphorbias, for example, were already turning red and dropping leaves in preparation for the long, scorching summer. It’s a clever strategy—reducing the demand on water and nutrients when heat becomes unrelenting. A reminder that we too must work with, not against, the rhythm of the seasons.
Agave Forests and Christmas Trees
And finally—an unexpected joy: a wild forest of Agaves on the Albanian coast. Called the ‘Century Plant’ because it flowers just once in a very long life, these striking succulents are breathtaking en masse.
If you live in the country, try planting one at your gate or in the paddock. And when it eventually flowers? The huge, architectural bloom becomes a natural wooden candelabra. I’ve used mine as a Christmas tree for years—now sprayed festive red, dusty from 11 months stored in the shed, but still utterly perfect.
For more expert tips and plant picks to help you grow a thriving, low-maintenance garden that stands up to Australia’s harsh climate, download our FREE drought-tolerant plants guide here.
Trisha xx
