You might consider plants from the American Southwest or northern Mexico as good plants to try. Agave parryi immediately comes to mind, and other dramatic succulents such as Dasylirion wheeleri or D. longissisma are dramatic accents. Hesperaloe parviflora is good in your conditions, and the various Leucophyllum species can be spectacular in bloom, especially if you do get some occasional summer rain, which triggers many into blooming. Other accents might include palms such as Brahea armata

Some of the more colorful groundcovering plants might include Salvia greggii, various Dalea species such as D. pulchra or D. greggii,Verbenas such as V. rigida, Oenothera berlandieri, Stachys coccinea, and Zauschneria californica. If you are into cactus, Opuntia violacea Santa Rita is a fabulous purple foliage color, and O. basilaris is also nice and manageable. Several of our native grasses such as Muhlenbergia dumosa, M. rigens, and M. linderheimerii are good choices Our ndesert native Mallow, Spharalcea ambigua is also great in both heat and winter cold.

You might find it interesting to look for the book called "Low Water-Use Plants for California and the Southwest, by Carol Shuler, or visit the web site for Mountain States Growers Nursery in Arizona to get more info on some of the plants I've mentioned.

Unfortunately, you are too cold in winter for using some of my favorite Mexican and South African succulents as hardy garden plants. Most of the succulents I use in various garden designs here in the San Francisco Bay Area are only hardy with light frosts, not severe ones. You might also find it instructive to look at the web site for the Ruth Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek, California. This garden uses many plants especially adapted for dry summer heat and regular winter freezes, but also takes protective measures to build winter structures to allow growing those plants that aren't fully hardy to the area, which can get down to 14F in winter, as compared to minimums of only 24F in my more coastal influenced Berkeley garden.

Hola Bahia,

Thanks a lot for the information, I have always been interested in the plants from the American South-West...I will see which ones I can find easily in Spain or Southern France.

You must try differents species of Pittosporum.
By exemple, P. tobira is naturalized on the rocks of Cap Martin, near Monaco, and I have seen many plants in Luberon, in Rhone Valley, where temperature down to -15°C often in winter.
Other species you can try : P. tenuifolium, P. undulatum
They smell great in spring.

Hello,
I too live inland in southern Catalunya and have a bit of a garden. I've had a lot of luck with local plants such as lavender and rosemary. Also thyme. Of the non-local plants that I've really enjoyed, try Dusty Miller (Centaurea cineraria), Lemon Balm (Melissa officialis) Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)and the strawflowers (Helipterum). Good luck and let me know if you want to trade any seeds. Mostly I have squashes and pumpkins and tomatoes.

Hello all,

I have been planting several succulents (some cacti and some sedums mainly)...as I am not completelly convinced of the results I will tell you how they survived next spring (after the very hot summer afternoons and the cold winter nights)...I expect some survivors but not all.

Jou, referred to your lavender, did you had any problem? I planted them a couple of times but they never survive long. Do they need any special condition? (in the wild I have found them only in mountains, over the 500m).

And for the rest of plants you recomended do they need watering or shadow?

Southern California also. We grow Pomegranates, many types of ficus carica and even citrus. Caper plants thrive here, but I cut them back through winter where we get freezes now and then. It's not enough to bother the citrus though. Rosemary grows all year and is a great filler plant. Plus you can eat it. Oregano also grows through frosts and heat.