Mediterranean garden

A Mediterranean garden takes its cues from southern Europe and similar dry-summer climates: silver and grey-green foliage, aromatic herbs, gravel underfoot, and warm hardscape in terracotta and stone. The look is sun-bleached and relaxed rather than lush.

The plant palette does most of the work — lavender, rosemary, olive, cypress, and ornamental grasses that expect heat and shrug off drought once their roots are down. Gravel mulch keeps the soil cool and reinforces the style instead of fighting it.

It is closely related to xeriscaping but is a design language, not just a water strategy. In a genuinely dry climate it is one of the most rewarding styles to commit to: low water, low fuss, and it looks better as it weathers rather than worse.