The Mediterranean Garden: Image, Style, or Cultural Expression

A contemporary interpretation of a Mediterranean courtyard garden, enclosed with walls, paved to save water, furnished for livability, and planted to provide color without excessive water. (Nancy Goslee Power garden, Santa Barbara). Author’s photographs
Mediterranean1.The word conjures a variety of pleasurable images. Balmy, sunlit shores lining an azure blue sea; bowers of exotic flowers, their fragrance wafting on soft, warm breezes; whitewashed, thick-walled buildings with scarlet bougainvillea spilling out of secret courtyards; yellow ochre, red-tiled villages pierced by black green shafts of cypresses; palm-graced cities and villas luxuriating in lush verdure; intimate Andalusian courtyards cooled by the tinkle of water; or rich, flavorful food washed down with cool wine beneath the dappled shade of an ancient olive tree….These are images of a paradise that humans have been creating or seeking since the beginning of time. Mediterranean. Paradise. Eden!
The Mediterranean Region, surrounding the sea by the same name, has been sought after and fought over as long as history has been recorded. No other regio...