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Architectural plants for South of France
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Posted by landscaperish (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 9:50
| We live in the warm South of France near Nimes and the average weather ranges from very hot to around -5 in winter. We've just completed a 1 X 10 metre raised bed with a high stone wall behind it. It has good drained soil and faces S.W. The stone wall looks very good so we don't want to completely hide it. Does anyone have any ideas what we could plant in the bed? We would like the plants to be architectural and have thought of agave and cacti but not quite sure what else would be between 30 and 90 cm high - any ideas? |
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RE: Architectural plants for South of France
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- Posted by bahia SF Bay Area (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 26, 08 at 12:53
| A couple of the smaller growing Agave species such as A. bracteosa or A. parryi or A. rostrata should do well for you. You might also consider using Hesperaloe parviflora, Dasylirion wheeleri, of if you are willing to give it more water in summer, Restios such as Elegia capensis or Chondropetalum tectorum are also quite sculptural and lacy in effect, or you could use the South African Dierama pulcherrima. Tender perennials such as Verbena bonariensis would also show to good effect against such a wall, without obscuring it. Since you don't seem to mind the idea of thorny plants, you might also consider using some of the hardier bromeliads such as the various Dyckia species. Some of the hardiest Echeveria species would also work well, such as E. agavoides or the 1800's hybrid created by a french man, E. x imbricata. Other architectural type plants that are actually native to the Mediterranean Basin might include Euphorbia rigida or E. myrsinites as low shrubs/round covers to spill over a curb or rocks, or the taller, shrubbier summer deciduous E. dendroides which has foliage that turns bright red in late May/June before dropping, and looks like a small tree in habit. |
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