Mediterranean garden - what colour to paint wood (picture)

[AmIAWeed]

I am attempting to create a Mediterranean garden, so far we have the patio area sorted, olive tree, a few palms, Agave, plenty of gravel etc. There is lots of trellis surrounding the patio area to make it feel enclosed, the wood hasn't been treated in years, some bits need replacing completely other bits is fine but needs painting. I've also a shed and arch that need painting.
I keep getting drawn to dark greys, almost black paint as I think it'll make the plants look brighter, yet every Med garden I look at on Pinterest it's very much white wash walls.
Does anyone think the black will detract too much from the theme?

In the Ronseal range. Sorry. here's the link: www.ronseal.co.uk/garden/colour/garden-paint/

Sorry this has gone mad. Most of my posting has vanished. I have a Mediterranean sunken garden, south facing and very hot. I've painted all my planters, fences etc in the colour above.

Is that the cornflower blue?
It looks great. I am a little worried the blue will be too bright but it is a good combination. Perhaps if I just do bits in blue and not all of it?

Can I ask what plants you have? I've deliberately bought small plants (except the olive tree) to keep costs down but feels the space is lacking something and needs a bit of oompf - what looks good in yours?

Here is an utterly dreadful pic of my very young fig tree plus some bedding plants that I didn't have any room for. The colour fades quite quickly in full sun. The rest of the garden is sunken and I can't get a good enough pic of it to show you.

Plants that I have are all ones that cope with hot dry weather and some are drought tolerant. They all like free draining soil, so you might have to add grit. So, I have cistus, lavender in a large rectangular trough, hardy yuccas, phormiums, Convolvulus cneorum, salvias, calendulas, Eschscholzia californica. Any plant which is silver leaved will do well in this type of garden. I have apple, cherry, plum and pear trees in my garden in addition to the fig in the pot. You could have citrus trees but you'd need to move them into a greenhouse or similar over winter as they're not frost hardy. I also have a lot of Ivy in my garden as it is evergreen and can look very bare in winter. I also have things like roses in my garden which aren't 'Mediterreanean' but still look nice and appreciate the conditions.
Other plants to consider: hibiscus syriacus (Oiseau Bleu is particularly lovely) and woody herbs such as thyme, rosemary (can grow to be a big shrub).

I have lots of containers and different plants in my garden and using the blue colour pulls it all together. White is also a good colour to use and I'd use some dry stone walling or just piles of stones painted this colour. Med. gardens also use a lot of gravel on the floor and terracotta pots. Google Med. garden to see what I mean.

Here is an utterly dreadful pic of my very young fig tree plus some bedding plants that I didn't have any room for. The colour fades quite quickly in full sun. The rest of the garden is sunken and I can't get a good enough pic of it to show you.

Plants that I have are all ones that cope with hot dry weather and some are drought tolerant. They all like free draining soil, so you might have to add grit. So, I have cistus, lavender in a large rectangular trough, hardy yuccas, phormiums, Convolvulus cneorum, salvias, calendulas, Eschscholzia californica. Any plant which is silver leaved will do well in this type of garden. I have apple, cherry, plum and pear trees in my garden in addition to the fig in the pot. You could have citrus trees but you'd need to move them into a greenhouse or similar over winter as they're not frost hardy. I also have a lot of Ivy in my garden as it is evergreen and can look very bare in winter. I also have things like roses in my garden which aren't 'Mediterreanean' but still look nice and appreciate the conditions.
Other plants to consider: hibiscus syriacus (Oiseau Bleu is particularly lovely) and woody herbs such as thyme, rosemary (can grow to be a big shrub).

I have lots of containers and different plants in my garden and using the blue colour pulls it all together. White is also a good colour to use and I'd use some dry stone walling or just piles of stones painted this colour. Med. gardens also use a lot of gravel on the floor and terracotta pots. Google Med. garden to see what I mean.

Wow, there's loads of plants I've never heard of, I shall start googling them. Thank you!
Our patio is ugly and quite uneven so I am hoping to have it lifted and changed in a year or two, I think gravel will be nice and will give a nice crunch as we walk across it.
So far I've got some yuccas, lavender, rosemary, wisteria and a grape vine so I am sure when they become established it will help, but I wonder if blue trellis will be too much so will definitely look for some blue pots in the sales.
A fig tree would be fab!
I've an orange and lemon tree, like everything I've bought they are young and small and no signs of fruit, the plan is they'll be moved inside when the weather turns.

I don't have a Mediterranean style garden, so my advice may not be that relevant. But I painted some of the woodwork in my seaside garden blue, and found it to be a little bit much by itself. In the end I went for a combination of Cuprinol Country Cream, Coastal Mist and Forget Me Not.

All the colours in this range seem to go well together and by using a few different ones the end result looks colourful, but not too much if that makes sense? You could paint your trellis cream and get/paint some pots blue? Cuprinol works on any porous surface, including wood, terracotta and concrete. I think Ronseal do a similar product, as do B&Q.

BartiDdu I am tempted to agree - plus im a little terrified of blue, reminds me of a 90's ground force garden if done wrong, and I am far from artistic or creative so more than likely will look ground forced!!

Out of interest, how long have you had the cream? does it stay cream or get dirty easily?

I've just picked up some Salvias and some terracotta pots to put them in, I hope that will soften the patio area and introduce some blue

I think black would look amazing. I'd paint the wood on the hot tub too, it's a particularly yucky brown shade.

That blue is the classic Mediterranean look though. Get some red geraniums in blue glazed pots.
I think black would look minimalist rather than Mediterranean.

I painted things a couple of months ago and the cream looks fine. The Cuprinol almost turns into a plastic coating, so I found that dirt does not really stick to it that easily.

There's a lot of blue in my garden as the result of its proximity to the sea. I'd be concerned that if bright blue doesn't work here,, it may be a bit much in other people's gardens too.

It probably comes down to personal preference, but I think that the classic Mediterranean colours work in places like Italy and Greece, because the light is quite different. In the UK, the same shade of blue can look really cold. As does white.

I agree. I was in a hurry before when I posted the photo otherwise I would have added that the blue is the classic look and it works well in Mediterranean because the light and sun is so bright and blazing. The blue pots with splashes of red may be a good compromise in this country.

Cuprinol do a cream/ off-white called Jasmine White, I think. That could work.

I agree with PPs saying using the bolder colours in this country may not work with our light.
I used 'Olive Green' (which I think was a B&Q own colour). It's a lovely grey/green, that seems to go with everything, it's subtle and looks great with bright red geraniums and potted herbs, and even in winter with dark evergreens.

White is traditional if you are going Mediterranean

Laurie It never occurred to me to paint the hot tub but I do agree it is a yucky brown and more so now it's faded!

I think I am more tempted to use different coloured paints, so black on the shed to make it disappear into the garden and white/cream on the trellis with potentially some terracotta pots and red geraniums hanging off it. However, the trellis is in quite poor condition so I may leave it totally this year as I think white will show up all blemishes so replace and paint in one go when the pennies allow

Quick question, I saw loads of red geraniums reduced at B&Q earlier, are they hardy? will they come back next summer or do they need wintering in a greenhouse?

re. Geraniums. You can over-winter them, somewhere warm/sheltered, and water/feed them occasionally, but I'm afraid I'm lazy gardener who gets new ones each year!!!
Actually, I do have a few from last year that came back; they were on the patio in big pits, but very sheltered.

*pots... not pits. That would make an unattractive patio.

I may wait until next year then! Every plant I bring inside is eaten by one of the cats and im sure if I pop them in the shed I'll forget about them :/
I have realised I need some old terracotta pots...my new ones look too new and shiny, I may go smear them in yoghurt and moss!

I actually think the natural wood trellissing looks good i.e. without any added colour.