Orticolario

Today I went to Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo to the annual flower kermesse that is Orticolario. It was a lovely day, just warm enough with a fresh breeze off the lake. There were plenty of exhibitors including foreign ones ; I saw several French and a Belgian stand and some new entries, one  of which was   from Sardinia. And of course all the old favourites.

There were plenty of Michaelmas daisies, which everyone loves and there are a lot of new colours and forms. Warning! They are mostly terrible thugs and will take over your garden if you let them! There was also a profusion of salvias. Ah fashion!

The French exhibitors were the ones with the most interesting novelties, both in plants and in bulbs, corms and rhizomes. The exhibition gardens seemed to be mainly aimed at kids, or valiant grownups on their knees, but some were a lot of fun! I particularly liked the mist effects!

I n the covered area I thought there were fewer stands than usual, though I’m not sure of numbers. At any rate there was less tat. Many really interesting and desirable creations; artisan jewelry and painted pots.