Plants and Features

For Mediterranean, think of evergreen shrubs, shrubs and herbaceous perennials with silvery leaves, exotic-looking plants and bright-coloured flowers.

Bear in mind the type of soil you have: silver-leaved plants are that colour because their leaves are covered with hairs, designed to retain moisture - not great if you have a wet clay soil!

For heavy, wet or damp soils, use evergreen shrubs such as Prunus laurocerasus "Otto Luyken", Lonicera pileata, Eucryphia, Osmanthus, Viburnum tinus, Fatsia japonica and something tall and narrow (fastigiate is the horticultural term) such as Juniperus virginiana "Skyrocket" in sun or Taxus baccata fastigiata (yew) in shade.

Clipped topiary shapes also look good, particularly standard bay trees, for example.

In sandy soils, go for lots of silver-leaved plants such as Senecio, Santolina, Phlomis fruticosa, Convulvulus cneorum, Cytisus, Artemesia or rosemary, plus green-leaved plants such as Choisya ternata, Phormium tenax and Callistemon (bottle brush)

For something a bit more exotic, try the banana plant Musa basjoo (evergreen, but looks scruffy in winter), Tamarisk (which you see lining the streets in southern France) or Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan Palm) which seems to grow anywhere.

Buddleia globosa has a Mediterranean appearance with its round orangey-yellow flowers, and perennials such as Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle), Geraniums, Echinops ritro (thistle), Kniphofia (red hot poker)or Crocosmias are ideal for this theme.

Think about scent, and perhaps use Syringa microphylla (a small lilac with delicious spring scent), Philadelphus (mock orange), or lots of lavender.

Leave some terracotta or glazed pots standing around with topiary shapes or compact round evergreen shrubs, and plant up with bold-coloured bulbs and bedding plants as the seasons change.

Pots of lilies would be great in the summer, and they could then be moved out of the way as they finish flowering. Or try Allium "christophii" with its large globe-shaped mauve summer flowers, or Agapanthus, for blue or white.

A formal symmetrical rectangular pool in the centre of the garden, with stone benches around, perhaps lined with bleached lime trees (trees with canopies on stilts) or pots with standard bay, would give the Mediterranean garden an authentic feel.

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