For those unfamiliar with Malta it is a tiny collection of islands (the combined area is 3/4 the size of the Isle of Wight) situated in the centre of the Mediterranean 93km south of Sicily & 288km north of Africa. The climate is sub-tropical Mediterranean, with hot dry summers & mild wet winters. Because of the small size the sea keeps the climate very mild in the winter, the record low in Valletta is 1.2C in 1859 & in more recent years the lowest temperature was 1.4C recorded at Luqa airport in 1981. The average highs & lows in the coldest month (Feb) are 16.0C/9.9C & in the warmest month (Aug) 31.8C/23.6C, with an annual average high & low of 23.2C/16.2C. The average annual absolute minimum is 6.1C, which puts Malta in USDA zone 11a, this is from a weather station inland & where I live is 500 yards from the seafront, so it doesn't get as cold as that here. Sunshine is very high with over 3000 hours recorded annually.
Because of the warm climate it is possible to grow many exotics here, including many tropical species. In my back garden I already have a few exotics planted, including a giant Alocasia macrorrhizos, lots of Cyperus alternifolius, a Yucca elephantipes, a small Schefflera arboricola & some Sanseveria trifasciata. In my front garden I have a small border that already had a small Crassula species planted in it & I have planted a small Poinsettia & 3 Dracaena marginata 'Tricolor'. Those are all that I have planted so far, but I did ship some small palms out here, including Jubutyagrus, Butyagrus, Rhopalostylis baueri, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Sabal burmudana & my home grown Cocos nucifera. The coconut didn't even get a chance to be trialed out here, as over a month in a box on a pallet, which appears to have gotten chilled, it arrived have dead & I don't think it will recover
Some of the plants commonly grown out here include Washingtonia robusta, which are everywhere (including outside my apartment block) Phoenix canariensis, Phoenix dactylifera, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Ficus elastica, Ficus benjamina, Ficus lyrata, Hibiscus rosa sinensis, Bougainvillea, Musa (edible banana), different types of Citrus, Strelitzia reginae, Strelitzia alba, Euphorbia pulcherrima (Poinsettia), Plumeria, Araucaria heterophylla & many different species of cacti & succulents. The most commonly seen & which have naturalised all over Malta are Agave americana & Opuntia's...
So here are a few photos, of my back & front gardens & some plants growing around the area where I live...
