How to merge the Mediterranean and Nordic styles to create an ornamental and sustainable garden

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Ideal plants (very resilient) in oceanic climates

Here Victoria, to make her suggestions, takes as reference the climate of the greenest Spain, such as that of the Basque Country, Cantabria or Galicia.

In this case the landscaper proposes a combination that makes the most of fall color and early spring. “In this type of climate, I am very inspired by cities like Copenhagen where the explosion of color in autumn and at the beginning of spring is a real spectacle,” he says.

A tree that can be included is the liquidambar (Liquidambar styraciflua), always protected from the wind and with good drainage. It is an excellent ornamental plant to create interest in autumn and attracts fauna, for example, its seeds provide food for about 25 species of birds and squirrels. Combines very well with the family of Acerespecially in autumn, since the japanese maples (Acer palmatum) and Montpellier maples (Acer monspessulanum), they create excellent games of tones and very interesting textures.

Regarding shrubs, Victoria recommends star magnolias (Magnolia stellata) either the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), especially interesting for its early flowering and its color in autumn. It performs well in acidic or neutral soils making it a good shrub under existing conifers that are very abundant in the climate of northern Spain, for example.

Which livelies may be suitable? Among others, the Alchemilla mollislavender and the echinacea (Echinacea purpurea). In terms of sustainability and creating ecosystems that enhance biodiversity, they are perfect plants the Stachys officinalis ‘hummelo’ and the Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘October Skies’ (a bluish daisy that blooms in autumn and complements very well the ocher and gold tones of the Acer and some ornamental grass, such as grasses Deschampsia cespitosa either Pennisetum alopecuroid).