10233 Easy Plants For An Easy Garden

We've just planted two hibiscus bushes in one part of our garden and also put down weed matting and covered in volcanic stones to cut down on the need to keep up to it. They are very hardy (we get lots of snow in winter) and flower every year and come in assorted colours. I've got four here in England and they are really healthy looking bushes. In winter they lose their leaves as they aren't evergreens but they don't need pruning either so are really easy to manage.

Lorraine

My holiday home has the perfect low maintenance garden;-

a concrete hardstanding for the cars

.

Alan, I wouldn´t call yours an "esy garden", not even a "low-maintenance garden, it is a "lazy garden". :laughs:
Does the croncrete get too hot in summer?

Rosemay or "Rosmarinus officinalis" is an ideal easy plant for the Italian garden and it is very useful in the kitchen. A few needles of rosemary on your roast or with steamed potatoes and a drizzle of olive oil are absolutely superb.
It is a fragrant shrub which flowers in spring and needs full sun and only a bit of water from time to time. You can prune it once a yer to keep it under control and it
is basically pest free. For more information:

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary]Rosemary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]

Hello there fellow gardeners!

We planted our front garden (south facing, no irrigation) back in February 2007 with Lavenders, Rosemary and Viburnum along with another couple of plants, the names of which I never quite grasped (one is some kind of low growing genesta I think, maybe a drawf variety - full of yellow blooms in May). I'm glad to report that all plants have survived the summer without automatic irrigation, we of course water them when we're around but still, they have gone without additional watering for weeks at the time.
Now is the time to stock the back garden for which we will have an irrigation system. Has anybody got experiences with the New Zealand Phlax (Phormium)? There are beautiful varieties in existance.

"moved to italiauncovered.co.uk"

[QUOTE=Lorraine;95253]We've just planted two hibiscus bushes in one part of our garden and also put down weed matting and covered in volcanic stones to cut down on the need to keep up to it. They are very hardy (we get lots of snow in winter) and flower every year and come in assorted colours. I've got four here in England and they are really healthy looking bushes. In winter they lose their leaves as they aren't evergreens but they don't need pruning either so are really easy to manage.

I read this and could have wept because the stunningly beautiful deep red, hibiscus I was recently given, growing in a pot until it could be planted out in the autumn, was eaten to a stub this morning. My fault because I did not spray it with some "miracle" fluid sent from England. But I have learnt the hard way. If you suffer from deer eating your roses, young trees, jasmin, vines etc as I do, then by mail order you can purchase Grazers. You dilute it and spray it on to all these plants (initially every 2 weeks). Only the young mulberry tree is still vunerable. It truly works and this year I had roses in bloom. [url=http://www.grazers.co.uk]Grazers - effective solution to crop damage caused by grazing rabbits, deer, pigeons, geese[/url] Now I know they like hibiscus too.

[quote=Gala Placidia;95258]Alan, I wouldn´t call yours an "esy garden", not even a "low-maintenance garden, it is a "lazy garden". :laughs:
Does the croncrete get too hot in summer?[/quote]

probably - but it doesn't mattter - we use the balcony - better views and cool breezes [sometimes]

When its really hot - I'm indoors on the sofa reading a book or snoozing.

.

I had a few plants of New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax) in Australia. It is really a gigantic grass but it can grow up to 3 m in any garden conditions. In summer it produces bronze-red flowers, very beautiful.
According to my Australian gardening encyclopedia, you can find two main varieties:
"Phormium Tenax Atropurpureum" with bronze-purple leaves and "Variegatum" with green leaves bordered in cream. I have had the two varieties and they should do very well in Italy.
Another interesting plant which is really a grass is "Cortaderia selloana" or Pampas grass. Very tough, it tolerates high and low extremes of moisture and it is stunning. The only care needed is, after floweringl to cut the whole clump to desired height to keep it neat and tidy.

"moved to italiauncovered.co.uk"

Thank you all for your replies, it seems that the Phormiums are definitely worth a try. I have 2 varieties in mind; the very Platts Black which has already been mentioned here and another small growing variety called 'Surfer', apparently comes in both green and bronze. I saw the green variety in a garden centre with beautiful bronze edged leaves and was totally smitten. Our property is close to the coast, which seems to be another plus for this type of plant. I have not seen them for sale in any local garden centre, but I have found a british nursery that does mail order to Europe, so I'm planning to purchase the plants that way (subject to cost being reasonable).

Sea holly or Erygium is another plant that I have in mind to try - again, there are so many different varieties, but the steely blue flowers are truly captivating and having seen it growing wild in Sardinia, I would guess that it should also be at home on the main land coast. Just have to be careful with the watering where the phormium appreciates the wet, the sea holly would probably drown!

I was not familiar with the sea holly, but it looks dazzling. Just keep us informed regarding your progress with that one. We also have a Gardening group.

Keep your eyes out for what the locals grow and do thou likewise - as many of these plants are not in the garden centres then ask politely for cuttings - most Italians are very generous in this way!

Aloes will look after themselves and there are some lethally sharp ones which would be ideal for a place where you wanted to prevent animals/humans getting through!No good if you have young children!

Try also growing a vaiety of succulents in hot dry areas they will soon spread to cover the ground.

I've been reading 'notes from an italian garden ' by Joan Marble which has some great advice.She grows lots of iris which will provide colour early in the year and can safely be left unwatered during the hot summer.Cyclamin also can be treated in the same way.

Our English garden has been very negleted this year but we have a 3 inch layer of gravel spread over the soil which keeps weed growth down.If you are not going to be able to spend a lot of time at the property its essential to cover bare soil either by planting or mulching.

Another very easy plant to grow practically anywhere is [B][I]"Lantana"[/I][/B]

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantana]Lantana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]

Yes, I know that some varieties are a noxious weed, but the ones you get at nurseries are worthwhile garden specimens and few plants are more colourful or need so little care.
There are many varieties nowadays with a multitude of colours and you can get trailing forms as well which can be shaped into a beautiful rounded bush.
I think that it would be an ideal, colourful plant particularly for gardens in the south such as Puglia.

P.S. I agree with the choice of Aloes and succulents. An Aloe Vera plant is also a quick remedy for burns, just slice and apply directly on the area. Magic!

I've been reading 'notes from an italian garden ' by Joan Marble which has some great advice.She grows lots of iris which will provide colour early in the year and can safely be left unwatered during the hot summer.Cyclamin also can be treated in the same way.

Ahh Joan Marble....well she obviously does not have porcupines that invade her garden at night. They will eat every single iris you plant, so beware!

There is a fabulous "Iris Garden" in Florence with over 2,500 varieties, some of them extremely rare which have been donated to create the biggest collection of these fabulous flowers. It is to be expected that this garden could only be created in Florence as the iris or "fleur de lys" is the heraldic figure which represents the city. Naturally, I don't think that they allow many porcupines in the area....
Enjoy these views:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dej0I7ru94I&feature=related]YouTube - Iris Garden / Florence Italy[/ame]

Yes Iris Germanica or bearded Iris really great plants and positively demand drought in summer! Seen porcupines hereabouts but no trouble so far.
Pot plant potential successes could be tradescanthias indoors in UK but seem to be hardy here and also resistant to general ill-treatment - quite a range of them too. stick them in and watch them grow1

Now when I agreed to buy my house the previous owner stopped all garden care including watering and one of the few survivors was the Acca or Feijoa or even pineapple guava bush as it is sometimes known. Yes I know it is not exactly spectacular with its grey-green small leaves but you can eat the flowers(yes really) and the green fruit are edible when very ripe and it is TOUGH. MIght be worth looking at.

Tradescantia (given a shady spot) seemed to me to be pretty hardy over five years. Dutch iris (bulbs rather than rhizomatous) survived the predations of the istriche. Aloes did well for me. Phormiums less well.

Beth Chatto's book (I think it is called 'The dry garden') is very solid information and no doubt you could pick up a second hand copy for a couple of quid - her garden was in eastern England where (believe it or not) the rainfall is less than in most inland areas of Italy. Rosemary and lavenders are invaluable: bulbs (assuming you can protect against animal predators) do spectacularly. Oleanders do not like cold winds (nor do any hibiscus).

Hi There,

We are South Africans and have recently bought a house in Lunigiana, near Pontremoli. I am a landscape designer in S.A. where we own our own landscape design company. I am listing our website below if anyone is interested.I have noticed that there are quite a few South African plants available in Italy which are drought hardy and easy to keep. They also provide a lot of seasonal colour - I hope that some of the members will find the list useful:
1) Gazania sp
(2) Verbena groundcovers
(3) Agapanthus
(4) Hemerocallis (day lilies)
(5) Felicia amelloides
(6) Dietes grandiflora (wild iris)
(7) Euryops spp
(8) Kniphofia (red hot poker)
(9) Osteospermum
(10) Plumbago
(11) Tulbaghia violacea (wild garlic)
(12) Strelitzia reginae (crane flower)

Happy gardening to all!
RENEE
[EMAIL="www.ecolandscapes.co.za"]www.ecolandscapes.co.za[/EMAIL]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]As a very poor Italian speaker is there a phrase that I need to use when asking for a cutting. The last time I asked I was given a strange look and some flowers!!![/FONT] :reallyembarrassed:

Yes, there is. "Posso avere una talea, per favore".

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Grazie Annamaria

Perhaps it was my hands that gave them the wrong impression of what I wanted. As a poor Italian speaker, I use my hands and arms a lot - mind you I do when speaking English[/FONT] :laughs:

Just a thought , I grew some bedding dahlias from seed and got the usual dozen mature plants, however they seem indestructible except for a bit of mildew right at the end of the summer, they have bravely come up through builders rubble etc and are pretty drought resistant, must be dead headed for a continuous display tho'. Cheap and easy - my kind of plant!

Hi
Am quite new to the forum but find it great.We have a house with a terrace and courtyard in the mountains in northern Tuscany which gets very cold and also some heavy snow in Winter, so trying to keep plants, which has to be in containers, is very difficult. Last year after looking around at other people's planters, I noticed that Pelargoniums and Geraniums do very well, so I planted some and two seasons later they are still thriving. I usually cut them back in Sept, and by Spring they are flowering again and don't mind drought conditions as I have no neighbours to water them when I am not there. The Lavender is also doing OK but will be trying the Olianders and Lavanda next visit. Have tried herbs and house leeks but to no avail, although my Aloe Vera which I brought from home twi years ago is also still alive.
If you have any more plant ideas would love to hear from you

I garden at 627 metres in Umbria and am here all the time. You are not. So if you can only garden with pots and have deep snow in winter, I doubt that Oleander will survive unless you wrap it and the pot in gardeners fleece. Then I am still not sure it will do well. I am of the opinion that if a plant isn't suited to it's environment it is a waste of time and effort trying to grow it. There are evergreens that will thrive in big pots without much TLC. Choysia and box for example. Big box balls in big pots look great. Is there no one who can water in warmer weather? If there is then a lovely thing to grow in a pot is Plumbago. Keep it somewhere with slight shade above it and it will love you. At the end of May unwrap it after it's winter rest. It flowers here from end July beg August and is still flowering now. But it is close to a house wall for protection. It will be cut down to about a metre, wrapped in fleece (pot as well), and tucked into an outside corner the second week of November. During the winter my pots are full of Violas, they are more reliable than pansies and need next to no attention apart from deadheading if you happen to be in Italy.
Why not join the Gardening Group? See bar at top left-hand side of this page.

Hi,
Thanks for the advice. Yes I will try the Plumbago and the Choisya, didn't realise that they grow well there, so will plant in Spring and cut back end of Sept. and put it in a safe frost free area over winter.
We are 650 metres above sea level, so we have to be very careful just like yourself.
Any more advice would be very appreciated.

Are you now in the UK Annette? Evergreens are best planted in pots in the autumn to get the benfits of settling in with winter rain. If you return to Toscana before Spring do plant single box plants that cost about 8 euros, in pots. (That price gives an idea of size). They soon grow and you can eventually, carefully trim them into ball shapes to fit the top of the pot. They cope with dry conditions up at over 600 mts. Also box planted in gravel does well and cut into various ball shapes if you have any ground at all.