It’s been awhile since I’ve posted an update in my adventures of an amateur gardener. This winter has been a busy one with work, and the garden is just now starting to come back to life. Just before I left Italy, the tour guide and I spent a long morning out in the garden cleaning, pruning, cutting and clipping away. I’m not sure if everything that got pruned was supposed to get pruned, but I guess that’s where the adventures come in, right? The last two years I’ve been in charge of pruning the hydrangeas, which had been growing too tall. While we were happier with the size, we were not so happy that they produced significantly fewer flowers each summer. So this year the tour guide took his amateur hand at pruning, and hopefully leaving them longer means we might get more flowers this year. I love cutting them and bringing them inside since they are so colorful and keep for so long.
The lavender plants don’t seem to have liked all the rain this winter, and as I pruned I found some dark areas underneath. I hope they recover with some nice spring weather and sunshine! The pot is ready for flowers as soon as I return to Italy. But I see I still have work to do cleaning off that wall. (That’s a thankless and never ending task this amateur gardener doesn’t particularly care for…)
We have an old well in the garden, which we learned still holds water two years ago during a particularly rainy winter. I can’t plant any perennials in there because they drown. (RIP lavender plants from two years ago…) The last two summers I’ve filled the well the coleus, which is very colorful, happy and easy to take care of. Not sure if I’ll do the same again this year, or try something new. Any ideas?
I was very happy to see that the gardenia plant that I bought for myself last year seems to have done well over the winter. I gave it a little prune, and I look forward to smelling its sweet scent as I walk through our gate this summer!
Now I’m itching for the warm spring days to plant our herb garden on the terrace. It won’t be long now!
I love the fact that you are discovering the joy of gardening Laura. Your lavender plants are looking healthy, compared to my very sickly looking specimens. I like the well area and I think I might try filling it with a mass of pots planted up, I know it means a lot of watering but worth the effort for the effect.
Ciao Linda! It has been a lovely experience. I would rather have a veggie garden so that the hard work turned into healthy foods we could enjoy at the table. But there are a few parts of the garden that I have managed to take from a rather run down state (I used to call it “the jungle”…) into areas that make me smile. I like the scent of the lavender and harvesting the flowers in the autumn and making crafts out of them. The herb garden on the terrace is my favorite though! 🙂 I dream of having tomatoes though. I might try again on the terrace this summer. I love your idea of fill the well with a mass of pots planted up. I have to water a lot in there anyway, so that wouldn’t be a problem. Thanks for the suggestion!!
I will look forward to seeing the results Laura.
Thanks, Linda! 🙂
Turn it into a fountain!
Love your blog and photos. Also jealous….
Ciao Carla! Now that would be fun! 🙂 There is an old pipe where water used to come out at the top, and I often wonder how along ago it was when it worked. Not in the budget for this summer, but it would be wonderful some day!
How lovely, Laura. 🙂 I puttered around my little terrace this weekend, tidying this and that. The ground is still frozen so I can do much yet, but I’m excited to put in new herbs. 🙂 I’m glad your lavender survived – mine is kaput. It’s just too wet here. 🙁 Ah well. 🙂 At least mint thrives!!
Ciao Krista! Now it’s just the waiting time … I can’t wait until the day I can go to the market and bring home the tiny little basil plants and parsley plants. I’ve brought home plants that just don’t thrive, too. Sage, for instance. I can’t get that to grow for anything! Hang on … spring is coming! 🙂
Sono molto gelosa!
Gardenias and hydrangeas are two of my favorite flowers.
Good luck with your garden this year. I look forward to reading more about your adventure.
I hope I did the right thing by pruning back the gardenia. It produced a lot of flowers last year and I hope it will again this year! I will share more on my gardening adventures throughout the year. Thanks for stopping by!