5 Features Not To Miss In Your Mediterranean Garden

Everyone needs a dream garden where to spend a cozy afternoon. Is your garden looking somewhat lackluster and needs refreshing? Perhaps you have just moved into a new home but the garden needs a complete overhaul. Regardless of the situation, you should consider giving your garden a Mediterranean theme to make it look fabulous.

Image credit: fivestarlandscape.com

What is a Mediterranean garden theme?

A Mediterranean garden is a mix of classic rustic furniture with fragrant colorful plants. This creates a relaxed and informal atmosphere with a weathered look to give you memories of a wonderful family holiday. It is a moment to enjoy outdoor living with family and friends in a relaxed setting just like traditional Mediterranean families.

Giving your space a Mediterranean look will give you more time to relax in the garden during summer. The relaxed style requires little maintenance to get a sample of Mediterranean living. When planning to transform your garden, you have to understand the features below that give it the ideal Mediterranean theme.

Colorful plants

The most significant feature of Mediterranean landscape design themes is the plant choice. The Mediterranean garden smells good from climbers on the walls and other colorful flowers in terracotta pots. A professional will help you select plants with the ideal color and fragrance. Olive trees complete theme fit in any garden regardless of shape and size. You can have these in a large container in a corner or as a focal point.

Other plants for the Mediterranean theme garden include:

• Herbs such as rosemary and lavender on the walkway
• Palm trees to bring out the continental coastline
• Red hot poker to give the garden warmth
• Rockrose at the front of the borders
• Bougainvillea in containers for moving under glass in winter
• Geraniums in pots and window boxes

Most Mediterranean plants tolerate drought conditions and need light well-drained soil. For clay soil, add organic matter to enrich it and horticultural grit to enhance drainage.  Don’t forget to have holes in the bottom of the pots for water to drain away.

Water features

Although not an essential feature in a Mediterranean garden, a water feature is a lovely addition to break up the dry landscape. Add a tiny rustic fountain on the wall to give the space a satisfying bubbling sound. An ornamental pool adds shimmer to the weathered scene. Apart from a water feature, adding bright vibrant hues in the color scheme offsets the warm terracotta tones. Alternatively, you can just stain the pergola in Mediterranean white and blue.

Pergolas

A Mediterranean garden focuses on function with a shade for protection from elements. This brings out what happens on the Mediterranean coastline where shade is needed for shelter from the scorching sun. So, canopies and pergolas are common features in Mediterranean-style gardens. Away from the coastline, pergolas offer shelter from prevailing winds and much-needed privacy.

You can have your pergola draped in climbing plants like Ipomoea and jasmine. Consider a tiny archway of higher fencing if you have a small garden. The Mediterranean garden grows upwards and outwards. So, no wall, trees, or fence is bare. Draping tree canopies and climbers enhance height to make an impact in the garden.

Paving

An integral part of a Mediterranean garden is hard landscaping broken up with splashes of vibrant color. So, forget the lawns and opt for paving stones and gravel. This is a wonderful idea to make lawn maintenance easier or if you have a small space. Eliminating a lawn gives an impression of having a lot of vacant space for splitting the garden into sections with pathways lined with herbs and plants.

To soften the edges of the paved areas, add some ground cover plants on the edges and let them spill over onto the gravel or stones. A Mediterranean-style garden is full of pots. So, add some large terracotta pots and colorful containers on the patio areas with gaps.

Outdoor dining

To complete your Mediterranean garden, add outdoor dining where to sit and enjoy your space. In the Mediterranean, it is taboo to miss an outdoor dining area. There is part of a tradition where large families meet to share food and relax with friends outdoors. You should have a classic style of dining that is weather-resistant to leave outside.

When lacking space for a large dining table with chairs, opt for a bistro set with two chairs and a coffee table for a lovely look. Don’t leave any sections in the garden where to place a chair or bench if you have big space. Opt for various seating along and around the pathways to complete your Mediterranean garden theme.

A Mediterranean garden theme adds that extra ‘wow’ to your outdoors. You have to get a professional consultant to design the ideal Mediterranean garden theme to match your space and requirements.