Question about the container gardens in Italy!
 

OK, I am just going to post this and see if someone knows the answer. No, it's not really travel-related. No, I'm not a troll. But I figured this forum was my best bet, though it may seem to be a silly question to some. It's been bugging me for quite some time! <BR> <BR>I went to Italy for the first time this summer and I was absolutely in awe of all the container gardens. I have a "thing" for potted trees and flowers, and everywhere I looked I noticed (particularly in the Tuscany/Florence area) the plants & trees everywhere - around the outdoor cafes, on the terraces and balconies, etc. Everywhere! So my question is this... <BR> <BR>I understand that Italy does indeed have a winter season. The vegetation I saw was mature and had obviously been growing in these containers for a very long time. What do they do with ALL these potted plants/flowers in the wintertime? Can't possibly bring everything inside. I'm dying to know - anyone have a clue? <BR> <BR>

Frances Mayes, in her books on Tuscany, talks about a "limonaia," which seems to be a special room into which the lemon trees and other plants are moved in the winter. She doesn't elaborate on the type of structure it is, merely a shed or more like a conservatory. <BR> <BR>If you're interested in gardening in Italy, and haven't already done so, you might enjoy reading her books: "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Bella Tuscany". She resurrects an old garden, including a vineyard, olive trees, roses, and so forth.

I think the answer is that the temperature doesn't get too low in the winter, so only tropical plants need to be sheltered. Orange and lemon trees grow in fields in Spain. I've seen plants I consider tender over-winter happily in the south of France.

Greenfingers is right. Perhaps in Northern Italy, plants must be moved indoors, but in Rome, they just winter over outside in their pots. I have a true black thumb, but when I lived in Rome I had beautiful hanging geraniums in window boxes at every window, because all I had to do was water them and they just kept growing year after year. The climate is the secret.

Wow Karen, I envy you having lived in Italy. I noticed that even in December in Paris, people had geraniums blooming in window boxes. I love those potted trees too but I'm afraid my terracotta pots will break in Winter even though I live in the South. Maybe wrapping the pots in burlap?

Thanks for the responses - with the way these posts have been lately I wasn't sure I'd get a real answer :) I am surprised about the winters because what I've seen from temp. records it seems it wouldn't be wise to leave things outside. But obviously it is - lucky Italians. I will definitely check out those book recommendations too, thanks! Also, in answer to the question about pots: I also live in the south (TN) and I leave my terracotta pots outside - just don't let water accumulate in them, it's the freeze/thaw process that causes them to crack.

So nice to hear from someone who loves terra cotta. A few books are available on the subject. I live in the Boston area, have no room for storage so I throw a sheet of heavy plastic over the empty pots. Those I overwintered in the pots along with terracotta statues did not survive our hash winters. Our climate here does not help make those grand display of pelegoniams. Mine are anemic in conparison.

Hey Garden Girl! I live in TN too, near Nashville. Thanks for the tip about the water/freeze thing. I'm a transplanted New Yorker (Staten Island) so didn't know about this stuff.

Speaking of geraniums... I used to not care for them very much but then I fell in love with them when I saw so many in pots and window boxes in Provence on my first trip there in 1994. I especially remember how beautiful the reds & pinks looked against the tawny-colored buildings in Aix-en-Provence.

Sharon, I'm also in the Nashville area. I'm sure it's a big switch from Staten Island! Anyway, since everyone seems so knowledgeable I'll ask another question I've wanted to know: <BR> <BR>What is the name of the tall, skinny pointy, evergreen-like trees that grow so abundantly in the Tuscany region? <BR> <BR>

Lombard?

GardenGirl, <BR> I think you refer to the magnificent black cypress trees!

Do you mean they are evergreen or just look like evergreens? Tall skinny trees, if they lose their leaves in winter, are poplars. I think that is what you are referring to.

Lombardi poplars to be totally correct...the cypress in Tuscany have a malignant growth and soon will be no more...the feds are researching like mad to no avail. <BR>The clay pots are done in by moisture and freezing(therefore the water expands and cracks)..you can store them in the garage with the soil in then and they will dry out and be fine but the plants will not survive. Check with your Extension Service...out of your State university...ask for the Master Gardener phone number and ask them what you can reasonably expect to winter over in your climate. Everyone! Call your local Master Gardeners...volunteers trained/education by the state to answer questions and do outreach work.

I don't think Lombardi poplars are tall, skinny, pointy, evergreen-like trees. I also think GardenGirl is refering to cypress trees which are very much a signature component of the Tuscan landscape.

Well I'm appreciating everyone's help in trying to answer my tree question! Perhaps this will help... if you go to www.tuscany.net, immediately on the main page you will see a picture with the type of trees I'm talking about. Anyone?

Using common names for trees (and any plants) can cause confusion. <BR> <BR>Populus nigra italica, the Lombardy poplar: <BR>a deciduous tree, up to 60' tall, only 10' wide, columnar growth. Often grown as a windbreak or screen. Frequently seen lining roads in France. <BR>There are 30 - 40 species of poplar <BR> <BR>There are 20 or so species of cypress. <BR>Cupressus sempervirens, the Italian cypress or Meditarranean cypress: <BR>Hardy evergreen conifer, tall, slender, almost pencil-shaped tree. Height can reach 80"; spread is seldom more than 8'. Foliage is needle-like and dark green at all times of year. Cones develop in climates that have a cold winter. <BR> <BR>So both are the right shape, but having seen the website you mention GardenGirl, it looks like the Mediterranean cypress. <BR>

GardenGirl <BR>Those trees on the Tuscanynet site are definitely cypress. I just LOVE them!

<BR> TOP!

Can any of those conical trees be grown in the shade?

Very nice photo on that tuscany.net homepage! Just seeing that landscape, with the stone building and the picturesque row of cypress trees, reminds me of a comment I once read by a, I think, well-known landscape architect. He said that he felt the two countries where the hand of man was most in harmony with the hand of nature were Japan and Italy.

I can't believe they are actually cypress trees... I have a cypress tree in my backyard that I am not particularly fond of - it's a completely different type though of course. <BR> <BR>Thanks so much for your help! My curiosity has now been put to rest :)

Here's a tip for container gardeners straight from the caretaker of my house in France, who has the most glorious geraniums and other potted plants I have ever seen anywhere in my travels in Europe - put half an apple in the soil and let it rot. That, and watering with spring water (not exactly practical in most locations) seem to work magic for her. I'm sure there's some scientific/chemical explanation, but I prefer to think of it as just another little rural tip.

Interesting, St. Cirq! I will try the apple trick, definitely. My husband would probably freak if he saw me using spring water on the flowers though ;)

Do you mean rain water, St Cirq, as opposed to bottled, Spring water? :)

I just couldn't resist joining in! Yes, those are definitely cypress trees (the bottom foliage has been trimmed) on the website. The same type form the background in my garden here in Southern California. (and probably 50% of my neighbor's) <BR>I live in zone 9, so we virtually never have freezing temperatures. All my pots stay out all year with no problems at all. Oh, perhaps every five years or so, we'll have a frost and my poinsettia's will burn, but that's really been my only hassle. However, I would die to be able to grow peonies, tulips, and other cold winter flowers...I guess we gardeners are never satisfied.

There are the most gorgeous red, fushia, and pink flowers spilling down the sides of the building from windows looking out over the main piazza in Mantua (aka Mantova). Saw similar window displays elsewhere, but these were particularly striking.

I am rather enjoying this botanical sidetrip. The landscape in the countryside and the potted plant displays in the towns and villages can keep me gaping for weeks! <BR> Last month in Lucca we saw (and smelled) some trees that I have never seen before. There are quite a stand of them planted upon the wall there. They are large very mature deciduous trees with blossoms that look like gigantic magnolias or gardenias. The trees themselves seem too large to be magnolias. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Thanks.

Clar: <BR> <BR>No, not rainwater, or bottled water, but water from a fresh spring (as I said, not really practical for most locations, but there happens to be one on my lane in France).

I could not resist joining this botanical side trp - enjoy it too much! I am proud to say that a lot of the beautiful Geraniums and Pelargoniums overflowing window boxes in Europe, originate from South Africa! Unfortunately where I am living in Pretoria, it is far too hot to cultivate them in window boxes - they do well either in the ground or in bigger pots. Inspired by the window boxes in Provence and Assisi, I tried it here, but it is just too hot. I agree that temperature has a great deal to do with the performance of those wonderful window boxes! <BR> <BR>And I just want to know why StCirq is so blessed to posses a place in France? How do I envy you! I hope this is not going to stay a dream for me, but that some miracle wil happen one day, and I will afford to buy a very small little something in rural France! <BR> <BR>Happy gardening to all you "cultivated" travellers!