Garden Nations

Mediterranean Plants · Cactus The Prickly Pear: A Cactus With a Sea View Found on the cliffs of Tropea in Calabria – here's how this tough Mediterranean classic grows, what you can eat, and how to keep one in a colder climate. Walk along the coast in southern Italy and you will see them everywhere: big, flat, green "paddles" stacked on top of each other, growing out of rocks and dry slopes right above the sea. That's the prickly pear, or Opuntia ficus-indica – called fico d'India in Italy and Kaktusfeige in German. We took these photos in Tropea at the end of October. Even after a long, hot, dry summer, the plants looked healthy and strong. That says a lot about how well this cactus is made for tough conditions – and why it's becoming popular in gardens and on balconies far beyond the Mediterranean. What Is a Prickly Pear? The prickly pear is a cactus originally from Mexico. It arrived in Europe in the 1500s and spread so well around the Medi...

Houseplants · Plant Care Aloe Vera: The Easy Plant With a Thousand Uses How to grow it, keep it alive, multiply it, and use its gel safely, plus where the world's aloe really comes from. Aloe vera is one of the most popular houseplants in the world, and for good reason. It looks great, forgives beginners, and holds a cooling gel inside its leaves. In Brazil it's called babosa , in Spain sábila , and in Germany Echte Aloe . Grandmothers everywhere keep one on the windowsill for sunburn and small kitchen burns. The problem: many aloe plants slowly die from too much love, usually too much water and too little light. This guide shows you how to keep yours healthy for years. What Is Aloe Vera? Aloe vera ( Aloe barbadensis Miller) is a succulent: a plant that stores water in thick, fleshy leaves so it can survive long droughts. It most likely comes from the Arabian Peninsula, but it has been grown across North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the tropics for so long th...