toots sweet

Have just purchased a property just south of the Tejo(about 5kms). It has a lovely garden at the moment but a would like to add some small low level plants and small bushes(especially if they have colourful flowers) that I hope will virtually look after themselves, as we will not be here all the time during the summer months. I like to potter in the garden but really have no clue what I should be looking for. The soil is very sandy(fluvial area) and is in a farming area which grows a lot of veg and especially rice and tomatoes. Suppose I am looking for something pretty hardy that can do without water and can withstand the sun, and when is the best time to plant shrubs etc.
Hope someone can help with a few suggestions.
Thanks in advance.

Shanorme

Things like Lavender & Rosemary tend to look after themselves. Plus side, you can use them in your culinary pursuits. They do like a good hard annual pruning though and you will have to replace every 5 to 7 years because they tend to get too woody.

Oleander is very hardy and you can keep it smaller through pruning. various coloured flowers are a bonus.

Pyracantha is also very hardy and produces some lovely bright coloured berries. Can be trained as a shrub.

If you're happy to wait 2 weeks, I'll look in my Dry Gardening book (it's in Portugal at the moment) because there are some fabulous suggestions in there! (Planting Design for Dry Gardens by Olivier Filippi).

toots sweet

Sounds good. 2 weeks no problem...............

Shanorme

Super. I'll come back to you with some suggestions.

PS I'm also in Wales.

GeniB

Lots and lots of plants for your dry garden toots sweet

Anything from the larger varieties already mentioned.right down to humble 6inch high mounds of sweet alyssum ,which seem to need very little attention.
Succulants are of course the mainstay of many a Portuguese garden as they need zero attention . Agave's of all sorts make real statements- Ditto Lantanas as single bushes, or hedges ,very colourful ,long blooming plants -I love the stunning 'Pride of Madeira ' with its sage green leaves and then those stunning blue spikes of flowers in spring . Euryops with its brilliant yellow daisy like flower heads. Heavenly Bamboo ( or Nandina) with its striking leaves, pretty spray like white flowers,followed by bright red berries. I dress it up with fairy lights at christmas
There are so many many more to choose from. For ground cover you can use the tiny daisy like Mexican Flea Bane .There are some lovely purple 'ice plant' like low growing plants in my garden whose name I have forgotten .I am getting them identified right now on my Plantapp will pass the names on when I get the answers Enjoy the search

As you may have gathered I am gardener, belong to a garden club here in the Algarve

EMR

Thanks for the tip, we will be looking out for nandina.
Another touch of late winter , spring colour Fresias and cyclamans, fresias do very well in pots and on our rockery, flower year after year.
Cyclamans in pots re seed returning the next spring..
Despite seeing them growing wild and flowering in large numbers we have never been that successfull with narcissi ....

GeniB

Hi again Toots Sweet The two plants I had forgotten the names of were Osteospernums large daisy like flowers mine are deep purple and white They spring up everywhere and give quite a show for months.The other plant was the very low growing 'showy' Lampranthus' a succulent which produces almost iridescent glowing deep purple pink flowers that come out fully in hot sunshine.Very impressive

Shanorme

Lampranthus is also commonly available in rather bright orange. Very very hardy.

GeniB

It certainly is Shanorme Having lived in NL for half my life I am not enthused about the colour Orange ... Where are you gardening in Portugal ?

Shanorme

I'm learning (very slowly) to like (well tolerate) orange. I have been accused of having a limited palette of purple, yellow, white and pale pink in my garden, so I have tried or am trying to include more bolshy colour as opposed to subtle splashes. I am gardening in Conceicao de Tavira (in the hills). A lot of wind to contend with, so things have to be properly hardy! Speaking of hardy plants, Argyranthemum (Marguerites) also do quite well although I would say they need a weekly watering.

liveaboard

Just me pottering about in my garden;

EMR

We have both in our garden, once established you can forget about them.

Shanorme

Nice!

liveaboard

Thanks;
The row of palms was too close to the hedge, and as they grow bigger I wasn't going to be able to get the hedge cutter between.
As you can see by the difficulty I had getting that tree out, it was the 11th hour for transplanting it with my tractor.

toots sweet

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.Delay in replying due to having returned to the UK (so not happy,...but back in a couple of months and will be in the garden centre asap).
Might have some of what have been suggested .in troughs we have shrubs that are purplely pink and orange which open in full sun and seem to thrive without water.They have small pointy thick cactus like leaves. Obviously not a gardener as have no idea what they're called.so must by a gardening book.Got a large banana tree.. no idea what to do with that... does it get pruned?? Hydrangeas seem to be growing well with the little rain we have had and have plenty of those.Hopefully it won't be too overgrown while we are away!!