Re: I: Wondering about the members...

Ciao Alessandra!

So good to 'hear' your voice!  I hope you are well.
I am sad to hear of Susana growing older - how could this happen to such a
ball of energy and drive as she!  I regret that I have not been able to visit
beautiful La Mortella again - Deborah and I so fondly recall our visit and
stay there.

It is wonderful to hear you are at the helm of Susana's creation.  I trust you
will continue to create wonderful horticultural symphonies on the grounds.

[Nan (& everyone) - if you ever have the change to visit the Naples area, you
MUST take the ferry over to Isola d'Ischia to see this place!  And Ischia
itself is quite the gem as well!]

Best regards,
Seán O.

Seán A. O'Hara
sean(at)gimcw.org
www.hortulusaptus.com

> Wow, Alessandra, what a fabulous story!
>
> I remember when I visited you at the American Academy in 1999 (I can't
> believe it was 10 years ago!), you were in the early phases of
> restoration.  Now, it sounds like you are the superstar of Italian
> horticulture.  Congratulations.
>
> Your work at La Mortella sounds like the proverbial dream job.  I
> especially love the fact that you mix music and culture with gardens -
> they are together the most important ingredients for a happy life!
>
> Just out of curiosity - tell us about the climate at the garden -
> temperature highs and lows, when those highs and lows occur, and what
> the average rainfall is.  And what is the water source for the island?
>
> I dream of visiting you and your gardens again...
>
> Best
>
> Nan
>
>
> On Jan 15, 2009, at 10:55 AM, Vinciguerra, Alessandra wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Well, Nan, yes I am still gardening, and so busy that I hardly have
>> the time to do anything else- ofr instance ahving a personal life!
>> I still work for the American academy in Rome as Superintendent of
>> the Garden but basically after having finished the restauration and
>> rejuvenation of the gardens there I became a sort of outer
>> consultant and cut on the time passed there. I now go there once a
>> week to review activities, assign garden tasks, plan etc, except
>> when we undertake serious, important garden projects - in these
>> cases I stay longer. I have a very good team of gardeners and
>> arborists that keep the gardens going.
>> Meanwhile I became Garden Director at La Mortella
>> (www.lamortella.org) the gardens created by Russell Page and Lady
>> Walton in Ischia,an island off the bay of Naples. Lady Walton, who
>> is now elderly, passed into my hands the total management of the
>> complex - gardens and cultural activities alike;  actually she
>> founded a charity, the William Walton Foundation, to run the gadrens
>> and I work for this charity.
>> I basically live in this island most of the time now, and yes, I do
>> mediterranean gardening quite a lot, not only because the island is
>> in the middle of the eponymous sea, but also because I started a
>> major project to transfrom  several parts of the garden into
>> "waterwise" areas.
>> La Mortella  is  divided into two parts, the moist, shady, tropical
>> looking, sheltered valley with stunning collections of tree ferns,
>> palm trees, tropical cycads etc, and the sunny, dry-ish, windy,
>> exposed hillside - that I am developing into a serious Med-garden.
>> I have  a lot of fun experimenting with plants, and in a way I see
>> this garden as a trial ground to test plants for gardens in the
>> South. I am building a sort of living archive; just to mention a
>> few, I currently grow  about 40 different vars of  Japanese maples
>> (Acer palmatum and japonicum) growing in a shady corner of the
>> oriental garden, I decided to test them because I had read somewhere
>> (possibly on Pacific Hort?) they are the only maples that can stand
>> southern climates and I can now confirm they can actually make it in
>> our extreme conditions - in almost full shade. I am doing the same
>> with roses - huge climbing roses such as Laevigata, La Follette,
>> Gigantea but also smaller ones- and clematises, the texensis and
>> viticella group, plus some species clem. I recently planted a small
>> arboretum of Oaks from hot areas, and a few months ago we received
>> as a gift a collection of Aloes that I intend to develop; you can
>> read the story on our website, here: http://www.lamortella.!
>> org/content/view/74/188/lang,en/.
>> During the last 3 or 4 years  we built an open air theatre, besides
>> several other garden features, and made the total of this steep,
>> vertical hill garden wheeelchair accessible. We built ramps
>> everywhere, a huge (and expensive) effort, as we made a point in
>> integrating the ramps into the landscape and make them look as
>> though they were part of the original dry stone walls.
>> The place has an intense musical programs run in conjunction with
>> music schools and conservatories, with about 80 concerts a year plus
>> masterclasses and residencies, and we have open air concerts with
>> youth orchestras (we only work with young musicians and students).
>> I oversee all this as well.
>> We  have 6 gardeners and various other staff for a total of 25; the
>> garden is open to the public from april to november and has about
>> 65.000 visitors a year.
>> There would be more to say, but maybe it is enough for now.
>> So you see I do not have much time to contribute to the discussions,
>> but I read you all a lot!
>> Best to everyone,
>> Alessandra
>>
>>
>>
>> Alessandra Vinciguerra
>> Bass Superintendent of Gardens
>> American Academy in Rome
>> http://www.aarome.org/#place5
>>
>>
>> Director
>> Giardini La Mortella
>> The William Walton Trust
>> Fondazione William Walton e La Mortella
>> www.lamortella.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________________
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>
>
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