[JTh]

 
I will follow up Carol’s suggestion who wrote that ‘Perhaps we could start a topic on the use of "wild" flowers in the garden?’ I wasn' sure if this should be here or under the section 'Our gardens', since what I'm presenting here are especially attractive right now.

We have tried to keep as much as possible of the wild bushes along our fence, to the despair of the farmer who looks after our olive trees, he wants to make everything nice and tidy. Many of them are among my favourites, like the heather, in the autumns all the hills around here are turning mauve; we are in the middle of the honey district, I have seen honey for sale even in the local bank. The species we have here at this time of the year is Erica manipuliflora, which is said to reach a height of 1 meter. It may certainly grow much taller here, sometimes nearly the double. It is easily recognised by its protruding anthers.

Another favourite is Vitex agnus-castus, which there is a lot of around here. I did not have any growing inside our fence earlier, but I planted two I found in a local nursery last year, they are doing very well, although they are not as big as some of the wild ones along the road to the nearest village. I collected seeds from the one in the photo below last year, the colour is especially nice, as the close up shows, and brought them back to Norway,  where they have produced lots of seedlings (those still there probably died last night, with - 4 degrees C). I brought a few back to Greece a couple of weeks ago, they did not look too happy after a five days’ visit to Istanbul before we came here, kept in a water bottle, and many of the leaves had dropped, but now they are showing many new leaves in their new environment here in Greece.

Arbutus unedo is nice all the year around, I planted one a few years ago and it is nice and green, but has not yet produced any fruits or flowers. The wild ones around here are very colourful now with their red, orange and yellow fruits, and the flowers are in bud, it won’t take long before they are out.

I have a long list of other favourites, but more later.

[Alisdair]

Lovely pictures, Jorun, showing how well these natives compare with the introduced plants that need so much cosseting!

[Umbrian]

Pleased to see you have taken up my idea for postings about favourite wild/native subjects in the garden Jorun. I too love Vitex agnus-castus it is so drought tolerant and looks good for so long with the seed panicles providing interest long after the flowers have gone. Also the leaf shape is very attractive. I too have a long list of other useful subjects and must get out with my camera when time allows.
I sympathise with your comment about the resistance to using native subjects in the garden, something I come up against frequently when asked for advice on what to plant for an attractive, yet easliy managed garden, especially from people who, like you, are not in residence throughout the year. Their usual comment is "Oh but that grows wild everywhere, we don't need it in the garden"

[GillP]

To add to the list - apart from Vitex & Arbutus, both of which are among my favourites - how about the two Pistacias - lentiscus & terebrinthus, both are lovely.  Not so dramatic but it makes a great drought resistant hedge - Phillyrea angustifolia.  And, who can resist the perfume of Coronilla glauca in the spring?? 

I have a client who wants to plant Juniperus oxycedrus in his garden; does anyone know of a commercial source for these in France?  I can't find one.

[Alice]

What a glorious specimen of Vitex agnus-castus, Jorun! Ours are looking very sorry for themselves at the moment - being dry riverbed shrubs, I suspect they could do with more water than they get here.
The Erica is also pretty impressive.
Arbutus (I think it is unedo) is also one of my favourites and does well in our garden.
I would agree with you, GillP, about the garden-worthiness of  Phillyrea angustifolia (looks good all year round) and Juniperus oxycedrus (very attractive foliage).
Have your tried Olivier Filippi's nursery for Juniperus oxycedrus, GillP?

[GillP]

Unfortunately Filippi only offers Juniperus phoenicurus, another good plant!

[Joanna Savage]

Singing the praise of a local of Toscana, Satureja montana., santoreggia or winter savory.  It is not a bush, but it is an extremely useful ground cover, especially on these almost vertical slopes. If I put down an anchor or two of dry branches it will quickly cover the slope. It suffered in full sun during  the hot dry summer, when  it turned brown and some patches died but it is recovering  remarkably  well as the photos show. The Erigeron in the second photo will die back in the cold weather, it doesn't have the staying power of the santoreggia.
Added to such physical attributes van Wyk and Wink, Medicinal Plants of the World, say that it can be used to treat stomach disorders, as an antiseptic of the respiratory and urinary  tracts  and for fungal infections. A tea may be drunk or you can put it in  bath water.

[Joanna Savage]

Photo 1 of Satureja montana

[Joanna Savage]

photo 2 of satureja montana

[Alice]

I am quite fond of Quercus coccifera (Kermes oak), with its acorns and holly-like leaves. It brings a touch of the hillside into the garden. Slow-growing, though.

[JTh]

I had planned to move to Phillyrea latifolia and Pistacia lentisicus, but you beat me there, GillP.  Both are nice to look at all the year round, now in the autumn they are full of fruits. They can grow to an impressive height here. The first photo shows a P. lentiscus in the front and P.latifolia in the back, it’s almost like a jungle, they are at least twice my height.
At first I thought the phillyreas were wild olives, before I found out what they were. I wondered if this plant could have other properties than just the decorative ones, and I read that in the past, the fruits were harvested and eaten as wild olives, as well as having medicinal properties, but nothing I would care to use. It is also known to be one of the most drought-resistant species, which I believe, since it grows abundantly here without any help from us.

I also enjoy all the wild cistuses growing here, they are quite a sight in the spring. Most of those along our fence are C. monspeliensis and C. salvifolius.

Spartium junceum grows along all the roads here, some people seem to think that because it is so common, it is of no value in the garden. I don’t agree, and I have planted some.  The two first ones I found in a local nursery, and they have been growing well.  The biggest one was fine in the spring and in the summer, but when we came back now in the autumn, it was dead, I have no idea why. I hope the remaining ones will stay alive. Two of them are from seedlings I started in Norway, the seeds were collected here; they germinated easily.The biggest problem is to transport them in the suitcase without exceeding the weight limit.

I agree with you, Alice, I am also fond of the Kermes oak.

[GillP]

Think the problem with Spartium junceum may be that it tends to be short lived so in a garden needs to be placed where sopmething else will take over from it after it dies - or - it may self seed on site.  Same problem for Coronilla glauca which I love for it's spring flowers & scent but seems to die after 4/5 years.  Cistus - lots of lovely species and hybrids.  And, no-one has yet mentioned myrtle (Myrtus communis and it's subsp & cvs) - one of my all time favourite Med basin natives. 

[Umbrian]

Spartium junceum is a great favourite of mine despite the fact that it grows prolifically in the wild around us. In early summer it is a pleasure to take a drive out as the perfume fills the air. I should persevere Jorun because it really makes a very worthwhile garden plant. Once you have one or two established you will find that seedlings present more of a problem than the survival of the original bushes. These are easily pulled out if caught young and transplant well at this stage with the minimum of care. However let them escape unnoticed for too long and they are more difficult to remove due to their taproot.
To keep the bushes looking attractive you should prune some of the stems to ground level every year to encourage new ones. Older stems can get very bare at the bottom and their side branches die back resulting in a taller bush each year but looking very scruffy at the bottom. The bushy vegetation alongside our grassy verges is slashed back every year quite brutally but the Spartium always regrows and looks better for it whilst that further back grows bigger and bigger, flowers more sparsely and can appear more dead than alive. Good luck

[JTh]

GillP, I just planted a myrtle where the old Spartium had died. The problem is to find some of these plants, the 'nurseries' around around here seldom have indigenous plants for sale. The myrtle I found this spring once at the local market and I immediately grabbed it and let my neighbours look after it until the autumn, I don't think it would have survived this years unusually hot summer without constant care.

Carol, thanks for the advice on pruning, when do you do that? (Can't do it in the winter, since we are not here.)

[Alice]

What about the various Teucrium species (T. fruticans, T. chamaedrys, T. brevifolium)?
Other Mediterranean natives I have grown from seed but which I have not seen growing in the wild are Colutea arborescens (Bladder senna) and Cotinus coggygria (Smoke bush).
Or there is the ubiquitous Medicago arborea (summer deciduous and prolifically self-seeding which could be a problem).
And of course, the wonderful Nerium oleander.