The Sun Loving Osteospermum
These are evergreen perennials in a variety of colours with pink, mauve, white or yellow daisy-like flowers and dark centres. On sale from December onwards they bring fantastic colour into a winter and spring garden and tolerate the rain very well! They thrive in full sun and are good drought loving plants. Hard pruning after flowering works wonders for the following season.
The Argyranthemum Frutescens is a Beginner Friendly Plant Indeed
This marguerite is common plant on the Costa del Sol and every garden should have one! From the chrysanthemum family it is evergreen with white daisy-like blooms and needs full sun and well drained soil to provide continual winter flowering.
Different varieties have pink or yellow flowers and a more feathery foliage, all fast growing and available at garden centres.
Striking Blue Flowers of the Solanum Rantonnetii Always Brighten a Costa del Sol Garden
A sun lover and semi-evergreen shrub that will flourish and brighten up the winter garden. It has clusters of rich purple-blue flowers with a tiny yellow centre and can grow to 3m. Some gardeners train this useful shrub as a standard and others keep it as a more manageable sized plant. It is not 100% drought resistant and will need a deep fortnightly water during the summer.
A Variety of Tradescantia Nicknamed Purple Heart
The attractive Tradescantia Pallida is known locally as the purple heart. It is prized more for its foliage which is a deep purple red but during the winter and early spring it also has small pink flowers. Growing well in full sun it is an ideal ground cover but looks spectacular in window boxes and containers too. The stems are fairly brittle but cuttings can be rooted in water.
Plant the Scented Herb Rosemary in a Sunny Spot
From late autumn to early spring the fragrant herb rosemary blooms happily in the Costa del Sol garden. There are several varieties to choose from but they all thrive in the sun and are a good drought resistant choice.
Garden centres usually have both the upright and trailing varieties with the former ideal for creating hedges and the latter perfect for disguising uneven ground and sloping gardens.
The Scented Lavender Blooms in Winter and Early Spring
Lavender is a very useful drought resistant Mediterranean plant and with so many species it is wise to use several types for a longer bloom and scent period. Garden centres have different varieties with Lavandula dentate and Lavandula multifida flowering earliest. They need full sun and good drainage. Watering during the hot summer months can cause the stem to divide and eventually split. Lavender needs pruning hard after flowering.
Colourful Gazanias Open and Close with the Sunshine
This much loved perennial comes in many vibrant colours, orange, pink, yellow white and some with stripes. It loves the sun and opens and closes with the sunlight. It will flower till late Spring and die down to reappear in late autumn.
Cyclamen Fill a Winter Window Box with Colour
Exotic looking winter flowering Cyclamen bring welcome colour to window boxes and containers during the winter. They also do well in the garden and like well drained soil.
The Christmas Poinsettia
Nowadays a symbol of Christmas is this plant originally from Mexico. They rarely last long but on the Costa del Sol the Euphorbia pulcherrima can grow outside as a bush or small tree reaching 4 mts.
The red bracts are much smaller and it is a spectacular addition to the winter garden.
Lantana Montevidensis is an Easy Plant to Grow
Trailing purple lantana is a fantastic ground cover for sloping gardens and banks. It seems to flower all year but much more prolific in late autum and early winter after the first rains. It can become straggly so a good prune at the end of the summer will produce healthy new growth during the winter.
Continuous Colour in the Winter Garden
A combination of bedding plants, easy care perennials and shrubs will help the beginner gardener to achieve a winter flowering display on the Costa del Sol. Sun and shade are key elements and watching what grows well locally is an important factor. There are some suggestions for autumn colour in the article Gardening for Beginners.
These are evergreen perennials in a variety of colours with pink, mauve, white or yellow daisy-like flowers and dark centres. On sale from December onwards they bring fantastic colour into a winter and spring garden and tolerate the rain very well! They thrive in full sun and are good drought loving plants. Hard pruning after flowering works wonders for the following season.
The Argyranthemum Frutescens is a Beginner Friendly Plant Indeed
This marguerite is common plant on the Costa del Sol and every garden should have one! From the chrysanthemum family it is evergreen with white daisy-like blooms and needs full sun and well drained soil to provide continual winter flowering.
Different varieties have pink or yellow flowers and a more feathery foliage, all fast growing and available at garden centres.
Striking Blue Flowers of the Solanum Rantonnetii Always Brighten a Costa del Sol Garden
A sun lover and semi-evergreen shrub that will flourish and brighten up the winter garden. It has clusters of rich purple-blue flowers with a tiny yellow centre and can grow to 3m. Some gardeners train this useful shrub as a standard and others keep it as a more manageable sized plant. It is not 100% drought resistant and will need a deep fortnightly water during the summer.
A Variety of Tradescantia Nicknamed Purple Heart
The attractive Tradescantia Pallida is known locally as the purple heart. It is prized more for its foliage which is a deep purple red but during the winter and early spring it also has small pink flowers. Growing well in full sun it is an ideal ground cover but looks spectacular in window boxes and containers too. The stems are fairly brittle but cuttings can be rooted in water.
Plant the Scented Herb Rosemary in a Sunny Spot
From late autumn to early spring the fragrant herb rosemary blooms happily in the Costa del Sol garden. There are several varieties to choose from but they all thrive in the sun and are a good drought resistant choice.
Garden centres usually have both the upright and trailing varieties with the former ideal for creating hedges and the latter perfect for disguising uneven ground and sloping gardens.
The Scented Lavender Blooms in Winter and Early Spring
Lavender is a very useful drought resistant Mediterranean plant and with so many species it is wise to use several types for a longer bloom and scent period. Garden centres have different varieties with Lavandula dentate and Lavandula multifida flowering earliest. They need full sun and good drainage. Watering during the hot summer months can cause the stem to divide and eventually split. Lavender needs pruning hard after flowering.
Colourful Gazanias Open and Close with the Sunshine
This much loved perennial comes in many vibrant colours, orange, pink, yellow white and some with stripes. It loves the sun and opens and closes with the sunlight. It will flower till late Spring and die down to reappear in late autumn.
Cyclamen Fill a Winter Window Box with Colour
Exotic looking winter flowering Cyclamen bring welcome colour to window boxes and containers during the winter. They also do well in the garden and like well drained soil.
The Christmas Poinsettia
Nowadays a symbol of Christmas is this plant originally from Mexico. They rarely last long but on the Costa del Sol the Euphorbia pulcherrima can grow outside as a bush or small tree reaching 4 mts.
The red bracts are much smaller and it is a spectacular addition to the winter garden.
Lantana Montevidensis is an Easy Plant to Grow
Trailing purple lantana is a fantastic ground cover for sloping gardens and banks. It seems to flower all year but much more prolific in late autum and early winter after the first rains. It can become straggly so a good prune at the end of the summer will produce healthy new growth during the winter.
Continuous Colour in the Winter Garden
A combination of bedding plants, easy care perennials and shrubs will help the beginner gardener to achieve a winter flowering display on the Costa del Sol. Sun and shade are key elements and watching what grows well locally is an important factor. There are some suggestions for autumn colour in the article Gardening for Beginners.
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