Horticulturalist reveals the dos and don’ts of sprucing up your shrubs

Packing the garden with olive and fig trees may seem like a clever way to bring a touch of Mediterranean charm to your property.

But the modern trend for buying plants inspired by sunny holidays in Italy and Greece isn’t all that smart, according to an award-winning garden designer.

Emily Grayshaw said flora associated with US prairies would better suit the UK climate than types found in southern Europe.

She said that while Mediterranean plants such as lavender, rosemary and olive bonsai trees (pictured left) are great in the heat, they don’t fare well in our damp autumns and winters.

Ms Grayshaw, co-designer of the winning garden at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, said: ‘It’s about planting that can establish itself and is durable, that can cope with wet summers but also wet autumns.

Emily Grayshaw said flora associated with US prairies would better suit the UK climate than types found in southern Europe. Pictured: Purple Coneflower/Echinacea Purpurea (File image)

‘Prairie plants are way easier to look after. Mediterranean planting is… about gravel and drainage. If you don’t have that your lavender is going to go floppy and soggy.’ 

Olive trees, often kept in containers in southern England, and fig trees very much dislike having damp roots. 

‘People should start looking across the Atlantic for inspiration,’ Ms Grayshaw said, as US climates, particularly on the northern coasts have more in common with the UK.

Plants she recommends include Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea) and Allium ‘Summer Beauty’ also known as Prairie Onion, Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum) and Silver Queen (Artemisia ludoviciana). 

This year the wet autumn and cold winter killed droves of Mediterranean plants – even things such as rosemaries and lavenders which are usually quite hardy.