One problem at my garden on the island of Losinj is:
The garden is only visited at the hot months June, July, August, September. At this time the guests can pour out water on the thirsty land. The rest of the year the plants have to grow on ist own power or water.
This year I started to place more plants (there are old ones of Laurus nobilis, Ficus carica, white Jasminum(?), Bougainvillea, Eriobotrya, Lemon tree). I choosed flowering plants (flowering between June and September), who originate from desert climates or I've seen it at gardens on the island: Adenium obesum (Desert rose)), Aloe, Agapanthus, Buddleia, Sempervivum, summer flowering Mimosa, Campsis, Passiflora, Ficus carica, Nerium oleander, a species of Sansevieria, Opuntia (a cultivar with delicious fruits and less spines) and a fragant climbing plant (an agressive weed in Australia, I've forgotten the name)
The second problem is the soil. One part of the area is filled ground, a mixture of soil, gravel and bigger stones with many small cavities. When I make a hole there, 1 am digging with a hand shovel or by hands. I remove a stone with a crowbar and suddenly the hole is about 10 centimeters deeper. At the second part of the area coffee-brown soil is like loam or laterite, but baked until hard by the sun and dryness. After soaking 24 hours such soil isn't muddy, it has the same crumble hardness like 24 hours before. There I have to make the holes at August with hammer and chisel and crowbar, true! centimeters for centimeters. Crazy!
So my method to place new plants is to make a hole, about 30 cm deep, I put the root-ball deeper than in the pot. So the height of a 50 cm shrub is reduced to 20 cm. I take young plants „with long necks" and I remove many leaves. Then I place a 40 cm long part of a water tube (or electrician tube) on the deep root ball, to bring water later better to it. Then I fill the hole with a mixture of origin soil and potting soil 1:1 and at the top fine natural gravel. And then I give water and make a prayer.
Do you know a better method to place plants under such conditions?
Which kind of plants you can recommend? Lagerstroemia? Abelia?
On holidays at Santorini, Greek, I've seen tropical Hibiscus, Lantana camara and Cortaderia selloana, planted out at such gardens. Should I try it?