By Cheryl Toivola, U. C. Master Gardener

Society Garlic

Living in a Mediterranean climate, we have an enormous selection of plants available to us. Plants from all the other Mediterranean zones thrive here. These plants survive our dry summers thanks to features that help them endure long periods without water. Some drought-tolerant plants, like rosemary and lavender, have small or needle-like leaves. Others, like artemisia, have gray or silver foliage. Some have a waxy coating on their leaves or, like succulents, have the ability to store water.

Many of the Mediterranean plants available to gardeners in the Napa Valley are time-tested and easy to grow. If you are looking for a tree, consider Arbutus 'Marina,' a superb evergreen specimen tree with pink flowers and red new bark. The European olive (Oleo europaea) performs well in hot, dry climates like ours and has attractive silvery leaves. Consider a fruitless variety such as 'Monher' to eliminate the mess of falling olives. Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is a popular Napa street tree. This deciduous tree blooms vividly in late summer. Look for the mildew-resistant varieties such as 'Catawba,' 'Cherokee,' 'Seminole' or 'Zuni.'

Shrubs to consider include glossy abelia (Abelia grandiflora), with its gracefully arching branches and clusters of bell-shaped flowers in summer and fall. New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) is a wonderful architectural plant in any garden. You can find phormiums in shades of green, yellow, pink and bronze or striped in several of these colors. They vary in size from miniature to gigantic. The spiky varieties do better in full sun, while the droopy varieties will tolerate shade.

Escallonia is a neat, glossy-leaved, fast-growing evergreen shrub with a long bloom period. Rockrose (Cistus), another evergreen shrub, thrives in adverse conditions and provides showy crinkled flowers from spring to summer. Other classic Mediterranean shrubs that do well in Napa Valley are the many varieties of rosemary (Rosmarinus), wild lilac (Ceanothus) and lavender (Lavandula).

Vines are a mainstay of the Mediterranean garden, useful for beautifying a stucco wall or covering a fence. Bougainvillea is a vigorous climber that provides exuberant summer color, but it needs frost protection. Trumpet vine (Campis radicans) is a rampant deciduous vine with scarlet flowers from summer to fall. Potato vine (Solanum jasminoides) is fast growing and festooned with small white flowers almost year round.

Grasses make a valuable contribution to the Mediterranean garden with their narrow leaves and plumes of flowers. Deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) forms a dense clump of green leaves with stalks of white flowers. Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) has graceful arching leaves with flowers in early summer. Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) adapts well to dry locations. Its stems are topped with fuzzy, coppery-pink flower spikes.

The list of Mediterranean perennials is almost endless. Some favorites for the Napa Valley are catmint (Nepeta faassenii or N. mussinii), sage (Salvia), beard tongue (Penstemon), wallflower (Erysimum), yarrow (Achillea) and society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea).

Sunset's "Western Garden Book" is a great reference for those who want to learn more about these perennials. Two other excellent reference books on Mediterranean gardening, both by Heidi Gildemeister, are "Mediterranean Gardening: a Waterwise Approach" (University of California Press) and "Gardening the Mediterranean Way" (Harry N. Abrams).