Eileen wrote:
I hadn't thought about the shade from the trees, many thanks you have
just saved me money and wasted effort.

Thats a great suggestion you made about planting up herbs, how
appropriate it would be to grow them. Herbs are such an essential
ingredient in Corfiot cooking I'm sure they will be well used.

They would also ensure that the garden would blend in with the local
environment.

Many tavernas have little pots of oregano on their tables to help deter
the mosquitos. I will make sure I plant swathes of it!

Thanks again,

Eileen.

simy1 Wrote:
On Nov 7, 3:23 am, Eileen wrote:-
Hi, I would really appreciate if anyone could help me by offering
ideas
for underplanting olive trees.

I have a place in Corfu which is one of the most northerly Greek
Islands therefore it does not suffer the dry arid landscape as
islands
further south. In fact it owes it's verdance to the rains of winter.

The two trees at the entrance to the house are old, rugged and full
of
character of their own, but as there is no colour in my new garden
this
is the ideal location to add a splash.

We have just had a low wall built around the base of each of the
trees,
I'd love to add some planting inside the wall but I'm stuck for
ideas.

The garden is in a rural location the surrounding countryside filled
with the typical wild flowers of Greece.

I did think about a 'one colour' planting scheme such as lavendar
hoping that it's shrubiness would compliment their ancient
neighbours.
-

Lavender will not like the shade. How about herbs? mint and oregano
will make it in shade, and at the edges where you have part sun, you
can plant thyme, sage, and rosemary. Never run out of herbs again.

Be careful. Oregano and mint can be quite invasive. On the other hand,
sage, rosemary, and thyme behave very well.

Try planting a few sage, which can grow somewhat shrubby.

Plant thyme as a ground cover; it's quite good between stepping stones
if the stones are spaced 2 inches (5 cm) or more apart.

Rosemary is available either as a ground cover or as a shrub. Either
would be good around olives. I have a rosemary shrub that is now 20
years old or more. It's taller than I am. The trunk is about 3-4
inches in diameter. The branches are twisted and very picturesque.

Oregano can be kept under control in a large flower pot. It takes about
the same care as sage, rosemary, and thyme. They all require only a
moderate amount of water. Mint can also be kept under control in a
large pot, but it needs much more water.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/