 Plinth surrounded by mixed plantings full of fragrance, texture, colour and movement painted in the soft colours and grey foliage of the Mediterranean. There are grasses, herbs (including sage, decorative forms of oregano and a prostrate low growing form of rosemary), artemesias, Diascia, Potentilla, Helianthemum, and sedums as well as the verbascum with its tall yellow spires and large felty gray leaves. The plinth and a large blue planted container add interest through the winter. |
 Three clumps of the grass Calamagrostis acutflora Karl Foerster are used to provide movement, texture and a screen while at the same time being drought tolerant. Hidden by these tall rustling grasses overlooking the ocean is a bench surrounded by the soft grey foliage of artemesias and santolinas, with the diarama’s (angel’s fishing rod) arching stems of pale pink tubular flowers gently waiving in the breeze Out of view behind the bench is Atriplex, the grey translucent leafed salt bush (which is evergreen). |
 The Meditteranean feel of this garden is contributed to by a combination of drought tolerant shrubs and perennials including grasses. The wonderful jade blue-green foliage of the donkey- tail euphorbia (euphorbia mysinites) contrasts with the red-edged, yellow centered flat blooms of the Yarrow - Paprika Achillea millefolium and the yellow button blooms of the silver leafed santolina. The apricot leaves of the phormium Maori Sunset provides additional year round interest and joins other Southern Hemisphere plants including many herbes.
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 In front of the Mediterranean Gravel garden there is down the gravel boulevard colourful plants including Eschscholzia species, penstomen and euphorbias that have self-seeded in the gravel, thus integrating the garden further into its setting. You catch the fragrance of the English, French and Spanish lavenders.
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 In building the deck this glacial rock was exposed and became a natural transition between the house and the Mediterranean gravel garden.
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 Mediterranean theme containers.
A monochromatic colour scheme has been created through the choosing of containers of sedums and succulents whose foliage colour echoes that of surrounding plants. For example, the echiveria's glaucus blue foliage is echoed by the Euphorbia myrsinites (Donkey -tail Spurge) while its stems echo the apricot colour of the strap shaped leaves of the New
Zealand phormium (Maori Sunset)on the upper right while the myriad of the santolina's yellow button blooms engulf a large empty turquoise ceramic pot.
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 Sitting at the table on the lower terrace, protected from the wind by the tall grasses and other plantings above you, you can see the small objects placed on the rock wall, on the table is a brightly coloured geranium, while growing under this glass table are brightly coloured self seeded oriental poppies.
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