A TUSCAN GARDEN DIARY (from 20th 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 13th 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.
