Aristotle made no bones about it.  Regions north of the Mediterranean Coast were not suitable for civilized life.  His southern world was a warm, mild one that stretched across most of Spain and Portugal, southern France, all of Italy except the Alps, Greece and North Africa.  There the moderate climate spawned a native flora of oil rich aromatic plants capable of withstanding a very long dry season in the summer.

 It is these plants that define some of the most beautiful gardens in the world.  The casual charm, redolent scent, culinary harvest, and vineyards make them intrinsically romantic.  Their plants have become signatures of the good life in both ancient Rome and modern America.

Sadly, northern gardeners in love with the Mediterranean planting style find most of these species too frost tender to survive the winter.  But there’s no reason to abandon the look.  A group of plants from Turkey and Afghanistan that share similar looks and aromatic oils share a unique ability to weather the brutal winters of these mountainous countries.

Russian sage is not Russian at all, it’s an Afghan.  The cold, dry winters of this region are well known by many American soldiers.  This sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia is amazingly similar to lavender but cold hardy to Zone 4.  Moreover it tends to prefer fast draining soils with limited fertility.

The Yarrows are coagulant herbs of the Roman Empire and were spread wherever the centurions marched.  This vigorous aromatic herb, Achillea, has produced a wide range of hybrids hardy to Zone 3.  A fern-like leaf produces large clumps that can be divided over time.  The standard white or yellow flowers are now complemented by cultivars in orange red, pink and white.  It is an everlasting, which means the flowers can be cut and dried in bunches upside down, and will retain their vibrant color for a long time.

The gorgeous silvery lace foliage of wormwood, Artemisia, is distinctly Mediterranean yet is found all the way to Russia.  It’s cold hardy to Zones 3 or 4 depending on the hybrid.  Shrubby in form, it is an exceptional source of that signature coloring that is outstanding when combined with rich blues and purple.  Wormwood is a notoriously aromatic plant and natural pesticide named for its age old use of controlling intestinal worms. 
           

Fuzzy lamb’s ear is a children’s favorite, but it also makes a fine groundcover for cold hardy Mediterranean gardens.  Also from the Byzantine region of Persia, Stachys byzantia can take a cold and dry climate in stride to Zone 4.  It’s not uncommon to find colonies of creeping lamb’s ear spreading out from the base of a sundial or classical statuary. 

Among the largest of the cold hardy succulents is Sedum telephium, which originates in Russia and has withstood a great deal of breeding over the centuries.  Autumn Joy is the most well known cultivar hardy to Zone 4, which contributes a decidedly warm Mediterranean appearance if combined with the above group of plants.  It’s autumn flowering with many other hybrids that afford an excellent alternative to the tender aloes and succulents found in northern Africa.

The soft color palette of Mediterraneans has made them favorites of many forms of architecture.  It is rich in the grey range, heavy with pubescent plants such as lamb’s ear which fights moisture loss with a dense coating of fur.  These plants share another quality of becoming iridescent under moonlight.

Northern gardeners need not lament their separation from the warm winter species of the Mediterranean.  The key is to seek alternatives from Asia Minor and Russia where a wealth of new plants are coming with fresh attention on this part of the world.  Formerly closed to horticultural exchange by the Soviet Union, look east to find the answers to creating the rich landscaped character of French Chateaux, Italian Villas and Spanish stone homes in the rigors of the American north. 

Call it hardpan or caliche or adobe, but all these soils add up to is dense ground.  And water doesn’t penetrate any better than it seeps through a red clay flower pot wall.

Such is the fate of so many homeowners in regions were soils, or subsoil layers are impervious to water.  Or sometimes it’s just part of a homesite that’s problematic.  Cut building pads on hillsides may offer nothing but these dense, exposed sub-soils.  Even if you till them up and add organic matter, the soils may cement themselves back together again once you add water. 

Many plants refuse to grow under these circumstances, but the good news is that some will literally thrive in heavy ground.  A good many of these come from habitats around the world that are often flooded, swampy or perennially wet.  Some will grow equally well on dry land too, because they are adapted to the ebb and flow of seasonal waterways.  Knowing which species enjoy these conditions will save you money, dead plants and a lot of frustration.

Cardinal flower is Lobelia cardinalis, a perennial named for the vivid red flower spikes that bloom from July to September.  They’re also known as hummingbird flowers due to their lure of these tiny American birds to copious nectar.  It ranges from Canada to over most of the eastern U.S. in wetlands, swamps and streambanks.  Plants reach two to four feet and are quite cold hardy.  Recently breeders have crossed this plant with other lobelia species to create the Lobelia speciosa hybrids with varying flower color, but expect these to be a bit less cold hardy.
 

Water iris can be found across the globe with many species native to the American south.  These were brought into cultivation and crossed over and over to produce what are today known as the Louisiana iris hybrids.  Big, bold and resilient, with a resistance to mucky soils of the deep South, these beauties are the stellar performers of wet ground gardens.   Explore the rainbow of truly astounding hybrids and more details on cultivation and purchase of these all-American iris at Zydeco Louisiana Iris Garden in New Orleans or online at http://www.zydecoirises.com/

Hailing from warmer climates come two outstanding wetland performers.  The canna, beloved in Victorian gardens can be a water garden plant or grow on dry ground. Its double nature is a requirement of the Amazon region of its homeland.  Dwarfs or full sized varieties offer a huge range of flower and leaf colors.  The black and striped leaves are exceptional to look at even when out of bloom. The thick, fleshy roots may be left in ground all winter provided they don’t freeze, or they can be lifted and stored after the last frost.

Gorgeous white calla lilies, Zantedeschia aethiopica used in swanky flower arrangements and old time funerary bouquets are natives of Africa.  Like the canna they live on riverbanks, thriving in periodic floods but during the long dry season they survive on dry land.  The large white callas make outstanding garden plants in heavy clay soils where moisture is prevalent.  Smaller forms with a wider range of flower colors are less resilient however, and may prove too fussy for some gardens. 

The key to beautiful carefree gardens is selecting plants that are perfectly suited to the location, climate and soils.  Rather than fighting a problem low spot by trying to raise it up, which is usually expensive and not always effective, try to work with nature.  Choose plants that are naturally adapted to these conditions in the wild, because they will perform year after year without much help from you.

Whether you’re discovering natural dog training with Caesar Milan or natural horse training with Pat Pirelli, the very same approach can be applied to solving problems in gardens.  Because we always find greater success and happiness when we work with nature, not against her.   

Slight of hand is what makes magic acts so confounding.  Your eye is betrayed by tricks that seem to defy all we know about physics.  Yet they are so effective we have no choice but to suspend our disbelief. 

There is magic of a similar kind wrought by the skills of garden designers.  It’s the technique of creating visual space where none exists.  This ability to trick you into believing there is more there than meets the eye is called trompe loiel, the French term for “fool the eye”.  

The traditional and most common example of French trompe l’oiel is the art of  trellage.  This arrangement produces trellis systems which use artist’s forced perspective to make it appear as though there is greater depth.  This works exactly the way an artist does with a painting.  While this geometric system of lines on a contrasting background can be effective, it doesn’t work well outside formalized landscapes. 

There is a simpler way to achieve this sense artificial space that’s cheaper and adapts to virtually all garden styles equally.  It solves a dozen problems unique to small space outdoor living or urban postage stamp gardens bounded by oppressive walls.

Imagine if you could borrow some real estate to create a whole new garden room to look into?  As you sit in a tiny claustrophobic patio, a window on another world could change the entire sense of place.  The technique to create such magic: exploit reflection with mirrors. 

A mirror reflects everything in front of it to virtually double the sense of space.  We use them often indoors to make rooms seem larger.  It works just as well in the garden.    The size and position of a mirror can provide you a tantalizing, albeit artificial view. 

If you’re using a mirror on walls beneath eaves or solid roofing, any type is suitable.  But without cover, rain can damage the silvering on the back of a standard mirror made for interior use.  For this situation order all-weather outdoor mirror for seasonal or year around applications.  To make the effect work perfectly you must fix the mirror solidly to the background.  If it is hung by a wire it will tilt, giving you too much floor or sky.  That just won’t fool the eye. 

When considering the size of an outdoor a mirror, match the scale of gateways and windows to give it a more realistic look.  Decide if its to function best when sitting or standing.  Be certain of what is reflected in the mirror from those important viewpoints to get the illusion just right.

 A full length mirror created to hang on the back of a door provides a natural looking portal in the garden where it’s placed.  It should be flush with the ground in order to completely pull off such a hoax.  If it is set into planting, be aware that splash when it rains may spot the mirror.  Ditto when it comes to nearby water features.  In those cases raise it up a few inches for clearance.

Mirrors about the size of a window allows you to look out upon a fictionalized garden room.  These too should be clearly visible from the most often used outdoor living area and reflect a pleasing picture of the garden.   

Give your mirrors a sense of permanence with framing.  Bundle sticks into a rustic frame and tack it to the wall around the mirror. Haunt garage sales for cheap mirrors.  Seize battered metal or wrought iron framed ones.  Those in disintegrating wood frames are good for at least one season of fun.   

Plants are the best way to give a faux view a realistic appearance.  Arches of vines shrouding the edges cover a multitude of clues.   Pack the space with color and flowers to ensure each reflection is a gardenesque as possible.  Because the only thing better than a small flower filed garden is two of them.

The world of tulips is immense, but amidst the most beautiful flowers in the world are some really twisted varieties.  They won’t appeal to everyone, but for certain design styles, these bulbs can turn a good spring garden into a forld class affair.

Sometimes perfect upright tulips are too rigid for modern design.  The ability to juxtapose twisted flowers and stems against the sharp lines of sleek surfaces creates a dynamic contrast.  Parrot tulips produce these very unusual petals with bold stripes and broken colors along with frilled edges.

For lovers of rich reds and the luxurious interiors with their silks and satins, dark antique furniture and heavy drapes, Rococo is an ideal choice.  Intense color combined with striations produces a true Old World look.  As flowers open their form disintegrates to create even more exotic shapes.  This is a real man’s tulip.

She is named China Town, and this beautiful flushed beauty is most feminine.  Tulip centers in a rich sap green are edged in magenta then lighten to pale pink.  Planted into beds of perennials and shrubs, their large flowers, casual form and vivid colors are perfect for that coveted cottage garden look. 

Seeing a garden unusually early in the year may cheat you out of its full peak season glory, but there are benefits.  This residence in northern Germany demonstrated a most useful means of training vines to masonry buildings without sacrificing the structure.  On structures that are painted, this system allows the cables to be detached with the main vine runners to repaint or repair.  It’s fully visible early before the vines have fully leafed out.

This clematis has been perfectly trained up a dual set of cables attached to the face of the masonry wall.  The verticals end at the top plate then a new set juts off at an angle to follow the roof line. 

A close up of the assembly at the base of the wall illustrates heavy lag eye-bolts anchored in the mud sill, in this case it is wood due to the half-timber construction.  It must be very strong to hold the wire tension.  Barrel turnbuckles at the base allow the homeowner to occasionally tighten the tension as cables stretch with vine maturity.

Wisteria begun years ago on the same system illustrates how vine trunks cope with the tight cable over time.  Turnbuckles may be loosened as well to accommodate the growing diameter of woody trunks that spiral around the cables.  This proves it is a viable solution over the long term.

One of the great things about being in media is access.  This year it was a private tour of the best Dutch gardens featuring virtually every bulb known to man in full bloom.  But we didn’t just see Keukenof the greatest bulb extravaganza in the world, our visits were to small lesser known sites, many of them residential.  I found a plethora of new ideas which I’ll share with you over the coming weeks.

A table made of a slab of salvaged steel plating on sawhorses displays urns of snowdrops and terra cotta filled with gorgeous purple crocus.

One garden was actually a very deep backyard created by a woman who ran a small garden shop and nursery in her home.  This is unusual to find such an operation in a residential district but thankfully the locals let her do it.  Like most of Holland the site was immaculate with not a leaf out of place nor a weed in sight.   

The garden owner is enchanted by cool colors of blue and purple, so she created a most unique combination of pots and plants.  This table featured metal containers planted with succulents and other unusual foliage along with a few spectacular accents.

I think what probably caught my attention about this long display of foliage and flowers is the cool color palette.  But we’ve all been trained that all cool is just too dull and needs an occasional red or yellow to bring it up in temperature.  Somehow despite the lack of such contrasting spots of bright hue this works by creating incredible diversity in an amazingly small space without being overwhelming.

Sanseveria is native to the South African bush with its long dry season when many months pass without a drop of rain.  When not a blade of grass is left standing you can see their little green leaves poking out of the dust.  As succulent plants capable of storing large amounts of water in their tissues, these are often the only green thing for miles.

Inside the leaves are tough fibers once extracted by the Zulu tribal warriors to twist into bow strings.

Many varieties of Sanseveria can be found in your home improvement store or garden center house plant section.  They’ll thrive out in the garden all summer long in shaded locations.  Chameleons of the plant world, they can be adapted to modern, tropical and Spanish style gardens depending on where and how they are planted.

Its history in the bush is why this age old houseplant remains so cast iron, because it literally thrives on neglect.  Also known as mother-in-law’s tongue, it’s been rediscovered as a patio plant that can be brought indoors to enjoy througout the winter. 

Sanseveria was a signature plant for midcentury modern homes due to their uniformity and architectural forms.

The growth habit of Sanseverias is much like that of bearded iris or cattails, which spread via thick, fleshy underground rhizomes.  Once established they quickly fill in a pot or planter creating a tightly packed colony of succulent, upright, sword shaped leaves.  To propagate your root bound plants, simply break apart the rhizomes at their naturally weakest points, then allow the pieces to sit in the open air for a few days while the wound ends dry out before replanting.  This seals them against moisture that could rot the rhizome before it becomes established in its new location.

The plants caught on in tropical Mexico where they are still planted in red clay pots.  Rows of identical pots and plants set against hot colored walls distinguish many hacienda landscapes.