Two years ago on 22nd February I arrived in Italy thinking it would be the same as every other year. It was not, three weeks later I was in lockdown, the first of many.
Despite the difficulties I am happy to have been here all this time. I would have hated being stuck in Australia and not being able to see my garden at Casa Debbio.
We are here now and there are early signs of spring. The weather has been mild, and after several weeks of sunny days things are beginning to grow.
There are daffodils everywhere.
My hellebores have put on a great show. There are not many things that bloom in winter so these beauties are a treat.
My peonies are beginning to appear. Some are just pink shoots popping out of the ground.
The tree peonies are growing leaves and one has flower buds already. It is much too soon.
I hope we don’t get a cold March like we did last year. We lost lots of fruit trees and all of the plants were set back.
The weeping cherries have tiny buds. It won’t be long before the trees are gorgeous.
I planted a couple of old fashioned ground covers in autumn. Wild goats or deer are them immediately, but today I saw some new growth.
They also ate the heuchera plants, but there are signs of recovery there too.
Wild violets are popping up all over the garden.
Hydrangeas are growing leaves.
The ricotta plants have buds.
Pretty little snowdrops are appearing.
There are masses of periwinkles under trees behind the house. I have been pulling some up and replanting them up in places where I want them.
The weather has been mixed. The view from the house changes constantly…I love it.
If the weather stays warm and we get some good rain I will be able to show you all these lovely things in full bloom.
Covid restrictions still apply here. We need to wear masks indoors and a green pass is necessary to get into many businesses. The number of people with covid seems to be dropping so let’s hope the restrictions will ease soon.
I wrote many posts during the lockdowns here since March 2020. You can see them by looking in the “Lockdown in Italy” category.
Here are a couple of early lockdown posts.