Plant Report No.4: Mediterranean Climate

Feijoa sellowiana aka Pineapple guava!

I found this baby in Petrovac and tasted one of the edible petals, and it was sweet and succulent!

The hotel manager saw me checking out the plant, and she spoke almost no English (and apparently I was so sweet she later tried to set me up with her son 😂), but she said "feijoa," and I got excited and said "feijoa!!" The botanical name for this plant is the common name here!

This is a fabulous plant that more people need to know about. The edible fruit has a tropical taste, and the foliage is a stunning silver and green bicolor that makes for a stately shrub.

My professor got my attention to point out this tree on the side of the road and what an AMAZING recovery it made.

Me, a very happy camper, with a star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) I found in Dubrovnik. It smelled heavenly...

I would roll in this smell if I could.

Mine at home sadly died while I was away- It was big too. I am looking for another. :( It brought me so much joy.

Sleepy garden kitty in the sun among the flowers in Dubrovnik :)

Dog roses, Rosa canina, are growing wild everywhere, even in rocky mountain soil! They’re the primary source of rose hips and syrup made from them, foraged since old times :)

Now, some hostas are overhyped, but this one passed the Katherine Hosta Approval Test. (KHAT)

Alpine Aster, (Aster alpinus), just doing what they do and being stunning. They're orange and purple too, perfect Clemson colors!

Southern sundrops, (Oenothera, fruticosa) showing their happy sunny faces.

I just absolutely love these stump planters! Sempervivum thriving here, like everywhere. Incorporating natural objects into the landscape almost always ends beautifully.

Oenothera speciosa, Pinkladies: These grew wild some places, but these ones were planted in Petrovac. What a lovely soft pink color. They're a new favorite for me!

Remember how I wanted to witness the linden trees (Tilia cordata) bloom? Well I DID! they smell fruity and light, filling the whole city street with a nice scent. Don't you love these little bell shaped hanging flowers?

I spied one of my favorite nostalgic flowers, bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis). In the garden of our Connecticut house, I would sit in the shade and admire these. Their intricate shape reminds me of magic and fairies.

At a restaurant in Bosnia, I found an orchid cactus, Disocactus ackermannii.

The flowers had that extremely faint not too sweet typical cactus-flower scent, but they made quite an impression with their color and size.

In a vase at the Ivo Andric museum, there was some Lunaria annua. I've always been fascinated by the way the dried pods look and wanted to grow some myself.

Ćao for now, and happy planting