Who cares about a spot of rain? Well certainly not the fearless Garden Club members! We all crowded onto the ferry and sat on the few (nearly) dry seats to admire the loveliness of lake Como wreathed in the mists. We arrived at Villa Carlotta, one of the Grandi Giardini Italiani, to be greeted by… Continue reading Villa Carlotta
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An unusual,old fashioned and almost forgotten pleasure!
I have some beautiful brown leather brogues, bought years ago when we were not as animal-friendly as we are today, and paid for in lire! I think they make me look very English and I can assure you that gardening shows are the only place left to flaunt one's Englishness with pride! So after several… Continue reading An unusual,old fashioned and almost forgotten pleasure!
Wicca”s diary 9
Wicca has been writing again!
A Tragi-comic Story with an Unexpected Happy Ending.
I have a young olive tree in my garden; I bought it from a seller with a truck along the roadside, not much hope there I' m afraid. I have no idea what it really is, I mean the botanical classification but anyway it's a kind of homage to Italy because together with those lovely… Continue reading A Tragi-comic Story with an Unexpected Happy Ending.
A Little Bit of Unpretentious Heaven.
Go outside and relax....NOW!
Anteprima of Spring
Spring IS coming again this year, my garden told me so. We are having magnificent weather, bright and sunny, several drops in night-time temperatures but milder than last year. I have all this interesting information because I keep an R.H.S 5-year diary, fantastic invention. You can check what you're likely to see , what's early,… Continue reading Anteprima of Spring
What shall I be when I grow up?
Unrelentingly perky, Doris Day used to sing a song called "che sarà, sarà". I hated it because it's not my kind of music and anyway I had this idea that what will be will be.....what I want it to be .Total exclusion of fate, good luck, destiny and so on! Yet here we are, in… Continue reading What shall I be when I grow up?
Macbeth at La Scala
We finally made it. At long last we got our season tickets from la Scala and were looking forward to Macbeth with childish enthusiasm. Then? A strike, yes a full- blown nationwide transport strike. (Weeping and gnashing of teeth) Sometimes you just don't luck out! We were not even sure about the day either but… Continue reading Macbeth at La Scala
In Praise of Masks
Let's take a look at the tradition of masking. The Venetians were big in this field as carnival time was a moment in all Europe to upset traditional hierarchies even for a day, but was particularly keenly felt in Venice where social hierarchies were extremely rigid. Masks had a practical purpose, that of secrecy, but… Continue reading In Praise of Masks
Last garden outing? Surely not
The latest outing was planned and organised by the Garden Club of Monza, not as well-attended as it should have been unfortunately. And the weather ...... awful ,after a wonderful week of sun, anyhow we went up to ..... the nursery Anna Peyron. We had been there before, in fact it's where I first got… Continue reading Last garden outing? Surely not
English that grows 