Myrtus - Myrtle

Myrtle, an evergreen and fragrant bush symbolic of Mediterranean culture and landscapes, is also an aromatic and medicinal plant with recognised virtues. Appreciated for its delicate white summer flowers and its small dark and glossy foliage, Myrtus communis, brings to our gardens a unique scent of Corsican scrub vegetation and the Mediterranean undergrowth, in the form of Myrtus communis Tarentina, the hardiest of them, but also one of the most tolerant towards soil nature. The common myrtle, perfectly adapted to summer drought, comes in many varieties that are quite similar in appearance but adapted to different types of soil.  Australian, New Zealand, and Chilean Myrtles, like Myrtus luma, are never as beautiful as in an oceanic climate. Once essential in Roman and Andalusian gardens, Myrtle deserves to regain a prominent place in our modern Mediterranean gardens: it is hardy and easy to cultivate, its growth always remains reasonable, it requires no maintenance and is well-suited to pruning.