We begin this new year with a post about a very interesting plant in sustainable gardening, Globularia alypum, as it is a species that grows well on poor soils and its water and maintenance requirements are very low.
_[Globularia alypum](http://www.salagraupera.com/es/cataleg/general/item/globularia-alypum-2)_ belongs to the Plantaginaceae family. It is a plant native to the Mediterranean basin, which grows on dry and arid terrain such as cliffs, scrubland and pine forests on limestone or marl, between 0 and 900m above sea level.
The origin of the Latin name "Globularia" refers to the broad and globose shape of the inflorescences, while "alypum" means harmless. Being a very widespread plant in scrublands, it has many common names among which "cebollada" or "coronilla de fraile" in Spanish and "foixarda" in Catalan stand out.
It is a perennial, compact and highly branched shrub that reaches 50cm in height and 30cm in width. Its lanceolate leaves are small and leathery. The small intense blue flowers are grouped in globose inflorescences, which bloom from January to May.
Globularia is a very hardy plant, it withstands temperatures down to -12°C and is very resistant to salinity and sea breeze. It prefers to grow in full sun on calcareous and well-drained soils, although in nature it can also be found on clay soils. It is very tolerant of water scarcity and does not require abundant watering.
It is a species widely used in environmental restoration. In gardening, the conditions in which it is planted must be taken into account, since it is a plant with very low requirements, which is why it is better to combine it with other shrubs or herbaceous plants with low soil and water requirements and prepare the soil and manage irrigation accordingly.
In terms of maintenance, it requires almost no interventions, although it can be pinched once a year to keep the shrub more compact.
It is suitable for creating perennial borders in coastal gardens, decorating dry stone walls exposed to prevailing winds and forming part of flower compositions in rock gardens. It can also be grown in pots.
In addition to its hardiness and low maintenance, one of the interesting characteristics of Globularia is its flowering period, which spans the entire winter, a time when many other species with these characteristics are not in bloom.
At Sala Graupera we also produce **_Globularia cordifolia_** , a species with similar requirements but with a ground-covering behavior and spring flowering.
Images: Thomas Ribière / David Gaya / lionel.ribet.free.fr