The best way to start is to snoop around your neighbourhood to see what grows well. No point in trying to fight nature. Take photos to help with plant identification. Whilst we in the cold UK may have some idea of what grows well in your part of the world, it is always best to study things in situ. You must have garden centres in your area (please tell me you have) and they will not be selling things that dislike the climate. Visit them and see what plants catch your eye. It sounds as though you will not be on site all the time so go for low maintenance plants.
We are constantly being urged to plan for a hotter climate (they are having a laugh) and to plant Mediterranean plants which always seem to be things like lavender, sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, cistus. All good plants most of which are easily kept under control with a hedge trimmer. However our idea of plants for your part of the world might be something of a fiction, its a big area after all, so it is difficult to make any recommendations. There is never a book about plants from Puglia when you need one.
As to design. I'm sure some people actually do design their gardens but for a lot of us it is a question of growing what we like the look of then finding something else to fill the gaps when plants fail to co-operate. Sometimes it works out okay.
good evening what a lovely property you have it definitely looks a bit clinical right now what you need is height in the form of large stones locally sourced perhaps put them in a semicircle with a bench in front just to view the property from a different perpestive .
use creeping and or bush roses to cover the septic tank there are many types and you could place around the house. google earth kind roses this is a particular group of roses they are pretty good also ivy or euonymus plants should work well
you could also build in pergolas and either pot grow climbers or plant them directly into the ground
patio roses , orange , and lemon trees grown in pots use timber taken from pruning your olive trees to create a look or seating
eucalyptus trees grow well finally I hope that you achieve the look in your Italian garden and that some of my suggestions have helped ultimately it is your choice because as I say to my clients what I like does not matter it is your garden and I will maintain it to your tastes not mine god bless Lester
If as you say your going to let your property then surely you need a bbc area.
Also the plot is very large so I think you should segment it therefore creating different zones nothing to fancy but I do like to create seating positions in and around the garden so that you can have a different view say 6 to 8 paving slabs laid in a certain spot a table 2 chairs looking back at the house.
Bamboo should work well also look at spot lights located with in your plants for effect and you might consider a irrigation system drip pipes laid out running through the garden on a timer.
Sorry jumping around a bit you can make lovely little seats/benches from old wooden pallets go on you tube and type in how to make your own bench plenty of ideas finally for this morning how big is the property sleeping wise when do you go there because one idea is to invite someone over for a week free of charge and from that week say 2 possibly 3 days max get help to start building your dream garden just more ideas as I think of them well off to my 5 acre garden to work my magic again God bless lester
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Very helpful. I think creating vistas from different parts of the garden is important. I remember reading a book years ago about Capability Brown and the design of Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire. That has always stuck with me as I walked the grounds with the book, so will definitely incorporate that into the design ethos
Can you pay a visit to Beth Chatto's garden in Essex? There she has created a 'Dry Garden' where she has chosen drought tolerant plants from Mediterranean areas to create a wonderful garden which is never watered
Checkout Monty Dons Great Gardens of Italy (book) or Monty Don's Italian Gardens (DVD).
Which part of Italy are you in? Presumably quite far south given how dry it looks; do you know the average amount of annual rainfall? Perhaps it might be useful to collect as much of it as you can to keep the area a bit greener than average in the summer. You have more than enough sun to grow anything if you can keep it well watered, even grass would make a massive difference here.
What I love most about Italy is the food and the warm evenings, so creating an area of shade for sitting out in the daytime and dappled shade for the evening would make me want to come- it doesn't necessarily need anything flowering because it's so good otherwise.
Posts
The best way to start is to snoop around your neighbourhood to see what grows well. No point in trying to fight nature. Take photos to help with plant identification. Whilst we in the cold UK may have some idea of what grows well in your part of the world, it is always best to study things in situ. You must have garden centres in your area (please tell me you have) and they will not be selling things that dislike the climate. Visit them and see what plants catch your eye. It sounds as though you will not be on site all the time so go for low maintenance plants.
We are constantly being urged to plan for a hotter climate (they are having a laugh) and to plant Mediterranean plants which always seem to be things like lavender, sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, cistus. All good plants most of which are easily kept under control with a hedge trimmer. However our idea of plants for your part of the world might be something of a fiction, its a big area after all, so it is difficult to make any recommendations. There is never a book about plants from Puglia when you need one.
As to design. I'm sure some people actually do design their gardens but for a lot of us it is a question of growing what we like the look of then finding something else to fill the gaps when plants fail to co-operate. Sometimes it works out okay.
good evening what a lovely property you have it definitely looks a bit clinical right now what you need is height in the form of large stones locally sourced perhaps put them in a semicircle with a bench in front just to view the property from a different perpestive .
use creeping and or bush roses to cover the septic tank there are many types and you could place around the house. google earth kind roses this is a particular group of roses they are pretty good also ivy or euonymus plants should work well
climbers such as clematis make for good cover
ornamental grasses planted around large rocks
geraniums are quite drought tolerant
rock plant and certain types of cactus
Top five drought-resistant plants
Abelia × grandiflora AGM Buxus sempervirens AGM Ceanothus Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii AGM Sedum spectabile AGM
you could also build in pergolas and either pot grow climbers or plant them directly into the ground
patio roses , orange , and lemon trees grown in pots use timber taken from pruning your olive trees to create a look or seating
eucalyptus trees grow well finally I hope that you achieve the look in your Italian garden and that some of my suggestions have helped ultimately it is your choice because as I say to my clients what I like does not matter it is your garden and I will maintain it to your tastes not mine god bless Lester
If as you say your going to let your property then surely you need a bbc area.
Also the plot is very large so I think you should segment it therefore creating different zones nothing to fancy but I do like to create seating positions in and around the garden so that you can have a different view say 6 to 8 paving slabs laid in a certain spot a table 2 chairs looking back at the house.
Bamboo should work well also look at spot lights located with in your plants for effect and you might consider a irrigation system drip pipes laid out running through the garden on a timer.
Sorry jumping around a bit you can make lovely little seats/benches from old wooden pallets go on you tube and type in how to make your own bench plenty of ideas finally for this morning how big is the property sleeping wise when do you go there because one idea is to invite someone over for a week free of charge and from that week say 2 possibly 3 days max get help to start building your dream garden just more ideas as I think of them well off to my 5 acre garden to work my magic again God bless lester
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Very helpful. I think creating vistas from different parts of the garden is important. I remember reading a book years ago about Capability Brown and the design of Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire. That has always stuck with me as I walked the grounds with the book, so will definitely incorporate that into the design ethos
Can you pay a visit to Beth Chatto's garden in Essex? There she has created a 'Dry Garden' where she has chosen drought tolerant plants from Mediterranean areas to create a wonderful garden which is never watered
http://www.bethchatto.co.uk/gallery/gravel-garden.htm
I think you would find real inspiration and lots of practical information there.
She's also written a book on the subject which I think you'd find invaluable
http://www.bethchatto.co.uk/publications/beth-chatto-the-dry-garden.htm
Last edited: 06 August 2016 11:35:46
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Checkout Monty Dons Great Gardens of Italy (book) or Monty Don's Italian Gardens (DVD).
Which part of Italy are you in? Presumably quite far south given how dry it looks; do you know the average amount of annual rainfall? Perhaps it might be useful to collect as much of it as you can to keep the area a bit greener than average in the summer. You have more than enough sun to grow anything if you can keep it well watered, even grass would make a massive difference here.
What I love most about Italy is the food and the warm evenings, so creating an area of shade for sitting out in the daytime and dappled shade for the evening would make me want to come- it doesn't necessarily need anything flowering because it's so good otherwise.