Garden list 9-Ranunculus.....

Ranunculus have to be on my Italian garden list.

They have beautiful colors, come back every year and have long strong stems so I can have fresh cut flowers in the house.

I love them for their tight endless circle of petals that seem to go round and round forever.

I purchased 5 bulb packets today so I have made a start at least. At 3 bulbs per packet I only need about 50 more packets!!!!

I think these people planted a lot more than 50 packets, don't you?

Garden finials......

I was out shopping today. 

Not the good type of shopping but the boring supermarket food type of shopping.

 Anyway I was pushing the shopping trolley full of food through the mall complex, trying to manoeuvre it in a straight line instead of the crooked zig zag direction the 3 working wheels wanted it to go in, when something in a shop window caught my eye.

It was a finial. 

For those of you who don't know what a finial is: "The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Architectural finials were once believed to act as a deterrent to witches on broomsticks attempting to land on one's roof." (thank you Wikipedia)

I pulled the trolley to an abrupt halt and squeezed the metal beast into the store. 

There they were, two of them in different designs. 

I knew they weren't stone but I picked up the one with the fleur de lei tip and was pleased to find that it was made from a very heavy ceramic. Both finials had been given an aged patina finish and were quite large at about 15-20inches high.

I tipped it upside down and looked at the price.

 $55 it read.

 "Shit" was my reaction. (I think I said it in my head and not out loud in the store)

 I cannot justify spending $110 on two finials because of course I couldn't get one without the other. 

Wait a minute. There's a red sale sign. I move my head to the side to get a better look.

75% off, today only.

YES, you will be mine (I know I did say that out loud)

Aren't they fantastic! 

I can mount them on the top of the house, an arbour, fence post, potting shed etc etc

So beware witches, don't even think about landing your broomstick on my house in Italy. 
I now have finials to protect me!


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Other peoples finials-

Garden list 8-Olive Trees....

It's Italy so this tree must be on the garden list!

Maybe I will be lucky enough to find a villa with a few very old olive trees in the garden.

 I don't actually like olives. 

I can handle them on a pizza but to pick one up and put it my mouth....no thanks.

What I do like is the look of the trees young or old

 the silver foliage of the leaves, the green and aubergine color of the olives,

 the beautiful visual effect of rows and rows of trees

 or even just an avenue of olive trees.

But what I especially like about them is the flexibility of the branches. 

When it's time to prune them I will tagging along behind, collecting all the branches so that I can make beautiful wreaths for Christmas.

And when that day comes, when I'm sitting in the sun under a grape vine pergola, with a glass of red, some local cheese and a crust of fresh baked bread, twisting my olive trees branches into wreaths, I will make the first one for me and feel like an emperor for a day.

The very sad fruit tree......

When we moved into this current house the first thing I noticed was this very, very old gnarly fruit tree.

It has been neglected for years and has broken branches, stunted growth from lack of water and it has not been pruned for at least 20 years.

It was a sad case.

And then it lost it's leaves and it looked even sadder.....

Well after three months of water and a good prune it looks a lot healthier and it even has new shoots of green leaf growth.

All it needed was a bit of love and some fairy lights which I threaded through the branches today.

They are actually hanging butterfly's that I had purchased to take to Italy with me but the tree needed them now and I can always buy some more.

It still looks a bit weird but as soon as the leaves grow it will look very elegant with the butterfly's shining through the leaves at night.

I replaced the standard cheap batteries with rechargeable lithium so that I don't have to climb the tree every month to replace the batteries.

But now that I think about it this probably means that they will stay on at night for alot longer won't they?

Oh well, I hope that's the neighbours kitchen window on the other side of the fence and not their bedroom window because my fruit tree will not be stripped of it's butterfly's for anyone!

What kind of fruit tree is it I hear you ask?

I have no idea.

I'm sure it will let me know when it's ready.

(Just an update on the solar lights. They went on when it got dark at 6.05pm and they are so bright that cars have been pausing on the street to try and see what the lights are. It looks like I'll be meeting the neighbor tomorrow) 

Alice in wonderland garden archway...

These are  the creepiest yes most wonderful green hedge archways I have ever seen.

What a perfect entrance to a childs Alice In Wonderland garden.

(just not at night though)

Liliums, wherefore art thou Liliums?....

It's the beginning of the week so that means fresh flowers for the house.

I went in to buy my weekly purchase of 2 bunches of long stemmed Liliams (for $8.00) only to find 30 buckets full of orange Liliums. 

ORANGE!!!!!!!

What am I going to do with ORANGE!

Where are my buckets full of pink, mauve, green and white Liliums?

I usually have so much fun picking through these flowers. Sometimes it can take me 10 minutes to pick the right bunches. 

It technical you know? They have to be the right height, the correct shade and most of all they have to be the right mix of flowers and buds to last a week in a vase.

So there I was looking at the orange Liliums and shaking my head in the "no" motion, over and over again.

I moved on to the next row of buckets and they were full of Stocks in mauve, purple and white.

As my lounge room has aubergine accents I thought, ok, I can work with these. 

I debated over the bunches as I usually do and finally decided on 3 bunches (for $10)

As I walking up to the counter to pay I slowed my pace as something was nagging at me. I looked down at the flowers in my arms and there was a thought that was just out of reach. I paused but told myself I was being stupid and paid for the flowers. When I got back to the car I carefully placed them on the back seat and continued on to the fruit market to quickly pick up some potatoes.

When I returned to the car I opened the back door and BAM the smell hit me.

All at once I remembered why I never place Stocks in the house.

They smell.....Bad.

No lets be honest, they STINK!!!!!!

Beauty came back to the car and jumped in the passenger seat and said "Oh my God, whats that smell?"

I said "It's the flowers on the backseat".

She turned around to look at them and said "how can something that pretty, smell that bad?"

I told her that maybe it was because they still had their roots and after I washed them maybe they wouldn't be that smelly.

We opened all the windows and the drive home wasn't that bad.

I washed and trimmed the stems, arranged them in my new high top glass urn vase and placed them on the table in the entrance hall and went to make dinner.

 

I heard The Knight come home and he wandered into the kitchen. I asked him how his day was and he said it was fine and then he told me that he thought that one of the dogs must have had an accident because the lounge room smelt realllyyyyy bad!

I looked at him and said "no it's the fresh flowers". He opened his mouth to ask the obvious questions and I said "long story".

I walked into the lounge room and looked at the beautiful Stocks in the beautiful glass vase.

I just can't throw them in the bin. I just can't!

I opened the front door and placed them on the brick step, up against the side of the house.

They can live there for the next week. 

That way I can still admire them (minus the smell)

Liliums, Liliums wherefore art thou Liliums!

NOTE TO SELF: Remember not to buy Stocks.

Garden list 7-Christmas Pine Trees....

No garden is complete without Spruce trees, especially in a country that has heavy snow fall at Christmas.

Both of the pines trees I have chosen grow very well in Italy. 

One has the classic Christmas tree shape and the other has wonderful pine cones that I will be able to use in wreaths and decorations at Christmas. 

The excess pine cones that I collect throughout the year will be dried and stored in wicker baskets for use on the open fire places in the villa. To freshen a room you just throw a pine cone in the fire and the room instantly smells of pine trees.

Norwegian Spruce

• One of the most impressive Italian trees, Norwegian spruce grows across northern Italy, sometimes reaching 200 feet tall. It has a pyramidal form with rigid, short deep green needles and reddish-brown, hanging seed cones. It needs a cold climate, with winter temperatures regularly dropping below 0°F. Norwegian spruce likes a well-drained location and full sun.
  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

Aleppo Pine

• Growing throughout Italy, Aleppo pine may have been the original Christmas tree. The ancient Greeks used the tree in ceremonies honoring their god Attis, and early Christians may have adopted that tradition as part of their Christmas ritual. Aleppo pine grows throughout Italy. Mature trees can be 60 feet high by 40 wide with round crowns and fine 2- to 3- inch needles. Their stout trunks have open, irregular branches with cones. They tolerate winter temperatures. The trees require large, sunny spaces and two or three monthly waterings in addition to rainfall. Their needles may drop more heavily than usual during drought.
  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

Garden list 6-Poplar Trees.......

The home I grew up in had an avenue of poplar trees along the fence line. 

As a child you don't really appreciate or notice avenues of Poplar trees but what I do remember is how upset my mother was when they had to be cut down. In their relentless search for water, their root system attacked the under ground pipes that supplied water to the house and they had to go.

As an adult, rows of poplar trees fascinate me. 

Their tall willowy shapes swaying in the breeze and making perfect avenues and windbreaks.

The leaves of the Tulip Poplar and the Italian Lombardy Poplar are my favorites.

Still not convinced?

Just look at how beautiful and peaceful these images are.

*NOTE TO SELF-Remember that these trees grow really fast but they only have a life span of 15 years. Remember to plant a row of trees further back behind them that are slower growing but will live longer. Then you will already a replacement when the poplars die.