A Visit To The Nursery

  I totally dig taking the time to check out the various local nurseries in our area, here in Umbria. I do the same thing at home…I have my favorites, and I go back to them time and time again.

  

 I'm a plant whore. What can I say. 

 Hey, there are worse vices, right?

 Why wouldn't I want to dip my toes into the waters here? So I do.

  The latest spot we visited was after a tip from a gardening pal here in Panicale. He and his wife have one of the most gorgeous gardens here, and they tend it daily. We had run into them at Bar Gallo, and they mentioned they were heading to Citta della Pieve to this garden center…one I hadn't known about, so of course I wanted all the details.

  After getting directions, we were good to go. It took us a few days to finally find the time, but we did…and what a treat!

Even "out of season", this place looks great...

Showing off a title color.

Very Italian...

  We were happy to be able to just wander the extensive grounds, including several greenhouses. I was so happy to see so much in house propagation going on…it totally reminded me of my own years working in nurseries. I always loved my hours and hours spent in the greenhouses, planting tiny cuttings or little bitty seedlings… It makes me smile to know this still goes on..

Propagation in ACTION!

  Of course, every good nursery has it's garden kitties..always on duty, doing what they do best...

Yes, that would be napping.
Preferably in the warm sunshine.

  It's still on the cool side here, so all the citrus were in the greenhouses. I was surprised to see so many varieties, including my favorite kumquat trees. I could barely stop myself from picking a few for later.

  I was good, and resisted.

Oh so tempting!

  Right now, most of the "color" in the nurseries are either pansies, violas or geraniums. Soon we'll be seeing azaleas in bloom, as well as hanging lobelias and lots of different types of carnations.  Banksia roses are budding in local gardens, as well as all the wisterias…the lilacs are on their way, too.

There were lots of big greenhouses here...

Some nice dianthus and carnations, and we love the green bench!

One thing we don't have back home in our nurseries…
An old ruin.

  I had decided to pick up a couple of small geraniums and a tiny basil plant for the kitchen window, and we were good to leave…but the young woman running the place made sure we saw the rest of the place. 

  It's a huge operation! We worked our way down three separate terraces, each with greenhouses and planting beds.

Also, killer views of Lago Trasimeno…Sweet!

Roses and more roses.

More shrubs and landscape plants...

  I've seen lots of nurseries here, as well as back home. This was one of the largest I've seen here in our area. There is a really giant operation nearby, featuring full grown trees and shrubs, but this place was good sized, for a home gardener.

  I'll enjoy going back later in the trip, when more is going on. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the small pots of color I'm creating on our front steps.

  It makes me homesick for my own garden in California, I suppose. Especially after seeing this fine group of Hellabores….I'm telling you, this is a language we gardeners all speak!

Homesick for my Hellabores, and my roses…but..
Still so happy to be here, now!