On March 22nd, 2011, SEASIDE TERRACED FARMING IN PRAIANO…
…where I am staying for a few days (at a friend’s stunning collection of big farmed ocean view terraces accommodating a variety of little white houses dating from…
Tag
#gardens
On March 13th, 2011, MINI ROOF GROTTO…
…in a big barrel was my solution to the daily rearranging of my moss gardens by the big birds who rule the skies up here on the Gianicolo…
On March 6th, 2011, FRUIT TREE BLOSSOMS…
…in shades from white to pink are popping and promising spring in the back garden.
On March 3rd, 2011, MINI MOSSY ZEN ROOF GARDEN…
…is something I started messing around with a few months ago (featuring a miniature landscape of tufa rocks and scavenged blocks covered with pieces of moss varieties gathered on…
On February 23rd, 2011, THE ANNUAL PRUNING OF THE OLIVE TREES…
…took place this morning in grand style with freshly cut dusty green leaved olive branches covering much of the ground after the garden crew had come through to…
On February 21st, 2011, THE PEA REPORT…
…from the Roman Rooftop Homestead is very good indeed, with the happy plants beginning to climb up the pea-stake branches that were just installed for them, and today…
On February 20th, 2011, PIAZZA DI SIENA…
…where the equestrian events of the 1960 Roman Olympiad were held and where occasional equestrian events are still staged today within the public park and gardens of Villa…
On February 19th, 2011, ‘URBAN HOMESTEAD’…
…is a term that has been around since at least the 1970’s, so it was with some surprise when we heard the press swirling with stories about a…
On February 16th, 2011, COMING OUT OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FLU (PART II)…
…there’s nothing quite like it to make you appreciate the little things again (you know, like being able to walk across the room at more than a shuffle,…
On February 14th, 2011, ROOFTOP PLANTING CRATES…
…and their happy healthy plant residents enjoying this afternoon’s sun, are visible out the window as I shuffle around in my dim influenza delerium, at least encouraged to…
On February 12th, ALMOND TREE BLOSSOMS…
…are popping up in back – a late-mid-winter color boost – but I’m hearing from the gardeners that the mice usually get to the almonds well before they…
On February 9th, 2011, CAVALO NERO…
…or ‘black cabbage’ (a loose-leaf Italian cabbage, or kale) has been on our plates almost every day this winter, and today will be no exception, as I harvest…
On February 2nd, 2011, THE LETTUCE REPORT…
…from the Roman rooftop garden is good – and though some are still looking small and scrappy after months in the ground, growing very slowly with the cool…
On February 1st, 2011, GROTTO…
…or grotta in Italian, following up on yesterday’s thoughts on rustication, is another example of the thrilling primitive architectural underbelly of the Florentine Renaissance – today seen at…
On January 26th, 2011, ORTICHE…
…or nettles, are to be found all over the streets of Rome, coming up from any unattended space between stones, they sting (a fact I am sure every…
On January 24th, 2011, WINDOW SILL MOSS GARDENS…
…were the impromptu focus of the day as I discovered the great abundance of gorgeous moss (the most exotic sort of vegetation to the eyes of an eleven…
On January 21st, 2011, THE FLOWERING FAVA BEANS…
…or Vicia faba, are keeping my rooftop garden spring-like in the middle of a Roman winter – and since I have never grown them before, it is all…
On January 6th, 2011, ACACIA DEALBATA…
…the fragrant yellow Mimosa tree native to Australia whose clouds of clustered of bright yellow pom-pom flowers are the first sign of spring in the Italian landscape, is…
On December 30th, 2010, ROOFTOP POTATO HARVEST…
…is the surprising legacy of the potato plants that were cut down by the one night of frost up on the roof last week – and as I…
On December 28th, 2010, VILLA SCIARRA…
…is the hidden public park just around the corner which I have escaped to this morning – with sun shining and flu waning – named for the villa…