Italian Gardens
How to Attract Italian Butterflies into Italian Gardens One of the most spectacular sights in Italian gardens has to be the European swallowtail butterfly flitting, effortlessly over lavender, buddleja, valerian or any other nectar-providing flower. This large and beautiful butterfly is a master of the air and glides from flower […]
In almost every authentic Tuscan garden one can find an ancient Mulberry (or ‘Gelso‘ or ‘Moro’) tree, with a large canopy and very thick, gnarled trunk. This curious tree can grow for eighty to a hundred years or more and in Tuscany the mulberry’s large canopy is always pruned drastically […]
Italian wild plants and herbs Nothing evokes the coming of Spring more than the scent of wild flowers and plants. About a year ago, I happened to drive to my grandparents’ village for the first time during Spring in decades. Here, in the lovely, mellow rolling hills of the Alessandria province, […]
How to Use Iris Flowers in Italy Members of the Iris family (Iridaceae) have sprung from almost every country- and every corner of this world can boast at having its own variety. But surely for most it must be Italy that springs to mind as the month of April arrives, […]
Italian Moths that seem like Hummingbirds I have been asked, time and time again, “What’s that? Is it a hummingbird?” by the guests that come and stay at our holiday houses here in Tuscany. They were all referring to a curious creature that flits, with great speed, from flower to […]
Natural solutions to whiteflies and aphids Until recently the solution to this problem was to spray the plant with toxic pesticides, which curiously, also kill nature’s own remedy to the problem… the parasitic wasp. There are hundreds of species of parasitic wasp, some feed on caterpillars and spiders and some […]
Italian gardens are generally characterised by elegant formal lines and strong structure, however, the use of fruit trees in Italian gardens cannot be overlooked. Since the early Arabic influence fruit trees have featured strongly in Italian gardens and later. Then, with the onset of the Roman Empire, new varieties of […]
Tips on Pruning Roses in Italian Gardens Late Autumn is the time when we generally consider pruning the roses in our gardens, both in the UK and in many parts of the US, however when should we prune the roses in our Italian holiday homes…? The rose is a plant […]
A Jewel of Italian birds If you noticed an orange/pink, unusual looking bird with a striking crest on its head while visiting Italy then you had probably been lucky to have seen the Hoopoe, a stunning migratory visitor to Italy. The Hoopoe is quite an unmistakable bird, it has bright […]
Italian gardens are famed for the wonderful choice of plants that can be found within them, from the vibrant hot colors of Mediterranean plants to the softer pastels of classical roses and lavender. Reams of books have covered the various plants that can be used, however, very little attention is […]