Back here, at 40°C
- Subject: Back here, at 40°C
- From: V* A*
- Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 13:53:28 +0200
Hi to everybody,
my name was somehow "forgotten" by the server and I was without any message
from the list for quite a while. I missed it, but it took me some time to
realize that you could not possibly be all out there gardening. So I asked
for good Sean's help, and here I am, back again. In the meanwhile I've been
doing lots of gardening, following the various threads that cross my life...
for instance, yesterday I ordered about 60 scented orchids, for a garden I
am consultant of, and now I am about to order ca.100 rose bushes for La
Landriana garden. In the latter we are currently revising the Olive
garden, a hedged in, formally designed area sorrounded by olive trees. The
olive garden is based on a very strict color scheme: glaucous, grey and
chartreuse foliaged (artemiasias, salvias, noticeably officinalis,
o.icterina and interrupta), purple and lemon-yellow flowered (alchemillas,
potentillas) plants. I must commend Plectranthus tomentosum (Vicks plant)
for its performance here: not only it has bravely covered all the ground it
was assigned, it keeps blooming constantly, and survives with not that much
water, creating a lovely background for taller plants. I wouls also like to
recommend the mix of Helycrisium petiolaris "Limelight" and Verbena
bonariensis, and mention Ipomoea batatas "Margarita" and Salvia verticillata
"Purple rain" as wonderful combinations in this range of colors. Very
refreshing in the heath.
Actually, the main issue this time of the year is the incredible heatwave.
Rome is taken by a grip of hot days, people faint during the Pope's
audiences, to our unconfessed joy, >:), tourists get fined because they
dive in the monumental fountains, and we MUST irrigate, at least enough to
keep things going. Only at night we can hope to get some breeze.
What is happening in the rest of the world, outside of the Mediterranean?
Cheers,
Alessandra
Alessandra Vinciguerra
Superintendent of the Gardens
American Academy in Rome
Via Masina,5
00183 Roma Italy
Tel. 39-6-5846444
