Italian garden plants
- Subject: Italian garden plants
- From: V* A*
- Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 14:18:38 +0200
I agree with what Helene says. The differences between climate zones in
Italy is so strong that it would be very hard to make a list of plants valid
for all Italy. However, Joe (Giuseppe Luigi Pasquale!) was asking specially
about old gardens, when the infamous influence of global gardening ( or
garden-centering) and glossy magazines was far to come. To my eyes, what
makes a garden typically Italian, all along the boot, is the following:
1. Hedges and walls. No Italian , except those living in the Alps, would
feel comfortable in a garden where every passer-by can cast a glance. We
have to defend privacy, at any cost. In the past hedges would have been
made with yew, hornbeams, boxwood, generally conifers in the North; Bay
laurel (Laurus nobilis) and Viburnum tinus in the center; Prickly pears,
Poncirus, Lantanas and other interesting plants in the South. Today Prunus
laurocerasus probably is the most planted of all hedging plants, but bay
still holds.
2. Evergreen plants. This must have secret connection with the obsession of
the average Italian housewife for tidiness. Evergreens are still supposed to
be less messy than other plants, and to give a longer performance. An
evergreen that blooms is of course the maximum, and this is why Magnolia
grandiflora is planted everywhere the climate allows it, from North to
South. Common palm trees (Phoenix and Washingtonias) are also among old
favourites.
3. As for detailed plants, I can speak for the center, that is the area
where I work and live. A Roman garden would ALWAYS have at least Pinus
pinea, Cupressus sempervirens, Nerium oleander, Quercus ilex, Laurus nobilis
and a Phoenix canariensis, besides Magnolia grandiflora. A pergola or a wall
draped with grapes, wisteria, Banksia roses, Jasminum azoricum or
officinalis and Trachelospermum jasminoides is also common. I would also
expect to find a bed with commonplace roses, a multistemmed Cycas revoluta,
old pots with geraniums, a shady corner with a couple of Hydrangea
(hortensis) and some fruit trees (a fig, a medlar and a plum, besides a
citrus whenever possible) in the back.
A Tuscan garden always has cypresses, Iris, boxwood hedges and citruses in
huge terracotta pots. In the South, Bouganvilleas are the climbers par
excellence instead of wisterias, and citruses of course are grown as
specimen trees.
There is a lot to say about hardscape as well, but I think this is enough
for now.
All the best,
Alessandra
Alessandra Vinciguerra
Superintendent of the Gardens
American Academy in Rome
Via Masina,5
00183 Roma Italy
Tel. 39-6-5846444
