Trees for mediterranean gardens
8 Mediterranean Trees for Low Maintenance Gardens
Image - Wikimedia / Krzysztof Golik
Mediterranean trees are those that are characterized by easily resisting high temperatures, as well as drought and weak frosts.. They are therefore ideal plants to grow in a low or no maintenance garden, always in full sun, but they can also be very demanding, since they do not usually tolerate flooding too well, even running out of functional roots, something It ends up having a negative impact on your health.
In fact, To be able to enjoy them, it is important that the land available is capable of absorbing and filtering water quickly.; If not, then there will be no choice but to dig holes the wider and deeper the better (it is recommended that they be 1m x 1m), and fill them with substrates that drain well, such as peat mixed with perlite in equal parts. Thus, you will be able to grow the trees that we show you below.
Table of Contents
- 1 Wild olive (Olea europaea var. Sylvestris)
- 2 Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua)
- 3 Almond (Prunus dulcis)
- 4 Common cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
- 5 Holm oak (Quercus ilex)
- 6 Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)
- 7 Olive tree (Olea europaea)
- 8 Oron (Acer opalus)
wild olive (
Olea europaea var. sylvestris)Image - Wikimedia / Zeynel Cebeci
El wild olive or wild olive tree It is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean that reaches a maximum height of 8 meters, although it is common to see it in nature as a 4-5 meter bush. Its leaves are almost identical to those of the olive tree, that is, they are lanceolate, simple, with a dark green upper surface and a light colored underside, but shorter.
The flowers are grouped in white panicles, and towards the summer the fruits finish maturing, which are drupes of less than 1 centimeter in diameter that contain a single seed.
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Resists up to -12ºC.
Carob (
Ceratonia siliqua)El carob tree it is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to 10 meters in height, with a crown that can reach up to 4 meters if it is allowed to grow freely. Its leaves are paripinnate, dark green, and 10-20 centimeters long.
It is a dioecious species, which produces small flowers, without petals, and reddish in color. The fruit, the carob, is a pod up to 30 centimeters long, leathery, dark brown in color and containing a sweet-tasting pulp that protects the seeds. These are small, about 1 centimeter, and brown.
Resists up to -12ºC.
Almond tree (
Almond)Image - Wikimedia / Daniel Capilla
El almond It is a deciduous tree that, although it is not native to the Mediterranean but to Central Asia, it has been cultivated in this region for more than 2000 years, since it was introduced by the Phoenicians.
Reaches a height of up to 10 meters, with a trunk that tends to twist a little and crack with age. The leaves are simple, lanceolate, up to 12,5 centimeters long and green with a serrated margin.
The flowers can be solitary or appear in groups of 2 or 4, and are white or pink depending on the variety. The fruit is a leathery drupe, about 1 centimeter long, which contains a seed, the almond, which finishes maturing after 5-6 months (towards mid / late summer).
Resists up to -12ºC.
Common cypress (
Cupressus sempervirens)Image - Flickr / Garden tourist
El common cypress it is an evergreen conifer native to the eastern Mediterranean that reaches a height of 25 to 30 meters, with a very variable bearing, being able to be of the pyramidal type with a narrow and tall crown, or have a somewhat more open and rounded glass. the leaves are scaly, 2 to 5 millimeters long, and dark green.
There are male and female specimens.
The former produce cylindrical strobili, 3-5 millimeters long, and are the ones that lasso pollen in early spring; the latter are those that produce small gray-greenish cones 2-3 centimeters in diameter that will finish maturing in the autumn of the following year.
Resists up to -12ºC.
Holm oak (
Quercus ilex)Image - Wiimedia / Jean-Pol GRANDMONT
La Holm oak, known as holm oak, chaparra or chaparro, It is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region that reaches a height of 16 to 25 meters. Its crown is wide and rounded, made up of leathery leaves that are dark green on the upper surface and lighter on the underside.
It is monoecious, that is, it produces male and female flowers in the same specimen. The male flowers are hanging catkins, and the female ones are small, solitary or can appear in groups of two. The fruits are acorns, dark brown nuts when ripe, which are about 2 centimeters long.
Resists up to -18ºC.
Strawberry tree (
Arbutus unedo)Image - Wikimedia / Krzysztof Golik
El arbutus it is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region.
Reaches a maximum height of 7 meters, with a reddish trunk, more or less inclined. Its leaves are lanceolate, with a size of 8 x 3 centimeters, and the margin is serrated.
The flowers are grouped in hanging panicles in spring, and their fruits are globose berries of 7 to 10 millimeters, containing small brown seeds.
Resists up to -12ºC.
Olive (
Olea europaea)Image - Wikimedia / Burkhard Mücke
El olive it is an evergreen tree native to practically the entire Mediterranean region that reaches a height of up to 15 meters. Its trunk tends to twist a little with age, and it becomes quite wide, reaching more than 40 centimeters thick. Its crown is wide, formed by lanceolate leaves, with a dark green upper surface and a paler underside.
The flowers are hermaphroditic, and are grouped in white panicles. The fruit is what we know as an olive; a drupe 1-3,5 centimeters in diameter, green at first but tending to darken as it matures, turning almost black in some varieties.
Resists up to -12ºC.
Oron (
acer opalus)Image - Flickr / Joan Simon
El oron It is a maple native to the Mediterranean, found only in the hills and mountains. It is deciduous, and reaches a height of up to 20 meters, with a trunk up to 1 meter in diameter. The leaves are green, palm-shaped, and measure 7 to 13 centimeters long by 5 to 16 centimeters wide. These turn yellow in the fall.
The flowers are yellow and sprout before the leaves, and the fruit is a winged dysmara (that is, two seeds that are attached to a wing each, which serves a little protection but also, and above all, to be able to get as far away from their parents as possible with the help of the wind).
Resists up to -12ºC.
What do you think of these Mediterranean trees?
8 Mediterranean Trees for Low Maintenance Gardens
Image - Wikimedia / Krzysztof Golik
Mediterranean trees are those that are characterized by easily resisting high temperatures, as well as drought and weak frosts.
. They are therefore ideal plants to grow in a low or no maintenance garden, always in full sun, but they can also be very demanding, since they do not usually tolerate flooding too well, even running out of functional roots, something It ends up having a negative impact on your health.
In fact, To be able to enjoy them, it is important that the land available is capable of absorbing and filtering water quickly.; If not, then there will be no choice but to dig holes the wider and deeper the better (it is recommended that they be 1m x 1m), and fill them with substrates that drain well, such as peat mixed with perlite in equal parts. Thus, you will be able to grow the trees that we show you below.
Table of Contents
- 1 Wild olive (Olea europaea var. Sylvestris)
- 2 Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua)
- 3 Almond (Prunus dulcis)
- 4 Common cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
- 5 Holm oak (Quercus ilex)
- 6 Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)
- 7 Olive tree (Olea europaea)
- 8 Oron (Acer opalus)
wild olive (
Olea europaea var.
sylvestris)Image - Wikimedia / Zeynel Cebeci
El wild olive or wild olive tree It is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean that reaches a maximum height of 8 meters, although it is common to see it in nature as a 4-5 meter bush. Its leaves are almost identical to those of the olive tree, that is, they are lanceolate, simple, with a dark green upper surface and a light colored underside, but shorter.
The flowers are grouped in white panicles, and towards the summer the fruits finish maturing, which are drupes of less than 1 centimeter in diameter that contain a single seed.
Subscribe to our Youtube channel
Resists up to -12ºC.
Carob (
Ceratonia siliqua)El carob tree it is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to 10 meters in height, with a crown that can reach up to 4 meters if it is allowed to grow freely. Its leaves are paripinnate, dark green, and 10-20 centimeters long.
It is a dioecious species, which produces small flowers, without petals, and reddish in color. The fruit, the carob, is a pod up to 30 centimeters long, leathery, dark brown in color and containing a sweet-tasting pulp that protects the seeds. These are small, about 1 centimeter, and brown.
Resists up to -12ºC.
Almond tree (
Almond)Image - Wikimedia / Daniel Capilla
El almond It is a deciduous tree that, although it is not native to the Mediterranean but to Central Asia, it has been cultivated in this region for more than 2000 years, since it was introduced by the Phoenicians. Reaches a height of up to 10 meters, with a trunk that tends to twist a little and crack with age. The leaves are simple, lanceolate, up to 12,5 centimeters long and green with a serrated margin.
The flowers can be solitary or appear in groups of 2 or 4, and are white or pink depending on the variety. The fruit is a leathery drupe, about 1 centimeter long, which contains a seed, the almond, which finishes maturing after 5-6 months (towards mid / late summer).
Resists up to -12ºC.
Common cypress (
Cupressus sempervirens)Image - Flickr / Garden tourist
El common cypress it is an evergreen conifer native to the eastern Mediterranean that reaches a height of 25 to 30 meters, with a very variable bearing, being able to be of the pyramidal type with a narrow and tall crown, or have a somewhat more open and rounded glass. the leaves are scaly, 2 to 5 millimeters long, and dark green.
There are male and female specimens. The former produce cylindrical strobili, 3-5 millimeters long, and are the ones that lasso pollen in early spring; the latter are those that produce small gray-greenish cones 2-3 centimeters in diameter that will finish maturing in the autumn of the following year.
Resists up to -12ºC.
Holm oak (
Quercus ilex)Image - Wiimedia / Jean-Pol GRANDMONT
La Holm oak, known as holm oak, chaparra or chaparro, It is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region that reaches a height of 16 to 25 meters.
Its crown is wide and rounded, made up of leathery leaves that are dark green on the upper surface and lighter on the underside.
It is monoecious, that is, it produces male and female flowers in the same specimen. The male flowers are hanging catkins, and the female ones are small, solitary or can appear in groups of two. The fruits are acorns, dark brown nuts when ripe, which are about 2 centimeters long.
Resists up to -18ºC.
Strawberry tree (
Arbutus unedo)Image - Wikimedia / Krzysztof Golik
El arbutus it is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region. Reaches a maximum height of 7 meters, with a reddish trunk, more or less inclined. Its leaves are lanceolate, with a size of 8 x 3 centimeters, and the margin is serrated.
The flowers are grouped in hanging panicles in spring, and their fruits are globose berries of 7 to 10 millimeters, containing small brown seeds.
Resists up to -12ºC.
Olive (
Olea europaea)Image - Wikimedia / Burkhard Mücke
El olive it is an evergreen tree native to practically the entire Mediterranean region that reaches a height of up to 15 meters.
Its trunk tends to twist a little with age, and it becomes quite wide, reaching more than 40 centimeters thick. Its crown is wide, formed by lanceolate leaves, with a dark green upper surface and a paler underside.
The flowers are hermaphroditic, and are grouped in white panicles. The fruit is what we know as an olive; a drupe 1-3,5 centimeters in diameter, green at first but tending to darken as it matures, turning almost black in some varieties.
Resists up to -12ºC.
Oron (
acer opalus)Image - Flickr / Joan Simon
El oron It is a maple native to the Mediterranean, found only in the hills and mountains. It is deciduous, and reaches a height of up to 20 meters, with a trunk up to 1 meter in diameter. The leaves are green, palm-shaped, and measure 7 to 13 centimeters long by 5 to 16 centimeters wide. These turn yellow in the fall.
The flowers are yellow and sprout before the leaves, and the fruit is a winged dysmara (that is, two seeds that are attached to a wing each, which serves a little protection but also, and above all, to be able to get as far away from their parents as possible with the help of the wind).
Resists up to -12ºC.
What do you think of these Mediterranean trees?
Mediterranean style in landscape design.
Mediterranean-style gardens belong to the group of ethnic gardens. Today, it is one of the most popular. Unfortunately, it is used even where the plants characteristic of this style simply cannot withstand our frosts. But in order to create a Mediterranean-style atmosphere in the garden, it is enough to correctly use the available range of plants, adapted to our conditions.
The Mediterranean style is very similar to the Moorish style in terms of construction: a small plot, a blind fence, a small backyard patio. But in many Mediterranean gardens, the front gardens are made open with a view of the sea, and the task is not to close the beautiful view. The most important rule when creating such gardens is to create a comfortable atmosphere conducive to serene relaxation and fun.
An interesting feature of the compositional solution of gardens of this style is the absence of a pronounced center of the composition.
Each element of the garden performs a strictly assigned function and may not have a clearly defined relationship with other elements.
An important place in the design of Mediterranean-style gardens is the arrangement of areas for relaxation, unity with nature and contemplation of its boundlessness and beauty. For this, gazebos and verandas are built in such gardens.
BBQ areas are usually located next to the seating area, and the recently popular stone braziers fit best into this style. Especially if pergolas or openwork lattices entwined with grapes or other climbing plants are located nearby.
The Mediterranean style is characterized by the presence of small architectural forms. Courtyards and patios in this style are usually laid out with ceramic tiles imitating the color of clay or light-colored stone, the use of different types of stone of natural origin, as well as pebbles and marble chips, is typical. The presence of water or its noise is mandatory.
This role is well played by fountains, which can be made in various forms.
The preferred color scheme is a combination of terracotta, blue, light blue, yellow, violet and white.
Popular items in the Mediterranean style are arches, pergolas, statues and their fragments, pottery and other elements depicting people, animals, heroes of myths and legends.
Citrus and olive trees, luxurious pines and cypresses - these are the plants that first come to mind when mentioning Mediterranean-style gardens, but, unfortunately, they do not withstand the climatic conditions of our zone. But you can always find a way out and plant plants in containers and large pots.
At first glance, it may seem that the care of a Mediterranean-style garden will require a lot of trouble, but this is not entirely true - gardens of this style allow some carelessness and neglect. When arranging such a garden, you can easily do without exotic plant species that require planting in containers, and use our plants that are able to winter in open ground.
In our climatic zone, the most common 5-leafed girl's grape - it does not require special care and is able to fill the available space in a few years. In recent years, through the work of breeders, many varieties of grapes have been bred that have a bright long vine that can bear fruit and create the desired flavor in gardens of this style. Also, for vertical gardening, Clematis species (vine-leaved, Tangut, etc.), Rose of climbing forms and Curly Honeysuckle Honeysuckle are perfect.
Suitable for flowering plants: Rose varietal, Ampelous ivy-leaved Pelargonium, Houston Ageratum, Perennial garden chrysanthemum and Begonia ampelous tuberous, etc. You can revive the landscape with plants in boxes and planters, which can be located on the windows of the house, fences, next to garden furniture.
A properly designed and implemented Mediterranean-style garden is able to make its owners feel like they are in a Mediterranean resort even in gloomy rainy weather with their cheerful colors.
Mediterranean garden plants
A large amount of vegetation (preferably from the Mediterranean region) will bring a sense of abundance to a lush garden and thereby create the right mood.
- Such plants do not hibernate here, so if you want to emphasize the southern mood, take tubs with plants wintering indoors for the summer into the garden: oleander (Nerium) with white, pink, purple flowers, standard form of laurel (Laurus), any citrus fruits, pomegranate (Punica), figs (Ficus carica), turmeric (Curcuma).
- If you have a winter garden, then there will be no problems with plants at all. Low positive temperatures will provide your "southerners" with an excellent wintering.
- Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea) is an indispensable plant in Mediterranean gardens. She entwined walls, fences, trees. This evergreen shrub with creeping shoots and sparsely spaced thorns, reaches 5 m, blooms with magnificent purple flowers. Oddly enough, in our country it is quite possible to grow it as a houseplant, taking it out into the garden for the summer.
- You can do without southern plants, and find a replacement among stylistically similar plants in central Russia. Many varieties of climbing roses are ideal for decorating walls and pergolas on the southern slope, for example, the bright red Flammentanz ("Flammentanz"). Will support the style of gray rose (Rosa glauca), barberries (Berberis).
- The special atmosphere of the garden is created by trees, under whose crown they escape from the heat in the south. We replace the typical Mediterranean olive with sea buckthorn (Hippophae) or silver sucker (Elaeagnus argentea), which have similar narrow silvery leaves.
- Shrub cherries (Cerasus fruticosa), steppe almonds (Amygdalus nana), white locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) are suitable for these roles.
- Instead of cypresses, we plant varieties of arborvitae and spruces with a slender habit, junipers. "Blue Arrow" - a columnar variety of rocky juniper with blue needles.
- Remarkable hawthorn varieties "Paul Scarlet" up to 4 m high: drought-resistant, successfully develops even on stony soil, frost-resistant, perfectly tolerates shearing and shaping.
It blooms in spring with double bright pink, almost crimson flowers. - Potentilla shrub or Kuril tea (Pentaphylloides fruticosa) will replace oleander to some extent: it has varieties of different sizes and colors: yellow (“Goldfinger”), white (“Abbotswood”), orange (“Red Ace”), drought-resistant, bright and bloom constantly.
- On the southern slope ground cover roses feel great. Pink flowers in combination with silvery wormwood - an absolutely southern combination.
- Plant flowers in flowerbeds in large areas so that the color spot is bright - this is another feature of Mediterranean gardens: plants bloom luxuriantly there.
- Miniature roses, geraniums, boxwood, small arborvitae grow well in containers.
- Plants with silvery leaves give the impression of dustiness. Of the annuals, silvery leaves have seaside cineraria (Cineraria maritima), silver sage (Salvia argentea). Perennials with silvery foliage are suitable: wormwood (Pursha wormwood - Artemisia purshiana), woolly chistets (Stachys lanata), oak sage (Salvia nemorosa), various stonecrops (bent - Sedum reflexum), Bieberstein's sapling (Cerastium biebersteinii), pearl anafalis (Anaphalis margaritacea ), gray veronica (Veronica incana), carnations (pinnate carnation - Dianthus plumarius), eryngiums (flat-leaved eryngium - Eryngium planum), shaving (Aubrieta).
- Cold-resistant grasses help recreate a dry summer landscape when the riot of southern flowers subsides. Sandy grate (Elymus arenarius) with narrow bluish-gray leaves, up to a meter high, looks especially elegant, planted with curtains. The only negative is that it is very aggressive, it is better to plant it immediately with a limiter. Gray fescue (Festuca glauca) forms low bushes of a bluish-steel color. Sheep evergreen (Helictotrichon sempervirens), up to 50 cm high, its variety "Saphirsprudel" with bright gray-blue leaves blooms with a fountain of shiny silver spikelets.
- Spicy-aromatic plants are an indispensable attribute of Mediterranean gardens. Cushions of thyme (Thymus) grow beautifully, there are varieties with almost white flowers and bright purple. Lavender angustifolia (Lavandula angustifolia) is a typical southern plant, but it winters well on sunny slopes where there is no stagnant water. Basil (Ocimum), hyssop (Hyssopus), catnip (Nepeta), sage (Salvia), monarda (Monarda) are also very fragrant and unpretentious.
