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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Il giardino di Florence or Further Progress in Little Italy

I was walking through the hood with my camera the other day and decided to amble over to my pal Florence's garden to check on the progress.  If you didn't see my previous posts about this garden, you can get some background about it and it's creator here and here.   Things are coming together and looking much closer to being finished.   Because we've been here before, I'll chiudere la bocca and allow you to enjoy a little trip through the new part of the garden.  The more established area is shown  in the second post linked above.

Now completed gate posts.  The garden has been named, according to the plaque on the right post, Paradeisos, an ancient Persian word meaning enclosure, garden, park. 
 
 
Here are some other interesting definitions for your edification.
  1. among the Persians a grand enclosure or preserve, hunting ground, park, shady and well watered, in which wild animals, were kept for the hunt; it was enclosed by walls and furnished with towers for the hunters
  2. a garden, pleasure ground
    1. grove, park
  3. the part of Hades which was thought by the later Jews to be the abode of the souls of pious until the resurrection: but some understand this to be a heavenly paradise
  4. the upper regions of the heavens. According to the early church Fathers, the paradise in which our first parents dwelt before the fall still exists, neither on the earth or in the heavens, but above and beyond the world
  5. heaven
The gate was unlocked so I decided to take the liberty of snapping some shots of the continuing progress on the garden.  Yes, I'm a bad friend, uninvited trespasser, and all around horrible person but should I have stood at the gate wondering, like Emily Dickenson, "Why do they shut me out of heaven?  Did I sing too loud?" Being a pig, I just barged on in,  per voi of course.
    Looking down from outside.

The center spot with the phormium was occupied by a spiral trimmed topiary just a week ago.  Must have found a different home.



One of my favorite things in the garden is this simple aged bowl of Iris.


The main focal point of Paradeisos is this fountain-centered  cruciform planting with gravel paths and  arches and statuary in the background.  The lush green grass really makes a difference.



Looking back up toward the street.  As the garden matures, views of some of the buildings will be obsucred by hedges.
 
I love the way the naturalistic elements contrast with the highly formal and structrued  garden.


Side staircase leading to the "secret garden" (straight or to the side of the house (left.)




View from side stairs

Looking back down from the other side.


Looking up the side staircase.

 
 


I'm getting a little close to the house.  You'll bail me out of jail if I get arrested, right?  Do you suppose there'll be a fence around this?  Will it be equally wonderful as the fabulous gates?

 
Everything is looking so finished  and cleaned up.  The memory of  heavy equipment mucking around is fading.   With the huge number of plants and various  areas to explore, it's really starting to feel  like a garden.


Looking back down at  Paradeisos.  
 
Hope you enjoyed our Italian jaunt. 

30 comments:

  1. You even had a hint of sunshine for your Italian garden tour.

    The garden is looking beautiful now with everything beginning to settle in. I enjoy seeing all the details and different views you show each time. I especially like the armillary on the salvaged pieces.

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    1. Florence has a gift for creative repurposing of beautiful old fragments. You should see some of the Victorian houses she's restored - Amazing! Florence keeps adding new things and it's fun to discover different ones each time.

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  2. Thanks for flouting the law and trespassing for us. It's been wonderful seeing this garden take shape. It's so different from the blowsy, overgrown cottage garden type space that I'm used to, and that I normally prefer. But there's something very calming about Florence's manicured, controlled, Italianate garden. And I really love that mosaiced lion plaque.

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    1. Florence did the mosaic on the plaque herself using ceramic ware that she brought back from Italy. It is a very calming garden and yet as I walked through, there were a ton of plants in pots and growing in beds. It's just a matter of placement and repetition.

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  3. I think you need to sneak back in with a bucket of soil and a few plants and start to plant up that rock wall around the cement bench...it needs some green!

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    1. A grand idea and I've just the source for inexpensive sempervivum. (Woodland Park Greenhouse in Sumner!)

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  4. 'Outlaw' indeed. And now we are all accomplices I suppose! It is always a pleasure to watch a garden mature, even if it belongs to someone else, and I guess even if you have to break in to check on it...

    I do agree with you, the pot of irises is just the best.

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    1. The garden is under surveillance but for some reason the hounds, in this case, bichon frises, were not released. Maybe I've built up some sort of frequent intruder miles. With ten trespasses, get an eleventh with no calls to the authorities.

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  5. Nice place. Very grand with all of the artistic elements. The owner must be an avid collector. I'm a little curious what happens to that row of cordylines when winter hits. Thanks for the tour.

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    1. She is an avid collector of many things including, luckily for me, unusual friends. She is passionate about whatever project she undertakes and tells me that having something to look forward to, a new horizon, a new project, is what keeps her excited about life. Because one of her dogs, after having a serious surgery, will require special care for the rest of his life, Florence has stopped visiting Italy as she usuallly did at least a couple of times a year so that she can care for him. She's that loyal.

      I'll ask but I'm pretty sure that the cordylines have been left out for two winters. The garden is in a very protected area, not far from the bay and with houses and large trees surrounding it.

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  6. Fun to visit, but I'll take your wild jungle of a garden over "highly formal and structured" any day.

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    1. I love them both. My garden is all about a passion for plants and if structure, rhythm, repetition, etc. happen, it's usually an accident. Florence's garden is about recreating an Italian pleasure garden experience. Florence loves plants but like the artist she is, she uses them to create her vision. It's interesting what gardens tell us about their gardeners.

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  7. The gates are spectacular. And the entire garden is very Italian. I feel almost as if you had been transported in time and distance to an Italian garden of old. Love all the relief work. And the stairs with all those pots - green on one side and red on the other - it's beautiful. And the view from the top of the stairs is wonderful. This garden would be very relaxing, I think. Thanks for the tour.

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    1. This garden is one that I love to visit because of it's grand scale in an urban environment. Florence is always working there but as a visitor, I only see a place to relax and enjoy the space. After visiting many Italian gardens and studying garden styles over a period of years, Florence decided to recreate some rooms from one of her favorite Italian gardens. She's one of those people who does what she sets out to do in grand fashon.

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  8. I love the fountain, though it would be totally out of place in my own garden, and the dry stone walls.

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    1. I couldn't pull off most of what's in this garden in my tiny space but I love it where it is.

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  9. That garden reminds me of my trips to Mediterranean countries. Lots of beautiful statues and pots. Such a lovely fountain. Thank you for sharing this with us, Peter!

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    1. It's wonderful to be able to walk a few blocks from my house and be transported to a far away place

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  10. Not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate the effort and hope it makes the gardener happy.

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    1. I think it does make her happy. The garden is such a reflection of Florence, the gardener, and as I'm very fond of her, her garden also holds a special place in my heart even though it's very different from my own garden aspirations.

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  11. Gorgeous! It reminds me, on a smaller scale, of the gardens I saw in Italy. Thanks for trespassing so we get to see this creation.

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    1. I was more than happy to trespass! Glad that you liked Flornce's garden!

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  12. WOW! What an awesome garden! All that statuary/pottery must have been pricey. It definitely has an Italian feel. All you needed was an espresso and a gelato to make you feel you were in Italy. Very cool!

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    1. Florence's husband imports and sells the statuary & pottery among other things as part of his business. Still, I'm sure that that amount of statuary/pottery cost a considerable amount. One would think that there would be gelato and expresso vending machines installed for the use of intruders.

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  13. Hi Peter, I've never seen such a formal garden before, or experienced an 'Italian' garden, so thank you for this tour. I admire the tidy structure, the fountains and gates, which is all so ornate. Fascinating to sneak a peek (literally) in someone else's garden of paradise. Cheers, Jenni

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  14. Lovely images from the garden. The clarity in some of them is amazing.

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    1. Thanks Ramakant. I'm glad you enjoyed the images. I'm not realy a photographer but do enjoy snappng a few shots of gardens and plants.

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  15. They sure have put an amazing amount of work, not to mention money into this special garden. The topiary shot is my fave along with the steps leading down into the garden. Have a great week.

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    1. When Florence decides to learn about or build something, she becomes an expert, applying all she has to the pursuit of her latest passion. So it is with this garden and that's what makes it fascinating to me. I hope that your week is also great. Spring is in full swing here so I'm imagining that you are in mid autumn. However, the winters don't get horribly cold in your part of the country, do they?

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.