In Love with a Mediterranean Climate: Souvenir and Wrap-Up

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. Each week, I’m sharing a different aspect of the plants I saw in Italy. Last week it was flowers. This week, I’m wrapping up and sharing my favorite souvenir from our honeymoon!

Thanks to all who followed my botanical side tour of Italy! Even though I'm out of photos to share with you here, I'm still living the vacation at home with some fresh flowers in my favorite souvenir - this little Tuscan pitcher!

This was a premixed bouquet at Whole Foods...not too expensive given how long it's lasted and how bright and cheery it is!

P.S. If you've missed any of the posts in this series, you can see them all by clicking on the tag "Italian flora" below!

In Love with a Mediterranean Climate: Flowers

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. Each week, I’m sharing a different aspect of the plants I saw in Italy. Last week it was fruit. This week, I’m sharing flowers - perfect for brightening up a gray winter day!

I'm a total sucker for flowers. When we first got to Italy, and I started taking pictures of flowers, Mike looked at me like I was a little nuts. Maybe I am. But I love having some bright, happy flowers to look at when it's cold and snowy outside, so here we go.

Cyclamen were everywhere - in front of a restaurant menu, tucked into succulent gardens...

And sitting on pedestals in lovely pots.

Then there were the roses. Ah, the roses. Like this one in front of the Murano glass factory.

And this one at a farm and winery we visited,

 And these, that graced the Roman Forum...

 There were also lots of geraniums, like this one that I almost tripped over...

Butterfly bushes...

Violas...

Thanksgiving cactus...

And dahlias, like this one in a public park in Venice.

I hope these flowers brighten your January day. They've certainly brightened mine!

In Love with a Mediterranean Climate: Fruit Everywhere

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. Each week, I’m sharing a different aspect of the plants I saw in Italy. Last week it was plants spilling into the streets. This week, I’m sharing the fruit we saw hanging on trees.

How would you like to walk outside and just pick your afternoon snack off a tree? Sign me up! 

Grapevines aren't just for wineries - we saw some grapes just begging to be eaten in Venice.

In Siena, there was a farmer's market that I was just dying to visit. Unfortunately, the tour guide didn't think that was touristy enough.

At Murano, where they make their world famous glass, I saw this pomegranate tree.

And there were oranges everywhere. When the oranges get ripe, the leaves often fall off the tree. I thought it looked like an orange Christmas tree.

And then there was this little plant on my patio in Rome. Anybody know what it is? My guess is an ornamental pepper, but I'm not sure.

In Love with a Mediterranean Climate: Plants in the Streets

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. Each week, I’m sharing a different aspect of the plants I saw in Italy. Last week it was plants filling up balcony spaces. This week, I’m sharing plants that spilled out onto the street!

There isn't much dirt on the ground in Italian cities...at least, not the ones we visited. So gardeners have to use pots, and the first rule of container gardening is to go big! That's what this street gardener did with these bushes.

But sometimes, you have to go small, like the moss below this neat water fountain.

My favorite place in all Italy was San Gimignano, where we saw this walled garden, not to mention the vines on the house to the right.

At the edges of San Gimignano, was this house with its garden spilling out onto the street...

...As well as these potted plants lining the stairway between buildings

In Venice, the streets are literally made out of water. And this restaurant, like many others, had boxes overhanging its outdoor eating area right over the canal. (And look at all that produce on display!)

Also in Venice, we saw quite a few private gardens spilling out into the street, like this one:

In Love with a Mediterranean Climate: Balconies, Windowsills, and Terraces

I hope you had a happy New Year, celebrating some old traditions and making some new ones! As winter gets up its big guns, I'm continuing my series about plants in Italy. 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. Each week, I’m sharing a different aspect of the plants I saw in Italy. Last week it was succulents. This week, I’m sharing all the little windowsill, balcony and patio gardens I saw.

Along with the succulents happily spilling over all parts of the balcony, this little garden proudly waved the flag of Venice.

Our hotel in Florence was up two flights of stairs, but there were still spider plants lining the hallway.

And this "Orange Cafe" had plants lining its outside terrace.

This balcony was one of my favorites, not just for the tree that took up most of the space, but for the ornate leaf-shaped ironwork of the balcony itself.

Abundance was easy to find, but even a couple of pots spruced up a concrete wall.

In Love with a Mediterranean Climate: Succulents Everywhere!

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. Each week, I’m sharing a different aspect of the plants I saw in Italy. Last week it was plants growing among the ruins. This week, I’m sharing just a few of the succulents I saw!

I love succulents. When I caught the gardening bug, succulents were the only thing that didn't die on my dim windowsill. Now my only barrier to keeping them alive is Odie, who seems to love to tear them to shreds. When a succulent starts to send off new shoots at my house, I have a little party. But that's nothing compared to the succulents spilling out of their pots in Italy!

Some were modest and symmetrically arranged with other plants like the ever-present cyclamen.

Others were squeezed into every available space on the balcony.

This building had an identical pot of Thanksgiving cactus in full bloom, just like this. The effect was lovely.

But mostly, succulents spilled over the balcony like this, reminding me that a Mediterranean climate is what makes them go wild.

P.S. Hope your Christmas was wonderful, and Happy Boxing Day!

In Love with a Mediterranean Climate: Plants Growing out of the Walls!

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. Each week, I’m sharing a different aspect of the plants I saw in Italy. Last week it was landscapes. This week, I’m sharing the plants that literally grew in and out of the walls!

I'm no stranger to seeing plants growing out of cracks in sidewalks, or even cracks in the side of a mountain. That's just what they do. It gets me every time. When we visited Italy, there were plants everywhere -even when someone hadn't planned on putting them there.

There was grass and moss growing in the ruins of the Colosseum.

Moss growing on ancient steps - so flat it looked like part of the step itself.

Ivy growing around ancient, fallen columns.

And even plants finding their way into newly excavated ruins.

Some places, like the Circo Massimo, just look like a huge sunken lawn.

And, wherever they can find a spot to hang on, there are plants growing out of the walls.

In Love with a Mediterranean Climate: Landscapes

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. Each week, I’m sharing a different aspect of the plants I saw in Italy. Last week it was all the places I found plants. This week, I’m sharing some spectacular landscapes!

The first stop on our trip was Rome. Italian Stone Pines (aka umbrella pines) are a dominant part of the landscape, and it's easy to see why! Some were very tall - much taller than the little ones you see below.

Some public spaces, like the Roman Forum, have been extensively landscaped, and were an absolute paradise in the middle of the city. I loved it so much, we stayed until the guards literally pushed us out at closing time!

There were also cypress trees - not just used for cemeteries! They're excellent windbreaks, good at absorbing sound, and are said to scent the air.

 In Tuscany, there were rolling hillsides that reminded us of southwestern Virginia, just older.

And the vineyards - the vines were turning yellow, making them look like the sun.

I was surprised at how gray olive trees are. But still beautiful, and they have me searching for a cold-hardy olive I can grow in Utah.

And then there were the watery landscapes of Venice's canals and lagoons that were full of life yet so relaxing...

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.