Life in Italy

Gardens in Italy Jonathan Radford’s Approach ecoLogica: How many times have we found ourselves breaking our backs in the garden, in order to sustain our dream of creating and maintaining a perfectly green and ordered, ‘English-style’ garden, convinced that we are getting closer to nature in the process. The difficult […]

How Italian Gardeners Use The Moon Since time began human beings have been fascinated and bewildered by the presence of the ever changing ephemeral moon that has been a constant presence and sensual mystery in the night sky. From when humans began cultivating their own crops they noted the subtle […]

Jonathan Radford’s Approach ecoLogica How many times have we found ourselves breaking our backs in the garden, in order to sustain our dream of creating and maintaining a perfectly green and ordered, ‘English-style’ garden, convinced that we are getting closer to nature in the process. The difficult tasks performed to […]

The Mediterranean Chastity Plant Mediterranean plants have long been attributed with having medicinal, healing properties, from the skin softening oil of the olive tree, the calming effects of the chamomile plant or even to the flatulence reducing fennel. However, rarely do we hear of a Mediterranean plant that can assist […]

A Hidden Renaissance Palace in Tuscany palace in italy The area surrounding Montalcino has been famed for centuries by artists and poets for its beautiful yet peaceful landscapes, comprising of soft rolling valleys and lightly peppered with olive groves and vineyards of superior quality. In fact the Rosso di Montalcino […]

Vignola: Italian Garden designer for the Vatican Italian Garden designer for the Vatican Bagnaia: Villa Lante By Jonathan Radford Above and left : water feature at Villa Lante – Right Pope Julius III > Italy is renowned for it’s fashion, it’s cuisine and it’s stunning Renaissance period. However, how many […]

Interpreting Italian Garden Style Correctly The Italian garden presents the garden designer in Italy with many nuances and various strong symbols that for many people symbolize Italy and everything Italian. Many garden design themes have been drawn from the Italian garden style over the years. However, just as many of […]

An Italian Recipe For Stinging Nettle with Gnocchi There are very few gardeners, or children that have not had battles with the common yet ingenious stinging nettle, but there is more to this plant than may first meet the eye. Urtica dioica is a very common and widespread plant that […]

Planting and Designing Italian Gardens ecoLogica: Having decided upon a style for our Outdoor room and regardless of whether it will be styled on a Renaissance villa or a rustic Tuscan landscape we can now really begin getting excited at the prospect of actually designing a garden, because from here […]