Some restrictions have been lifted in Italy. It doesn’t make much difference to me except that I can travel a little further. I happily went down the mountain to Ponte a Serraglio and our apartment there. I replaced some of the pansies on the bridge in front of us with geraniums as I usually do at this time of the year.
I will go down a couple of times a week to water them. I was also delighted to be able to get a coffee and sfoglia from Bar Italia. I had to consume them at home, but it is better than nothing. It was lovely to see Annalisa looking positive and glad to be open.
The road back to Casa Debbio is spectacular.
At Casa Debbio Filippo has cut the grass (and weeds) on all the terraces. Everything looks neat and perfect. It is a big job and takes days to complete the whole area. He has now trimmed the rosemary plants which had become enormous. They have been covered with flowers, but now that they are finished a haircut was in order. We could not do without Filippo.
The herbaceous peonies are beginning to appear. They will come out over the next month. It is a lovely time to be in the garden.
The peony below is the first one I planted at Casa Debbio and still my favourite. It produces over 50 blooms each year. It is in front of one of the old walls of the original house.
The wisteria flowers have mostly disappeared except for these.
The pergola is now shaded by leaves.
Roses are growing.
Some beetles are eating some of the roses and rhododendrons.
Alyssum is a good filler.
Most of the acanthus plants are producing flowers.
The zucchini seeds have grown and have now been planted in the orto.
Tomatoes are growing.
The gooseberry bush is growing.
Both mulberry trees have tiny fruit.
Raspberries are growing.
The oak leaf hydrangea has small flowers. The goats, who don’t usually eat hydrangeas seem to like the oak leaf variety and a few plants have been chewed to bits.
The bleeding hearts are thriving. The leaves remind me of some of the peonies. I wonder if they are related.
A garden bed at the back of the house has been very difficult to get right. It is in deep shade in winter and can be very damp. Finally, last year, I found some plants that thrived, violets, aquilegias and something else with small lilac flowers. They come up by themselves in spring.
Some of the gazanias have survived having their flowers eaten and have grown new ones.
I spend a lot of my time watering as we have had little rain this spring which is unusual. In the middle of the day when it is too hot to water I lie on the swing chair and read, something I have never done before this lockdown. I do most of my reading on planes.
I am reading The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford. I love these books and reread them every couple of years. I can’t get interested in anything new or remotely challenging right now. There is far too much miserable news constantly coming out of TV and the ridiculous lies and conspiracy theories on social media could slowly send you mad.
No, drinking hot water will not cure the virus, neither will temperatures over 18 degrees. It would seem that Bill Gates is trying to depopulate the world by killing people using compulsory vaccinations with the evil and dastardly Dr Fauci as his right hand man. I saw one comment that said Dr Fauci found the cure for AIDS before the disease actually appeared. My son said “Wow, I would put that on my resume.” Let’s not go into what the orange idiot is saying.
I watched the super moon last night as it made its way across the sky in front of Casa Debbio. It lit up the garden in spectacular fashion making it look other worldly.
I sincerely hope that things will improve here in Italy and the rest of the world. This virus is creating havoc that will be long lasting and dreadful.