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TUSCAN GARDEN DIARY (20TH Jan to 3rd Feb)

A TUSCAN GARDEN DIARY (from 20^th Jan to 03 Feb) by Jonathan Radford

These are the dull months of the year and that’s just fine with most gardeners. However, when that dullness is coupled with cold winds and rain it begins to test even the gardener’s patience. And so, that’s how this week has been here in Tuscany dull, damp and cold! I have been busy working on a garden renovation project on a very old property here in Tuscany that dates back to the 13^th century. I took advantage of this dull, dreary weather by planning and marking out a new ecologica wild flower meadow in the grounds of La Foce (see www.lafoce.com) in southern Tuscany. The owner has been working on a natural Italian garden and the ecologica (www.ecologicagardens.com) system suited her requirements perfectly.   

Top dressings 

If the fruit trees are now pruned and an organic mulch has been spread on the flower and shrub borders there are very few things to do in the Italian garden during this period. If weather permits one can add what is known as a ‘top-dressing’ to fine lawns, this is simply another layer of finer organic mulch (similar to peat) that can be mixed with sand to create a water-retentive layer of organic matter at the surface of the lawn. This helps improve soil quality, water-retention and will turn the lawn green after the first rainfall. Top dressing can still be spread on the lawns right up until the spring and early summer, although the best time to spread it on the ground is in the Autumn, in order to allow for soil organisms to break it down efficiently. 

Formal Italian vegetable gardens 

Any final planning or improvements in the Italian garden should take place during this period, when there is little else to do in the garden before the spring pruning. I have just finished a large plan for a formal Italian vegetable garden, again in the grounds of La Foce. I plan to create an organic Italian style vegetable garden that will provide organic Italian vegetables and herbs all year round. I am designing the vegetable garden with the intention of it becoming the main feature of the garden and the visitors that stay in the house  will be encouraged to use the area as a comfortable sitting area in which they can drink Cappuccino and eat brioche in the mornings, or watch the sun go down in the evenings.  The relative costs for a formal Italian vegetable garden project are minimal in comparison to a standard “Formal Italian garden” which is made from more expensive ornamental shrubs and plants. The cost for maintaining an Italian vegetable garden is also reduced in comparison using the ecologica system 

Compost for the Italian garden 

Any hard pruning from the Various fruit trees or large evergreens should be passed through a mechanical chipper in this period, then mixed with regular garden compost and left to rot down in large compost lumps. These should be contained in wooden frames which allow air to enter freely and once moist should be covered with old carpet or Hessian, this covering allows moisture through yet retains it inside the compost and speeds up decomposition. The temperature generated within the compost should sterilise the organic matter- killing most diseases. After 6 months or so this organic matter should have broken down enough to be used as mulch around the base of plants. Most truly Mediterranean plants like sage lavender and rosemary do not benefit from the introduction of organic compost, however a mulch of gravel will benefit them no end.  

AUTUMN TO SPRING IN THE ITALIAN GARDEN

THE DULLEST, YET BUSIEST TIME OF THE ITALIAN GARDENING CALENDER

The Italian gardening calender is generally full of tasks that can be performed under blue skies and Mediterranean sunshine. However, towards the end of the year, a bitter wind from the north, named il trammontana blasts away all of the heat from the Italian summer and leaves the garden looking bedraggled and dull. In this season very few gardeners are inspired to work in the garden due to the bitter cold and grey days, however it is in fact the busiest time for maintenance work in the Italian garden!

Tasks such as specific pruning, mulching and planting should take place now in the Italian garden and a brave gardener should not shy away from doing them- if he/she is aiming for success in the garden in Italy. Since most deciduous plants are dormant between late September to early March in Italian gardens it is standard gardening practise to prune certain groups of these plants in this period. Fruit trees like apples and pears should be pruned  in this period (see www.lifeinitaly.com/garden/pruning.asp) whereas fruit trees in the prunus family (cherries, apricot and peach trees) should only ever be pruned in the summer, in order to avoid a deadly fungus that enters through pruning wounds. Winter-lowering plants such as Chimonanthus should have branches that bore flowers pruned to the base of the plant immediately after flowering. 

Plants should also be mulched in this period as soil organisms are still active in the earth and welcome a covering of organic matter (manure, rotted down leaves etc) on which they feed. This then gets broken down into humus, a jelly-like substance that retains moisture and nutrients in the soil. A covering of rich, brown rotted organic matter (compost) will also look much tidier and attractive than boring soil and the mulch will help protect tender plants from frost as it insulates the roots of the plant.

The ecologica gardening system

The ecologica Italian garden design system could probably be best described as a fusion between the desire of a modern world to address grave ecological issues and the simple logic of a time gone by. The ecologica system was inspired by the rhythms of ancient Mediterranean farming practises, when fields were allowed to develop into peaceful wild flower meadows (for the production of hay), when natural processes were still precious to humans and when vegetables still tasted like vegetables!

This system focuses on the development of  indigenous ecosystems, in the form of wildflower meadows to replace the ‘English style’ lawn areas. These lawn areas would otherwise require hundreds of litres of water, hours of maintenance and expensive irrigation systems to sustain them. Such gardens are clearly not possible in a land like Italy that cannot support the nordic-style garden for the lack of available water.

By their very nature, areas of mown grass also do not allow  for any of the beautiful Mediterranean plants, butterflies and fascinating ecosystems to exist! By using lunar cycles to stimulate wild flower seed germination I can transform this grassland into fields of poppies and other wild flowers that are ablaze with natural flower colour, butterflies and even wild herbs, salads and natural medicine.

The installation of stunning, low-water Mediterranean gardens around the house enables ecologica to save over 80% on general water consumption, over 80% of general maintenance and reduce installation costs by a staggering 50%. The system can apply the identity, soul and nuance of the Mediterranean, support Mediterranean wildlife yet address the style and form of an Italian Renaissance garden. Although there is a strong emphasis on ecology, the ecologica system also focuses on Italian elegance. The incorporation of elegant formality, art topiary and strong evergreen form in the areas in the vicinity of the house can allow for a neo-classical feel that will slowly filter into and embrace the surrounding landscape. 

 An emphasis on the vegetable garden is another ecologica trademark, relying on the formal Italian vegetable garden to provide stunning natural beauty, symmetry and organic vegetables for personal consumption. The system is in fact based around the organic vegetable garden and it provides a totally sustainable garden, requiring no help from fertilizers and other chemical products. In reality a garden designed using the ecologica system will not require grass seed, irrigation or chemicals and will only require a mere 20% of the water AND maintenance necessary for the creation of a standard Italian garden!  

This, for now, is the best that I can do! 

See more at www.ecologicagardens.com