Mediterranean Garden Design | Reds Landscaping and Design

The Mediterranean Garden Design is not just beautiful; it is often a very practical and low-maintenance garden solution for landscaping Melbourne gardens. Historically, Melbourne winters are cool but short in duration. The summers are hot and we have experienced more of the hotter, drier weather over the past few years. Clear skies and moderate to high winds are often experienced in Melbourne, especially in the beachside suburbs of Brighton and Elwood. The recent hot, dry summers are typical of the Mediterranean climate and are more often experienced in cities like Adelaide and Perth. What this means for landscaping Melbourne gardens is that we can learn the lessons from gardens developed for hot, dry summers over millennia.

What is a Mediterranean Garden?

From a purely garden design perspective, much of the essence of the Mediterranean garden lies in the choice of materials, textures, and colours. Garden features such as cobbled paving, tiles, stones, bricks, and especially terracotta, will enhance the Mediterranean feel. Neatly clipped hedges, gravel mulch, and soft colours contrasting with brightly coloured tiles are often features in the Mediterranean garden. For landscaping Melbourne gardens, consider mixing this with less formal, drought tolerant plants and plants that give off a pleasant aroma.

Mediterranean garden - Terracotta pot and lavender - Reds Landscaping and Design — *Mediterranean garden – Terracotta pot and lavender. Great colours to have together.*

Mediterranean Garden Ideas

Mediterranean garden design often features terracotta pots and lavender. The cool purple of the lavender and the warm earthy tones of the terracotta pots are close to complimentary colours. This means they look good together in garden design. The green foliage of the lavender works as an accent to the colour scheme.
The hot, dry summers of the Mediterranean create perfect conditions for outdoor eating. In these gardens, you will often find pergolas covered with scented climbing plants or grape vines.

What Plants are in a Mediterranean Garden?

Some plants to consider for growing over your pergola include wisteria, grape vines, climbing roses, jasmine, and the Chinese Trumpet vine (Campsis grandiflora).

For landscaping Melbourne, Mediterranean plants are generally a good choice, although some may not like heavy clay soil. Some varieties of lavender require well drained soil.

Garden plants for this garden style include Salvia leucantha, or Mexican Bush Sage, and Lavender (Lavendula). Trees include box hedges and Italian pencil pines. (Cupressus sempervirens), or Italian cypress.

Cupressus sempervirens or Italian cypress - Reds Landscaping and Design — Garden plants for this garden style include Salvia Leucantha or Mexican Bush Sage, and Lavender (Lavendula). Trees include box hedges and Italian pencil pines. (Cupressus sempervirens) or Italian cypress.

Outdoor eating under a shady pergola - Reds Landscaping and Design — *Outdoor eating under a shady pergola is a key feature of Mediterranean garden design. This is also ideal for Melbourne gardens.*

Mediterranean Garden Design Australia

Within the broad garden design concept of Mediterranean gardens, there are many different individual garden styles available to the Melbourne gardener to choose from. These range from the very neat and formal style to the less formal, more drought tolerant, low maintenance gardens. This variety reflects the many influences of the Mediterranean garden culture, from the Ottomans, the Moors, the Greeks, and the Romans. Each of these cultures came up with different solutions for the Mediterranean garden based on their needs and desires. These design ideas were then brought back to Britain by landscape designers and architects on the Grand Tour. Modern landscape designers now put their own interpretation on these design solutions to produce a variety of very different design outcomes.

Rural house decorated with flowers in pots, Gourdon France - Reds Landscaping and Design — *Rural house decorated with flowers in pots, Gourdon France*

Mediterranean Style Garden - Chelsea Flower Show 2018 - Reds Landscaping and Design — *A Mediterranean style like this can result in a low maintenance and drought tolerant garden ideal for landscaping Melbourne Gardens – Chelsea Flower Show 2018.*

Giusti Garden in Verona, Italy - Reds Landscaping and Design — Lush garden with sculptures to admire and a peaceful place to stroll. A formal Mediterranean garden with neatly trimmed box hedges and Italian pencil pines. (Cupressus sempervirens) or Italian cypress – Giusti Garden in Verona, Italy.

Almudaina Palace in Palma de Majorca, Balearic Islands Spain - Reds Landscaping and Design — Gardens and water fountains near Almudaina Palace in Palma, Mallorca, Spain. Water features like this are often an important feature in Spanish Mediterranean gardens. Water fountains and gardens near Almudaina Palace in Palma de Majorca, Balearic Islands Spain.

Contact us

For help with the design and development of your landscaping ideas, contact one of our experienced landscape gardeners. We can help with small garden design all the way up to commercial landscape design.

Our specialties include fast growing screening plants, plant health and horticulture, garden lighting and outdoor pool landscaping ideas.