In April 2024 Jackie Hunt, our gardener, joined a study tour to explore gardens and wildflowers of the Greek island of Corfu. Since then she has been researching plants that she observed on the island and has planted several in the ‘dry garden’ at Turn End.

The garden at one of the villas at Cavo Alkyoni, north-east Corfu

Jackie explains more:

“We have long grown many Mediterranean climate zone plants in Turn End’s ’dry garden’, which is south facing, enclosed by walls and with free draining alkaline soil. For example, Punica granatum (Pomegranate), Epilobium canum (California fuchsia), Asphodeline lutea (King’s spear), Phlomis italica (Balearic Island sage) and Cistus and Helianthemum (rock rose) cultivars thrive here.

'No Mans', the dry garden at Turn End — ‘No Mans, the dry garden at Turn End

With climate forecasting predicting that UK summers could become up to 6°C warmer and 60% drier and winters 4.5°C warmer and 30% wetter, I am keen to discover plants that may grow in this changing climate. I’d long hoped to visit Corfu and I was interested to investigate plants in cultivation that grow in the island’s hot, dry summers and wet winters—Corfu’s 1170mm annual precipitation is nearly twice that of our region. The study tour organised by Mediterranean Plants and Gardens offered a special opportunity to learn from gardeners and designers about their plant selection and management techniques. I was also able to see wild plants growing in varied environments to help inform cultivation requirements, particularly native species that grow on exposed headlands and in the hilly north, which can experience sub zero temperatures.

Considering our success with Mediterranean species and having observed growing conditions in Corfu, these are the plants that I admired in cultivation and in the wild, which I think could be grown at Turn End. Of course, they may not appreciate our lower light levels, year-round rain, increasingly frequent and intense weather extremes and hungry molluscs. But it is enjoyable to experiment!

Read my plant list here.

Many thanks to Anne Keenan, Joanna Fortnam and Mediterranean Plants and Gardens for organising the tour and to Jane Furse and the owners, gardeners and designers we met in Corfu for their generous knowledge. Many thanks also to Mediterranean Plants and Gardens for awarding me bursary to join the tour.”

You can find out more about the gardens and wildflowers that Jackie discovered using the following resources:

Jackie’s report of the tour, for Mediterranean Plants and Gardens here.

Purchase a recording of Jackie’s online talk about the study tour in our shop here.