Italian Gardens - Sacro Bosco

It's the end of February and there's not much in the way of gardening to do here in Canada. So, I watch my favourite gardening shows. They give me my gardening fix, ideas and dreams of gardens I want to visit.

"Monty Don's Italian Gardens" is one show that fuels my dreams. Monty focusses on Renaissance gardens in Italy in this four part series. The key to gardens of this style were symmetry and harmony.

There is one garden, however, which does not follow the path of Renaissance symmetry - 'Sacro Bosco', or 'Sacred Wood',  in the Villa Orsini of Bomarzo. It contains fantastic, gigantic mythological sculptures, carved from the rock, found in the garden. It was designed by the then famous architect, Pirro Ligorio, for Prince Pier Francesco Orsini (1523-1585).

You can watch this episode here (fast forward to time of 35:10):



You can see all the episodes at the TVO website.

Some Gardening Humour - "The Italian Tomato Garden"

My heritage happens to be part Italian. I had to laugh when I read this:

THE ITALIAN TOMATO GARDEN

An Old Italian man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His  only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

Dear Vincent,  
I am feeling pretty badly because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be  over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me.      
                                                               Love, Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son: 

Dear Dad,  
Don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the bodies. 
                                         Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and  dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another  letter from his   son: 

Dear Dad, 
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under  the circumstances.                           
                                                 Love you, Vinnie

Top 5 Tips for Organic Gardening

My cat, Mini, loves
stomping around in my garden!

Since the pesticide ban in Ontario, we've all had to learn how to garden organically. I have to say that there are days when I feel like Elmer Fudd - "I'll get you, you scwewy slug!" Or cat, as the case may be.

I think the trick is to not expect perfection and to plan ahead. That being said, here are my top 5 organic gardening tips.

1. Mulch - mulching keeps weeds at bay and helps to keep moisture in the ground.
2. Don't leave bare spaces - weeds always seem to find that bare patch of garden.  Plant something or mulch.
3. Location, location, location - choose a spot with suitable light, whether full sun, partial sun or shade.
4. Companion plant - different combinations of plants help each other. Companion planting can  attract beneficial insects and deter harmful pests. In fact, you can mix flowers with your vegetables!
5. Good soil - soil with lots of organic matter is best. 

Feel free to share your organic gardening tip in the comment area.