Greek Garden Ideas

Grecian urns and climbing vines add a Mediterranean touch to your garden.

Greeks often find refuge from the Mediterranean climate in their gardens. These gardens provide shade and a cool place to relax in the hot afternoons. A traditional Greek garden contains all sorts of plants suitable for growing in a Mediterranean climate as well as shaded areas and water. Greek gardens can offer homeowners a respite from the heat during the summer months as well as add beauty to the landscape.

Terracing

Terrace your garden landscape, especially if you live on a hill. A terrace cuts out a little bit of the hill, giving you a flat portion on which to plant. Together the terraces look like steps. You will need to build up the terrace sections by adding landscaping timbers on three sides as a sort of wall. Fill in the terrace steps with good soil. Plant different types of plants in each step of the terrace. You could even fill in a terrace or two with cement or stepping stones, adding a garden bench to give you a place to sit and enjoy your Greek-style terraced garden.

Accessories

Add accessories to your garden to give it a Greek feel. Use pillars for climbing plants instead of the usual trellises. You may need to add clips to the pillars to give the plants something to grab hold of while they are climbing. You may also need to train the climbing vines and plants yourself by regularly wrapping the vines loosely around the columns until the plants attach by themselves and start growing up the pillar.

Drape tulle fabric over the columns around a cemented or patio area. Place some seating here for a shaded area of the garden. Place potted plants in Grecian urns around your patio area to enhance the Greek-style garden look.

Greek-Style Plants

Plant a variety of Greek plants in your garden. Use plants such as oleander, Mediterranean fan palm, citrus trees, lavender, olive trees or grapes. Just make sure that the plants you do add to your garden are plants that work well in your particular climate zone. For example, the citrus trees will not do well in the New England states. Choose a variety of plants to give your garden different levels. Plant low-growing plants, such as the lavender or geraniums, in pots or Grecian urns, as well as planting the taller trees in the ground to give your garden height.

Choose perennials and annuals for planting in the ground to give you variety and also to make sure you have some plants that come back year after year. Vary the color of the plants as well as the size of the plants.

References

• Final Architecture: Greek Garden Ideas

Resources

• My Ideal Garden: Garden Accent Ideas