The Meditteranean climate is characterised by rainfall occurring in mainly in winter. Summers are hot but dry. Besides the Mediterranean region, other parts of the world having a "Mediterranean" climate include south-western parts of the African, South American and Australian continents.
Many popular ornamental plants come from these regions and tend to be tolerant of dry conditions. Unfortunately, they can be sensitive to the hot wet conditions characteristic of tropical and subtropical climates. Most of Queensland would be classed as having a tropical or subtropical climate, a characteristic being hot and humid summers. Summer is typically the storm and cyclone season with potentially large volumes of rain falling (and associated waterlogging).
Unfortunately, many classic Mediterranean plants don't cope well with the combination of heat and humidity characteristic of a tropical/subtropical climate. Queenslanders can help overcome these limitations with tricks such as:
- using less sensitive species or varieties (e.g. among the lavenders)
- using subsititutes with a similar look (e.g. salvias vs lavenders)
- soil amendments
- planting in containers and raised beds
A few plants have been listed on the right. This list will be developed further in future updates.
Some plants & related topics
(these plants don't necessarily originate in the Mediterranean region, but could be used in a garden of that style)
Silver foliaged plants
The following would be particularly suitable for a "resort" look:
Canary Island Date Palm (see
Palms)
Hard Goods:
On other pages:
More Links
The following may be useful for further research
Roman Concrete A website dedicated to research into use of concrete by the Romans
Possible misspellings: Mediteranean, Mediterranian, Meditteranean, Meditterranean
