2025 Mediterranean Dream Garden Planning! New Exotic Features & More Native Plants

It’s February!  Time to plan 2025 Med Garden Projects!

Exotic Garden Design Features & More Native Plants

Plus What I Learned in 2024 in my Mediterranean Garden

I love the anticipation that February brings for my Med Garden annual planning! 

The days are a little longer, the sun is shining, the Almond trees are in fragrant bloom… Spring in Mediterranean is starting to emerge!

In 2024 I did a lot to enhance my Mediterranean garden…alas there is still more I want to do!

In this blog I look back on the garden goals I set for 2024, what I achieved, what I learned, and the goals I am setting for 2025 for my dream Mediterranean garden: New Garden Design Features & More Native Plants!

What are your 2025 Dream Garden plans?

My 2025 Mediterranean Dream Garden Planning

#1. Learning Journey: What I’ve achieved & learned in 2024

#2. 2025 Goals for my Med Garden

#3. Garden Design: Dream garden projects for 2025

#4. Plant Log: Wish list of plants I want to try in 2025

Bonus: Get your Mediterranean Garden Notebook

for 2025 Dream Garden Planning!

#1. Learning Journey: What I’ve achieved & learned in 2024

So how did I do on my 2024 garden goals?

Reference Blog: 2024 Med Dream Garden Planning

I am really happy with what I achieved in my Med Garden in 2024.  I put into action almost all of my Med Garden Design goals set in 2024!  To say that I have achieved the full desired effect in 1year is a bit of a stretch however.  I will need to continue nurturing.

I also learned a lot that I will endeavour to implement in my Med Garden in 2025. My biggest learning curve came from planting Mini Food Forests which did yield a lot of fresh food in 2024, however again more nurturing is needed. Getting the watering and feeding schedules just right for my young plants remains something to improve upon.  Finally, creating more shade remains a forever Med Garden design goal!

Here’s what I achieved in 2024:

• GOAL 1:  Creating an Entrance

When I drive up to my house I want to smile with glee at the beauty that is waiting for me on the other side of my gate - and spilling over into the street for fellow garden gazers - a WOW factor.

My goal in 2024 was to bring more colour to my driveway space all year round, and a more dense and lush effect with beautiful plant features.

What I achieved:  I did a lot of planting along my driveway in 2024.

I planted a hedge row of white Oleander (nerim oleander) the full length of my driveway to set the space with a consistent border. I planted 5 Yellow Bells (tecoma stans) as feature plants, that will grow into large trees full of yellow flowers, placed strategically at the corners of the space. I planted a shorter row of Blu Plumbago (plumbago auriculata) in front of the row of Oleander, just in the central part of the driveway edge, for a cluster effect of blue flowers. I added Rhododendron in the shaded areas under the established trees. I added a few flower boxes and filled them with Sea Lavender (Limonium ) and Kangaroo Paw.

What I learned: So, in 2024 I laid the foundations for my stunning driveway dream with a lot of plants.

While the Yellow Bells thrived, and grew quite a lot in their 1st year (with many yellow blooms in summer and fall), the Blu Plumbago suffered.  For the Blu Plumbago, I am not sure if it is the high wind exposure of the spot, or not enough / too much water.  I have cut them back in the fall, hoping that the winter rains will help them to establish and thrive in 2025.  In addition, I planted the Oleander hedge behind the Blu Plumbago in the fall, hoping the more wind hardy oleander will protect the Blu Plumbago this year.

The Sea Lavender and Kangaroo Paw thrived in the pots last year, and even bloomed all winter after cutting them back in early autumn.  I’m hoping they do just as well in 2025!

In 2025 I look forward to seeing my foundations grow and fill out the space to achieve my desired effect - WOW factor!

• GOAL 2:  Creating Privacy

There was one spot in my garden that sits high above a rocky slope,  exposed to the street and the elements (high winds and sun blasting on the bare rock).

My goal in 2024 was to fill this space with a Catcus Wall.  Plants that would do well in the rocky terrain, and full sun exposure, while creating a hedge of privacy from the street below.

What I achieved:  I planted my cactus wall with 6 Euphorbia Cacti that will grow tall and wide.  The cactus did really well in the first year, doubling in size from the small plants I started with. I was so happy with the success of the cacti in this rocky spot that in the fall I added 2 Yucca Puck to fill in my Cactus Wall hedge.

What I learned:  I kept to a steady watering schedule, every 3 days, which I think contributed to the steady growth of my cacti in their 1st year.  I also added some organic fertiliser with a compost layer in July to assist the growing season.  I will continue this approach in 2025.

• GOAL 3:  Creating a Mini Food Forest

It has always been my goal to have everything in my garden that I want to eat - saving on the grocery bill and trips to the store.  2024 was the first year that I tried vegetables in my Med Garden, with the help of the Biggest Mini Forest approach (www.biggestminiforest.com).

Reference Blog: How to Create a Mini Food Forest

What I achieved:  I planted 4 Mini Food Forests in 2024 - at the back of my garden, and the areas of the garden with south west sun exposure and protection from the wind. I chose the sites for my Mini Food Forests with the objective to regenerate the soil around some struggling fruit trees that I had planted the previous year. I planted avocado trees, several varieties of orange trees, lime trees and Brazilian cherry (Eugenia) trees in the centre of my Mini Food Forests, with a perimeter of vegetables and herbs around the fruit trees.

Reference Blog: Mini Food Forest Update, Planted!

What I learned: More veg is better & prune 3x per year!

My biggest learning with my Mini Food Forest experiments in 2024, is that you really need to make sure that your veg cover the entire surface of the soil to feed the system for the fruit trees - If you can see the soil, it is unproductive, and probably drying out. My veg did very well with the spring planting but not in the fall planting.

My new fruit trees seemed to have more of a struggle. They grew very slowly and produced just one fruit per tree (organges) and in some cases no fruit at all (avocado & lime). I learned in a follow up workshop about cultivating Mini Food Forests that you need to prune fruit trees 3x per year.

My biggest fruit success have been 2 Limequat trees I planted in pots. They have been full of fruit since fall and all winter - (photo, still with lots of fruit after eating over half of last year's production already! )

In 2025 I will endeavour to add more density with my vegetable plantings, and I will add a few more fruit trees for density and diversity.

Reference Blog: Mini Food Forest Update, Summer Harvest

• GOAL 4:  Creating Shade 

My goal in 2024 was to create more shade in the garden around the pool where we spend most of our time in the hot Med summer.

I found Pergolas with retractable roofs to withstand the heavy winds.  I put two new

Pergolas at opposite corners of the pool deck to create more shade.  These areas were a hit with my visiting friends and family all summer.  Providing shelter from the hot midday sun, while enjoying the tranquil pool-side vibe.

• FAILED to Launch:  What I did not achieve & moving to 2025 goals

Herb Garden. I had planned to plant an elaborate herb garden around my BBQ, which I envision, eventually, becoming an outdoor kitchen area. While I did buy a new BBQ in 2024, and placed in the spot where I am envisioning my outdoor kitchen, I did not manage to build the outdoor kitchen, nor fully plant my lush herb garden around it.  Moving my Herb Garden goal to 2025!

Reference Blog: Outdoor Kitchen Ideas & How to Choose a BBQ

Vermicompost. I bought a vermicompost box in 2023 with the intension to make my own compost.  However, vermicompost requires a specific type of worm that I did not easily find, hence a fail on this one.  Still determined to make my own compost, moving my Compost goal to 2025.

Plants I Wanted to Try. On my list of plants I wanted to try in 2024: Almond trees, Palm trees and California Lilac, I did not manage.  The citrus for my Mini Food Forest took priority over the Almond trees, the Palms are a substantial investment, and so decided to save for 2025, and I did not find California Lilac in my local nurseries. Still want to try these out in my Med Garden, moving goal to 2025!

#2. 2025 Goals for my Med Garden

#3. Garden Design: Dream garden projects 2025!

I have 4 ideas for my garden design projects this year:

• Creating Exotic Features

• Cultivating my Mini Food Forests

• Creating a Cluster Effect

• Nurturing Young Plants

• 2025 GOAL 1: Creating Exotic Features I Palms, Yucca, Birds of Paradise, Frangipani

There is nothing that says tropical paradise more than a Palm tree standing majestically in a garden. This year, I want to bring a touch of the exotic and tropical to my Med Garden.

I am learning a lot about the plants native to the Mediterranean region, and Mediterranean climates.  Climate change is also evolving the southern most parts of the Med, where my piece of paradise is, with sub-tropical pockets amongst the mostly dry climate. 

Reference Blog: Climate Change in the Mediterranean

Tropical icons like Palms and Yucca are prevalent in my part of the Med.  Increasingly more sub-tropical plants like Birds of Paradise and Frangipani are also making their way into Mediterranean climate garden designs.

These plants add a little of the exotic to Mediterranean garden design - and they will be my newest features for 2025.

I am planning to add Mexican Fan Palms (Washingtonia Robusta) - Cover photo of this Blog - around my pool, and a cluster of them as a feature in the back part of my garden.  These Palms grow tall, thin and elegant. They will rise above my other established trees to make a tropical paradise statement.  Palms are expensive, and so I’ve been saving up and will start little by little, adding a few at a time.

I planted some clusters of Birds of Paradise and Frangipani in the fall, also around the pool.  I have been patiently waiting for them to establish this winter to reveal their exotic blooms this summer.  I’ll keep you posted :)

Reference Blog: Exotic Mediterranean Garden Plant Discoveries

• 2025 GOAL 2: Cultivating my Mini Food Forests I Mini Corn Field (3 Sisters)

I got so much pleasure out of creating Mini Food Forests in my garden last year, and this year I plan to expand.  Some of the key elements of the Biggest Mini Forest approach are density and diversity of plants in the Food Forest.

In a follow up workshop about maintaining Mini Food Forests in the fall, I learned that it is recommended to add more density to the Forest if you still see holes in the density.  I do have some holes in my density, so I am adding more varieties of orange trees to fill it in.

I will also try some new veg varieties.  One of my 4 Food Forests was not as productive as the others last year.  In this spot I will try a forest of the 3 sisters:  Corn, beans and squash.  Utilizing corn, beans, and squash together in your garden draws upon centuries of Indigenous agricultural traditions and expertise. 

Reference Website: 3 Sisters Companion Planting

• 2025 GOAL 3: Creating a Cluster Effect I Adding more of what is doing well

What I have noticed in my meanders of local Mediterranean gardens are clusters of densely planted plants.  This creates a wow factor of lush gardens in the dry climate.

This year, I have decided to add more of the plants that are doing well to create more of a dense lush effect.

Pink Muhly Grass (photo) is one of the plants I want to try this year. I saw it blooming beautifully in this public garden in October - a great cluster feature for the fall garden!

• 2025 GOAL 4: Nurturing Young Plants I Prune baby prune!

I learned about the art of pruning in my follow up workshop on maintaining Mini Food Forests last year. 

Pruning regularly is something I had not been in the practice of applying.  It turns out that many of the flowering plants and edible fruit trees in my garden need regular pruning to thrive and produce abundant blooms and fruit.

In 2025 I will prune baby prune!

Reference Blog: To Prune or not to Prune?

#4. Plant Log: Wish list of plants I want to try in 2025

For your private oasis of garden planning bliss, treat yourself to a Mediterranean Garden Notebook today and start your 2025 garden planning bliss!  Available at amazon.com 

Share your 2025 Mediterranean Garden Goals in the Comments below!

Happy gardening 2025!

Jade

Lewon

Med