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The L'Occitane Immortelle Garden

Peter Dowle’s garden offers lots of ideas for a Mediterranean-style garden, which can be put to good use during a hosepipe ban as the plants are really drought-tolerant.

“Using stone cladding rather than solid stone is a much cheaper option”

  • Cladding is good

    Cladding is good

    The hut at the rear of the garden is clad with York stone, which is infilled with a gritstone limestone mix. It is a brilliant cheat as building a stone wall using just stone is expensive. This method uses a base wall of breeze blocks or bricks. Use stone that is local to your area so the building sits well in its surroundings.

  • Helichrysum italicum

    If you like curry....

    You’ll love this plant! Helichrysum italicum is a silver-leaved plant with pretty yellow flowers. Its most noticeable feature, however, is its curry smell! We have used it as it’s found in the Corsican maquis and its oil is extracted for L’Occitane’s skin care products. It hales from the Mediterranean, so it won’t like frost or waterlogging, so give it a sunny, sheltered spot, in a free-draining soil.

  • Corsican mint

    Plant some ground cover

    The tiny round leaves of Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) release a wonderful aroma when crushed underfoot. It can be used as ground cover and looks brilliant growing between rocks or stepping stones. It is a bit tender, but should be fine in well-drained, sheltered sites.

  • Quarry tiles

    Quarry-tiled patio

    Frost-proof quarry tiles are available for external use and are a brilliant way to recreate the patio in the L’Occitane garden, and their terracotta colour gives your garden a Mediterranean feel.

  • Pergola

    Reclaimed oak pergola

    A simple pergola can be made from oak sourced from reclamation yards. In Corsica, herbs would be hung upside down from the cross beams to dry in the sun. Pick bunches of sage, thyme and rosemary and tie the stems tightly before hanging from a nail. Enjoy the aromatic scents as you enjoy a drink or a meal under the shelter of your pergola.