Designing for the Mediterranean Climate

This is a summary of key points and a plant list from a recent webinar by Jennifer Gay for MGS members.

Photographs to illustrate the article published in The Mediterranean Garden No. 120, April 2025

The photo at the top of this page shows Sinarades, Corfu, with Coronilla glauca in flower (photo Jennifer Gay)

The mediterranean climate offers a wealth of plant opportunities for beauty and biodiversity. Thoughtful design, planning and practice help us to create gardens that survive long, hot, dry summers while taking advantage of mild wet winters.

Creating a garden that is compatible with the environmental conditions helps achieve long-term sustainability and resilience. I’ve loved working with Mediterranean landscapes since the late ‘90s and along the way have learnt from others, from experience, my mistakes and all that the soil, rocks, plants and weather have taught me, prompting constant refining of ideas in pursuit of enduring gardens.

Agnos House, Corfu with Cupressus sempervirens, Pistacia terebinthus,
Wisteria sinensis, Cistus creticus, Anthyllis barba-jovis, Miscanthus sinensis

Core elements
Mediterranean zones face challenges with the changing climate - our long, dry summers are potentially getting longer and hotter, while there are ever-increasing demands on water resources, resulting in a dwindling supply of groundwater and rising saltwater intrusion. We need to use plants naturally adapted to withstand drought, and for our gardening practices to reduce, or better still eliminate, plants’ dependence on irrigation while enhancing biodiversity and soil health.

Key approaches include:

• Selecting climate-adapted plants means choosing native shrubs or desert species that are naturally able to survive in a mediterranean climate. Evergreen shrubs like Pistacia lentiscus, Quercus ilex and Rhamnus alaternus are not only robust but also provide structure and wildlife habitat. The natural oils of aromatics such as Thymus, Salvia, Rosmarinus and Lavandula species help them resist heat, while desert species such as Aloe, Dasylirion and Yucca are old hands at dealing with life without rain. 
• Make the most of plants you already have. For example, shrub masses may have potential to become a copse of graceful multi-stem trees with pruning/crown uplift; sensitive clipping the same shrubs can create a cloud-like evergreen framework for your garden. When buying a new plot, watch and wait a year to see what treasures reveal themselves with the passing seasons before finalising design and planning.
• Plant in autumn or winter so plants can establish roots before the heat hits.
• Embrace seasonal changes and the aesthetic of natural summer dormancy. For example, Euphorbia dendroides, Enuphorbia acanthothamnus and Sarcopoterium spinosum all defoliate in summer but have beautiful branch structure that remains interesting.
• Encourage deep rooting: Watering deeply but infrequently during the post-planting establishment period promotes strong, deep root growth that can access soil moisture and support the plant through tough times when rain is in short supply.
• Harvest rainwater: Collect all the rainwater you can, ideally enough to see your garden through the summer without relying on an external supply. 
• Respect the natural water cycle. Use techniques that prevent water run-off (which in turn creates flooding), allowing rainwater to soak in where it falls. Permeable paving surfaces such as gravel allow water to soak into the earth. 
• Mulching soil helps retain moisture while improving permeability.

Ermioni showing Cistus x pulverulentus in foreground with Rosmarinus 'Sappho' 

Sense of place/locality
Honour the genus loci, that intangible quality of place, both spiritually and materially. 
Choosing plants that grow in the surrounding landscape and local materials such as gravel, stone or sustainably sourced timber creates a sense of belonging and reduces the environmental impact of transportation.  

Sustainable maintenance practices

• Pruning for resilience: Formative pruning to remove, dead, diseased and congested growth is important for plants’ health, aesthetics and wind resistance. Regular clipping of many mediterranean shrubs, especially when they are becoming established, reduces evapotranspiration rates. 
• Leaving leaves where they fall helps improve soil health and nutrient value, eliminating the need for artificial fertilisers and reducing evaporation from the soil. If leaves are smothering small plants, collect them and store them over winter to rot down, forming leaf humus which can be returned to the soil in spring.
• Ensure good drainage and bear in mind that many mediterranean plants do best in nutrient-poor soil.
• Natural organic ameliorants will benefit hungrier plants such as fruit trees and those that flower prolifically - home-made compost is perfect, promoting all the extraordinary array of creatures that live in the soil while improving nutrient value and moisture retention for the plants.

Naxos, Lavandula dentata 'candicans' in flower and Cistus x pauranthus 'Natache') 

The future of mediterranean gardening
Growing climate-appropriate, resilient plants will help gardens cope with increasingly unpredictable weather, for example longer droughts and torrential rain, while relieving pressure on natural resources such as water and at the same time improving biodiversity. Gardeners collectively manage a considerable amount of land and our gardening habits can contribute significantly to global environmental stewardship.

A few plant ideas for mediterranean gardens
The list below includes some of the plants I use frequently for reliable and resilient establishment in mediterranean conditions.

Karlovassi, Samos with Cypress trees

Trees, evergreen
Ceratonia siliqua (carob) - Mediterranean, Middle East 
Cupressus sempervirens (Italian cypress) - Eastern Mediterranean, Iran 
Pistacia terebinthus (terebinth/turpentine tree) - Mediterranean 
Olea europaea (olive) - Mediterranean 
Quercus ilex (holm oak) - Mediterranean 

Rou Corfu with Cercis siliquastrum, Pistacia terebinthus, clipped Quercus coccifera

Trees for flowers or fruit 
Cercis siliquastrum (Judas tree) - Mediterranean, Western Asia 
Lagunaria patersonii (Norfolk Island Hibiscus) - Australia, Norfolk Island 
Melia azedarach (chinaberry, Persian Lilac) - South and South-east Asia, Australia 
Morus nigra (black mulberry) - Western Asia, Iran 
Punica granatum (pomegranate) - Iran to India 

Ithica House, Corfu including Rosmarinus 'Boule', Teucrium fruticans,
Wisteria sinensis, Olea europeae, Euphorbia ceratocarpa

Climbers for scent or flowers 
Clematis cirrhosa (winter-flowering clematis) - Mediterranean 
Jasminum officinale (common jasmine) - Iran, Himalayas 
Lonicera etrusca (Etruscan honeysuckle) - Mediterranean, Western Asia, North Africa
Podranea ricasoliana (pink trumpet vine) - South Africa 
Trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine, evergreen jasmine) - East Asia 
Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria) - China 

Ithica House, Corfu including Quercus ilex, Cercis siliquastrum, Phlomis purpurea

Shrubs, evergreen ‘backbone’ 
Anthyllis barba-jovis (Jupiter’s beard) - Mediterranean 
Arbutus unedo, Arbutus unedo var. rubra, Arbutus ‘Marina’ (strawberry tree) - Mediterranean 
Atriplex halimus (saltbush) - Mediterranean 
Cneorum tricoccon (spurge olive) - Western Mediterranean 
Elaeagnus × submacrophylla (oleaster, silverberry) - hybrid, origins uncertain 
Laurus nobilis (bay, laurel) - Mediterranean 
Myrtus communis (myrtle) - Mediterranean. Notable cultivars: ‘La Clape Blanc’, ‘Guilli’ 
Phillyrea angustifolia (narrow-leaved mock privet) - Mediterranean 
Pistacia lentiscus (lentisk, mastic tree) - Mediterranean 
Rhamnus alaternus (Mediterranean buckthorn) - Mediterranean 
Teucrium fruticans (shrubby germander) - Mediterranean 
Viburnum tinus (laurustinus) - Mediterranean 

Roof garden Sinarades, Corfu with Anthyllis cytisoides, Euphorbia ceratocarpa
in flower plus Cneorum tricoccon, Dorycnium pentaphyllum

Shrubs, flowering in late spring or summer 
Abelia × grandiflora (glossy abelia) - hybrid (China, Mexico origins) 
Bupleurum fruticosum (shrubby hare’s ear) - Mediterranean 
Ebenus cretica (Cretan ebenus, shrubby sainfoin) - Crete 
Leucophyllum frutescens, Leucophyllum langmaniae (Texas Sage, cenizo) - South-western U.S., Mexico 
Vitex agnus-castus (chaste tree) - Mediterranean, Asia 

Keratea, Attica including Lomelosia minoana, Bupleurum fruticosum,
Helichrysum orientalis, Ballota pseudodictamnus

Sub-shrubs 
Cistus × pauranthus ‘Natacha’ (rockrose) - Mediterranean 
Cistus × skanbergii (pink rockrose - Mediterranean 
Cistus × tardiflorens (late-flowering rockrose) - Mediterranean 
Pseudodictamnus mediterraneus (syn. Ballota pseudodictamnus)(false dittany) - Mediterranean 
Centaurea spinosa (spiny knapweed) - Mediterranean 
Lotus dorycnium (syn. Dorycnium pentaphyllum)(prostrate Canary clover) ) - Mediterranean 
Euphorbia ceratocarpa, Euphorbia dendroides, Euphorbia rigida (spurge species) - Mediterranean 
Helichrysum italicum (curry plant) - Mediterranean 
Globularia alypum ‘La Durance’(blue globularia) - Mediterranean 
Lavandula dentata var. candicans, Lavandula × heterophylla ‘African Pride’, Lavandula × ginginsii ‘Goodwin Creek Grey’, Lavandula × intermedia ‘Super’ (lavender hybrids/cultivars) - Mediterranean 
Lomelosia minoana (Minoan scabious) - Crete 
Origanum dictamnus, Origanum syriacum (Cretan dittany, Syrian oregano) - Crete and the Middle East respectively
Phlomis chrysophylla, Phlomis × cytherea, Phlomis ‘Marina’ (Jerusalem Sage species/cultivars) - Mediterranean 
Ptilostemon chamaepeuce (shrubby knapweed) - Crete 
Rosmarinus ‘Île de Beauté’, Rosmarinus ‘Sappho’(rosemary species/cultivars) - Mediterranean 
Satureja thymbra (winter savory) - Mediterranean 
Teucrium marum (cat thyme) - Western Mediterranean 
Thymus saturejoides (thyme species) - North Africa 

Aprovato, Andros including Lomelosia cretica, Origanum 'Clara', Satureja thrymba 

Perennials and grasses 
Erigeron karvinskianus (fleabane) - Mexico, Central America
Oenothera lindheimeri (syn. Gaura lindheimeri)‘Whirling Butterflies’ (Lindheimer’s beeblossom) - Southern U.S., Mexico 
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Yaku Jima’ (Chinese silver grass) - East Asia 
Salvia ‘Blue Spire’ (syn. Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’) (Russian Sage) - hybrid, origins in Central Asia 
Salvia leucophylla ‘Figueroa’(purple sage) - California 
Stipa calamagrostis (Feather Grass) - Europe, Asia.

You can watch the Jennifer Gay webinar in full and all past webinars on the Mediterranean Garden Society channel here.

THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN is the registered trademark of The Mediterranean Garden Society in the European Union, Australia, and the United States of America

Data Protection Consent

website designed and maintained
by Hereford Web Design