No one likes to leave a magical vacation behind. Bring your vacation back home with you with these tips for bringing some Mediterranean flair to your garden.
If you’re coming home from a Mediterranean vacation, it’s hard not to miss the food, dazzling landscapes, fashion, and milder weather. Most of the time, we rely on souvenirs to remind us of our travels, but it’s not long before we forget they’re there. Instead, build a vacation getaway in your own backyard with these tips for bringing some Mediterranean flair to your garden.
Italian Lemon Trees
Nothing says “Italian garden” like citrus plants. You’ll find lemon trees growing all over the Mediterranean countries, from Tuscany to Sicily. The nice thing about lemon trees is that they grow very well in pots—in fact, most variants should stay in pots for the first several years of growth. This means you won’t have to rearrange your entire backyard to accommodate one.
To really bring Italian vibes to your patio, find a Sicilian lemon variety—the Siracusa lemon and Etna lemon are two of the most popular.
Spanish Pottery
Spain has a long history with ceramics, and its eye-catching tiles are some of the country’s most beloved cultural arts. However, there’s an easier way to bring some Mediterranean flair to your garden: Spanish pottery! You can find many of the design techniques and styles that make Spanish tiles so beautiful in their pottery as well.
Authenticity Tip: Spanish Terracotta
It’s not as flashy as Talavera tiles, but terracotta pottery is another of Spain’s famous cultural arts. Authentic Spanish terracotta looks much more elegant than the simple garden pots available at every big-box home improvement store. Many varieties of Spain’s terracotta products even have important practical uses, such as the rustic tinajas used to catch octopuses for meals.
Greek Whitewash
Lots of people assume that homes in Greece are made out of white marble. However, locals actually achieve that gorgeous blue and white contrast with paint and whitewash. Historically, people made these materials from minerals that are common in Greece, which made them inexpensive.
For your purposes, you can make Greek limewash at home. Limewash is an ancient technique best-suited for porous surfaces, and it can be tinted to match any decorating palette. But commercial versions are also available.
