Mediterranean Garden Society
Mediterranean Garden Society
The Mediterranean Garden
The photograph at the top of this page shows an almond tree shading the garden courtyard of a house in Pompeii, Italy, buried 2,000 years ago by the eruption of Vesuvius (Photo Alisdair Aird)
Edited by Caroline Harbouri, The Mediterranean Garden is a journal by and for members of the Mediterranean Garden Society. Expressing their knowledge, experience and sometimes failures, members from all over the world send Caroline articles within the broad subject of mediterranean plants and gardens. She also welcomes book reviews, sundries and letters to the editor. Although the MGS now has an internet Forum for direct discussion of mediterranean plants and gardening, TMG continues to be the chief means of disseminating knowledge among members. Many fine artists from among our members illustrate the articles with line drawings which make the journal so distinctive.
TMG is a quarterly journal issued in January, April, July and October.
Back issues are available from the Secretary at 8 Euros per copy including postage.
You can consult a complete index, by subject, of all volumes of TMG that have been published so far.
A full list of Journal back issues and their contents can be found in the (non-responsive) MGS Archive.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 118,
October 2024
We continue our musing on themes in gardening and in this edition we consider the colour pink in flowers. Despite the prevalence of grey and silver leaved plants in mediterranean plantings, pink is often a feature of blooms.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 117,
July 2024
We consider what are fashions in garden plants and whether we should welcome back to our gardens those once popular plants which have fallen out of vogue. We also visit a garden in the Peloponnese and learn about its history and design principles.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 116,
April 2024
We feature two discussions about TMG articles past: how do we interpret the idea of 'mediterranean' in our gardening style, and do we all use 'grey' and 'silver' plants in the same way? Also a second glimpse into the inspiring garden in Andalucia.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 115,
January 2024
Limestone geology, so often the characteristic landscape of the Mediterranean ‘garrigue’, is found across the region. We visit two different examples in the edition, one in the north of Italy and the other on the island of Malta. We also follow the story of a dreamy but sustainable garden in Andalusia.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 114,
October 2023
We celebrate the lives of two exceptional influences in horticultural history: a botanist in 19th century Greece and the pioneer of waterwise gardening in 20th century Mallorca. We also consider how to manage and prevent forest fires and on a more positive note reflect on the joy of growing plants from seed we have gathered on our travel.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 113,
July 2023
We travel to Morocco in this edition and visit the famous Jardin Majorelle, saved from destruction in the 1980s by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. We also share some memories of the creator of Sparoza garden, Jacky Tyrwhitt. And we learn to love the colour yellow in the garden.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 112,
April 2023
In this edition we accompany our botanical expert to Western Australia and our Head Gardener visits Tresco in the Scilly Isles. We also discuss the changing weather with an appreciation of winter in the garden and how summers are not as they used to be.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 111,
January 2023
We accompany our aloe expert on a botanical tour of Namaqualand, not only to witness the incredible mass flowering event of the Namaqualand daisies in the desert but also many other indigenous species. We share the tour of gardens and natural landscapes around Athens during the 2022 AGM.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 10,
Autumn 1997
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We go back in time in this edition to discuss how to conserve historic Mediterranean gardens and explore the types of plants that Ottoman era gardens would have contained. We also are advised on growing herbs and citrus in our gardens.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 110,
October 2022
Wild flowers in Greece in springtime attract our attention in this edition: accounts of orchids in Pelion and tulips in Attica and the Peloponnese demonstrate the rich variety and the need for conservation of these lovely flowers. We also follow the reconstruction of a garden in France in the aftermath of a devastating wild fire.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 9,
Summer 1997
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We accompany the garden designer on his development and detailed design of an Ottoman garden in the USA. We also discuss the challenge of water management in tourist centres and the choice of native plants as a means to cut down on water usage.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 109,
July 2022
We are transported to two Mediterranean islands where we hear the authors tell the story of how their garden has evolved over the years. We also consider the summer dormancy of plants, a survival technical employed by many Mediterranean species.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 8,
Spring 1997
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Articles in this edition address the challenges of summer drought in gardens in mediterranean climates worldwide: in Mallorca, Greece, France and Australia. Also how to cope with gardens where the ground is only rock.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 108,
April 2022
Gardens are in constant change and renewal, and Sparoza is no exception: we hear about the effects of repairing snow damage spring and the changing varieties of Salvia growing there. We also learn about a new approach to botanical gardens in Australia.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 7,
Winter 1996 / 1997
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Hugo Latymer starts the debate on what is a Mediterranean climate, whilst Joanna Millar describes the changes in weather in the Alpes Maritime and how best to cope. Jenny Bussey looks into Synergistic Gardening techniques appropriate for the Mediterranean.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 107,
January 2022
Travel with us in this edition to the sophisticated luxury of Montecito in California; to the quiet seaside charms of the Island of Samos in Greece; and into the fascinating world of Aloes, those quintessential 'dry garden' plants.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 106,
October 2021
As wildfires rage through Greece we reflect on first encounters with the Greek flora and with Sally Razelou at Sparoza and her extraordinary legacy. We also venture into the world of bulbs and discover unusual ones in Portugal and travel to find many of them in their native land of South Africa.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 6,
Autumn 1996
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Heidi Gildemeister in TMG 6 sets out her principles for a drought tolerant garden which have become the cornerstone of the MGS.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 105,
July 2021
The fascination of native mediterranean climate plants in this edition provides an escape from the restrictions of the pandemic. We go hunting for seeds and rare Greek flora on the island of Samos; and lunching in Malibu where we find Californian native plants in a modern landscaping project.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 5,
Summer 1996
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From extravagant gardens in California and France through specialist growing advice for Salvia and Canna, in this edition we even go down to look at ants and lily beetles.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 104,
April 2021
We go back in time in this edition: to Mount Athos where traditions of a thousand years continue to this day; to Portugal where the Arab occupation left water management systems that still function; and to Crete to review the development of a garden over 15 years.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 4,
Spring 1996
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In this edition we visit Lotusland, the famous and dramatic gardens at Santa Barbara, California. Gardeners from around the Mediterranean discuss the challenges of unpredictable changes in temperature and rainfall.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 103,
January 2021
As the pandemic rages on we hear how a member's garden in Crete has survived during a prolonged and unforeseen separation from its gardener. We also learn how a major botanical project in France is taking shape and a member relates how his ‘prejudices’ have shaped his garden in southeast Spain.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 3,
Winter 1995
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Getting into its editorial stride, TMG No. 3 first takes us to La Mortola, the Villa Hanbury botanic garden in France and then hosts a range of articles on specific plants including roses, salvias and daffodils.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 102,
October 2020
The pandemic has kept some MGS members apart from their mediterranean gardens.We read about the floral events that are being missed in a garden in Sicily and about the summer dormancy in the garden at Sparoza, and how we can approach this 'off season' by creating harmony with sensibility.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 2,
Autumn 1995
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Building on the warm reception for the first edition, TMG No. 2 has contributions from mediterranean climate zones around the world, including some useful advice on growing Agapanthus and on propagating Australian plants.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 101,
July 2020
During the time of global pandemic, MGS members in Southern California write about their gardens and how important they are to them in the midst of crisis. We are also transported to the Greek island of Andros where we can enjoy the creation of a garden in harmony with the local environment.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 1,
Summer 1995
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The very first edition of The Mediterranean Garden that set the style of the Journal which embodies all that the MGS represents. Skilfully edited by Caroline Harbouri, for 25 years TMG has brought together MGS members with expert writing and delightful illustrations from mediterranean climates around the world.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 100,
April 2020
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The 100th edition of The Mediterranean Garden features a review of Sparoza, the MGS garden and the gardening philosophy developed there that we now all share. We also take a close look at lithops, those fascinating 'living stones'.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 99,
January 2020
In our 25th Anniversary year, we share the highlights from the AGM in Athens and the Pre-AGM tour in Corfu followed by a tour of the Pelion peninsular.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 98,
October 2019
Two islands feature in this edition. We begin in Lokrum, Croatia, where the gardens created by Archduke Maximilian of Austria are about to be restored. We then travel along the Adriatic coast to Corfu to learn about the development of a contemporary garden over the course of the gardener’s lifetime.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 97,
July 2019
Unusually generous rainfall last summer and winter: we hear how the MGS garden at Sparoza has responded in this ‘Annus Mirabilis’. We also travel to the south of France to visit the private Island of Bendor to see how the garden vision of its creator has stood the test of time.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 96,
April 2019
Indigenous plants feature in this edition. We travel to California to explore the typical Chaparral vegetation in California native gardens at the end of winter. We then go to the Pelion peninsular in Greece to enjoy the wide variety of grasses that are native to the area, and which we can feature in our water-wise garden designs.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 95,
January 2019
We accompany a botanist on his tour of northern Tunisia and share the highlights from the AGM in Alicante followed by a tour of Valencia.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 94,
October 2018
A visit to Lazio and Umbria in Italy with a delightful mix of visits to gardens, both private and public, nurseries and small, medieval towns in central Italy. Also a look back at the early days of the garden at Sparoza.
The Mediterranean Garden
No 93,
July 2018
Old and new gardens in Corfu and an article about growing endemic and endangered species in Cyprus are illustrated in this issue.
Caroline Harbouri - Editor of The Mediterranean Garden
Caroline Harbouri was born in London and received a BA degree from Cambridge University in English and French. She has lived in Greece since 1971. She has been working for the past twenty-nine years as a free-lance editor and as a translator of Greek works (ranging from medical papers to fiction) into English. In 1998 and 1999 one of her translations was short-listed for the Weidenfeld Translation Prize and the Aristeion European Translation Prize respectively. Under the name Petrie Harbouri she is a writer of fiction; her three novels, Graffiti (1998), Our Lady of the Serpents (1999) and The Brothers Carburi (2001) are all published by Bloomsbury, London.
She is a founder member of the Mediterranean Garden Society. She was joint editor with Derek Toms of the first issues of its quarterly journal, The Mediterranean Garden, and since spring 1996 has been its sole editor.
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN is the registered trademark of The Mediterranean Garden Society in the European Union, Australia, and the United States of America