In Love with a Mediterranean Climate

When we went to Italy, the first thing I noticed was plants. They were everywhere! Spilling from balconies, planted in public parks, growing out of walls, on restaurant patios. Everywhere I looked, there were plants. In November. Plants that I would have brought inside months ago were flourishing.

It wasn't just public parks, although we saw a few...

It wasn't just the stunning Tuscan countryside...

Or private gardens/greenhouses...

It was the patio at our hotel, cleverly planted with containers to look like hedges.

It was ivy engulfing walls at the Roman Forum.

It was potted plants in alleyways.

Little flowers plopped on a windowsill.

And plants spilling out of balconies.

In Tuscany I saw olive groves, grapevines, and rosemary so big it could have been a hedge. In Venice I saw a pomegranate tree for the first time. Everywhere there were succulents, in pots or spilling out over balconies, cyclamen in bloom, roses, and citrus trees of all kinds, with their fruit hanging heavy on the branches.

I don't know about you, but as I write this, I'm looking out my window at snow. It's a nice change from the thick layer of smog we came home to, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to be standing in the middle of the Tuscan countryside. Mike thought I was silly for taking so many pictures of plants when we came to visit ancient ruins and eat pasta. But I knew there would be days like today, when a look at some green could brighten my spirits. And there's more! Each week I'll post a glimpse of the plants we saw, until I run out.