Mediterranean gardens: tips and design ideas

A Mediterranean garden is wonderful for evoking that holiday abroad style all year round. And with predictions of the UK having hot, dry summers due to global warming, we need to consider how this will affect the plants that we grow. So, making our British gardens more resistant to drought is becoming increasingly important.

Creating a Mediterranean garden style is one way to experiment with an array of different plants – whether this is a little corner that conjures up that holiday feeling, or transforming larger areas to decrease the need for watering.

Read on to find out how to create this style of garden, or find more gardening advice and inspiration in our guide to designing a garden.

What is a Mediterranean garden style?

Mediterranean gardens are all about laid-back outdoor living: lingering over alfresco meals with friends and family, taking a refreshing siesta, and enlivening the senses with intoxicating scents and vibrant colours. 

To recreate this style you need to include relaxed, informal spaces brimming with scented, textural combinations, and rustic detailing. Find ideas and inspiration for outdoor seating areas in our guide to outdoor dining spaces.

It takes some thought and planning to create that artless, weathered atmosphere, with both structure and planting working together to set the scene.

For a small space it is also a practical option, dispensing with the task of maintaining a lawn and instead using gravel or paving as hard landscaping for the basis of the design, softened with ground cover and an assortment of containers.

Design elements of Mediterranean gardens

Characteristics of a provincial style are informal and rustic – an aged farmhouse look with natural stone paving and limewashed walls.

Gravel and stone – most Mediterranean gardens centre on gravel and warm-toned paving, although terraced levels using stone walls with lawns and clipped forms are also common. See below for how to create a gravel garden.

Climbers scrambling freely over walls, dappled shade from vine-clad rustic pergolas, and terracotta pots filled with zingy flowers all contribute to the mood. For container ideas try Pots & Pithoi or the Cretan Pot Shop or see our advice on container gardening for more container planting ideas.

Plants are selected for fragrance, colour, year-long interest, drought tolerance and ease of care. Classic choices include:

• olives
• citrus
• agave
• lavender
• herbs
• pelargoniums
• bougainvillea

Architectural plants are used to add height and drama, such as palms, cypress and yuccas. 

Water features, although not essential, are a lovely way to add sound, shimmer and to break up the dry landscape. Find inspiration in our guide to water features.

Consider also incorporating mosaics among paving, vertically on steps or walls, or adding colour on decorative birdbaths, fountains or containers.

For the colour palette, think of the cool blues of the sea, sun-kissed warm earth tones, aged patinas, white-washed walls and splashes of reds or hot pink, backed by soft greys and silver.

Many coastal gardens lend themselves to Mediterranean landscaping, as do areas around swimming pools, with blue tones to match the water contrasted with sunny yellows or orange.

How to prepare and maintain a Mediterranean garden style

• Prepare the ground by cultivating deeply, adding in some grit and organic matter to accommodate the free-draining plants.
• Mediterranean plants have evolved to enjoy long, sunny days, where excellent light quality is key, so avoid planting in the shade of large trees.
• They prefer free-draining ground, so don’t plant them on a site that is waterlogged in winter, and they generally prefer nutrient-poor soil, so avoid feeding the soil.
• A south-facing site that enjoys sun all day, even in winter, away from frosty cold air, is ideal.
• Plant Mediterranean plants in spring as the soil warms up to avoid root rot after wet, cold winters.
• Raised beds are useful to increase drainage.
• Plant immature, small specimens as they will be more resilient and adapt as they grow.
• Before planting, soak the plants in a bucket of water until bubbles rise to the surface.
• Select the right plant for the right place; consider the soil and aspect. Plants that are given as close as possible their native living conditions fare best.
• With the vagaries of the British weather, include plants that stand up to the heat and also cope with the cold and wet, too, such as birch, berberis, geraniums, miscanthus, sedum and daylilies.

• Thoroughly water in plants for the first season and then once established they will be more drought resistant.
• Planting ‘en masse’ to cover the ground prevents the soil from being washed away, keeps weeds down and retains humidity in the soil as a reservoir for periods of drought.
• Mulching with pebbles or gravel will reflect the heat and light, keeping roots moist and cool, as well as suppressing the weeds even further.
• Additional well-composed green mulches applied each year will keep roots protected and fertilise the plants.
• Keep an eye on the health of the plants: if they seems a bit stressed from the heat give them a good watering, and keep on top of pests.
• Don’t be afraid to prune and clip rosemary, lavender and cistus after flowering; they can become leggy and woody very quickly, and an annual trim will prolong their lifespan.
• Remove leaves that have collected in shrubs during the winter as these will harbour damp.

How to create a gravel garden

A gravel garden is a practical option and low maintenance with no lawn to mow. Select a sunny, well-drained and weed-free area; although any soil type is possible, a sandy or gravelly soil works best.

To avoid plants self-seeding, place landscape fabric over the soil and cut crosses to insert the plants, then add a layer of gravel between 5 to 8cm thick. 

Gravel is available in a wide range of colours and sizes, so select a colour that works with other hard surfaces and structures in the garden. Local gravels are generally cheaper. See our guide on how to choose the best gravel for your garden.

Be vigilant with weeding in the first few years until the plants are large enough to suppress them. Self-seeding plants will pop up and give the garden a natural look; if they are a bit too promiscuous simply remove some. Good plant choices include herbs, erigeron, stipa, euphorbia and nepeta.

12 plants for a Mediterranean garden style

As a general indicator of a drought tolerant plant, grey-green and silver leaves reflect the sun’s rays, conserving moisture in the plant. Silver-leafed plants may succumb to wet, cold winters, but many are easy to propagate and will grow quickly for summer displays.

Other indicators of drought tolerance include if the plant has small narrow leaves as they transpire less water, and a reflective, glaucous, waxy coating also indicates an adaptation to survive in hot, dry environments.

Many drought-tolerant plants form communities of plants that will thrive in the same conditions.

Try some of these plants for a Mediterranean garden scheme:

• Olive trees are a classic choice, a symbol of peace, and may bear fruit if the conditions are right. They need a sheltered, sunny spot and can be grown in containers and overwintered inside. Combine well with lavender, nepeta and cistus.
• Artemisia is a hardy, woody-stemmed perennial, ideal for a rock garden and works well when massed with nepeta and erysimum.
• Agapanthus will flower abundantly throughout summer and makes a striking edging plant when planted en masse. It is also versatile for use in containers, gravel gardens and borders.
• Ceanothus needs a sheltered spot, such as against a wall, is salt tolerant, and comes in a range of clear blue to violet hues, which are accentuated when underplanted with lime green euphorbia.

• Oleanders bring a real sense of the Mediterranean planted in pots on the patio or in a courtyard, with their scented blooms in pink, red or white.
• Bougainvillea with its bright pink blooms will transport you to the Riviera. There are also ranges from white, cream, orange to red to choose from. Plant bougainvillea in containers so these can be brought in under glass in winter.
• Callistemon are usually red, but the neon ‘Hot Pink’ is a wonderful choice for containers. The spring bottlebrush flowers will also attract bees and butterflies to your garden.
• Bearded irises are native to the Mediterranean, drought tolerant, and come in a rainbow choice of tones. Plant in swathes, mixed with salvias, phlox, lilies and campanulas for a pretty combination.

• Mimosa are quick-growing trees that need a sheltered spot and prefer neutral to acid soil. They flower in spring.
• Euphorbia are adaptable and useful for foliage tones from acid yellow, lime green to reddish bracts, and can endure the harshest of weather.
• Hemerocallis, or daylilies, are useful perennials with tough, strappy leaves and showy flowers. They are low care and drought tolerant.
• Kniphofia, or red hot pokers, make striking architectural statements among grasses and perennials and have a range of warm-toned colours

More garden inspiration and advice: