The design of the gardens involves a preliminary analysis of some very important details, namely:
- - extension of the cultivable area
- - exposure
- - type of sunshine
- - weather conditions
- - types of land
- - coexistence between plants
- - presence of limiting agents
The setting up of a garden is also conditioned by personal aesthetic tastes and by the choice of the different types of plants, which, depending on your needs, can be:
- - trees
- - shrubby or bushy plants
- - herbaceous plants
- - flowering plants
- - fat plants
- - climbing plants
- - evergreen plants
- - aquatic plants
- - plants of the Mediterranean maquis
In each garden it would be advisable to set up various areas: a part intended for decorative purposes and characterized by flower beds, borders or flowering vases; a shady part to promote rest and contemplation; a part possibly destined for aromatic plants; if there is a body of water it may be pleasant to house aquatic plants; and finally an area set up with a gazebo covered with climbing plants and equipped with benches or swings.
TREES
BEECH TREE
It is an ornamental tree, with an erect and columnar stem, up to 30 40 meters high, with a thick and luxuriant conical crown. The leaves are oval, with a wavy edge and crossed by veins, of a bright green color, petiolate and with an alternate insertion. The flowers, gathered in inflorescences, have a different appearance: the male ones are pendulous glomeruli, the female ones are formed by 2 or 3 flowers wrapped in numerous bracts. The fruit is a small triangular nut enclosed in a hard shell, similar to a hedgehog, edible for humans. It is a plant that is well suited to both the various types of soil and the different climatic conditions.
CHESTNUT
It is a very long-lived deciduous tree, deciduous, consisting of an imposing and columnar stem, up to 30 m high, covered by a smooth and shiny bark, of a greyish-brown color. The leaves are lanceolate with serrated margins and sharp apex, with alternate arrangement, and form a thick and roundish crown. The male flowers are white and gathered in glomerulus-shaped inflorescences; the female flowers only isolated and wrapped in numerous bracts. The fruit, brown and glossy, has a round shape with pointed apex and convex base: it is the chestnut, edible and tasty for humans. It is enclosed in a green and thorny shell called a hedgehog, which opens when fully ripe. It requires a fresh and deep soil with an acid and non-calcareous component.
LIME
It is an ornamental tree, with a thick roundish crown, with a columnar trunk, up to 25-30 meters high. The leaves are heart-shaped, with a serrated edge, of an intense green color, with alternate insertion. The flowers are gathered in whitish inconspicuous but very fragrant inflorescences. The fruits are small capsules rich in seeds. It must be exposed in full light, in fertile, well-drained, deep soils, enriched with peat, humus and clay. It bears pollution and is well adaptable.
CLIMBING PLANTS
WISTERIA
It is a shrubby and climbing plant, with pinnate leaves and formed by small light green leaves, with the opposite insertion. The flowers, purplish pink in color, are gathered in hanging cluster inflorescences, extremely perfumed. The flowering lasts throughout the spring until the beginning of summer and is very luxuriant. The plant is used to create ornamental areas on espaliers, pergolas, or to cover gazebos. It requires a soft, well-drained, fertile soil with a clayey component. It must be housed in sunny areas of the garden because it fears the cold.
PLANTS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN STAIN
LAVENDER
It is a bushy, aromatic and evergreen plant, belonging to the Mediterranean scrub, which forms thick and ornamental tufts with rapid growth. The herbaceous stem is up to a meter high, and holds narrow and elongated leaves in silvery green. The flowers are gathered in spike inflorescences, purple in color, very fragrant. It requires a well-drained soil, preferably a limestone component. Being a rustic variety, it is well adaptable and durable.
MYRTLE
It is an evergreen, bushy shrub with a semi-woody stem, up to two meters high, covered with a reddish-yellow bark. The leaves are oval, dark green, glossy. The flowers have a corolla with five white or pink petals, solitary, with a very intense aroma. The fruits are oval-shaped berries, blue in color and fleshy. The plant, which belongs to the Mediterranean scrub, requires warm climates, with temperatures never lower than five degrees, and is well adaptable. It is used to form aromatic and ornamental bushes in the garden.
MIMOSA
It is a shrubby plant, evergreen and flowery, very decorative due to the presence of beautiful flowers. It has a semi-woody stem, up to 15 meters high, which holds dark, very delicate, bipinnate leaves. The flowers are gathered in flower head inflorescences, with a soft and feathery appearance, very fragrant, golden yellow. The flowering is early, but does not last long: from January to March.
The fruits are dark legumes, containing a large quantity of seeds. It requires a deep, well-drained soil with an acid component and enriched with peat, humus and river sand. It must be positioned in sunny areas and at mild temperatures (never below 15 degrees). It is necessary to carry out 2 fertilization cycles: in spring and autumn with specific fertilizers for flowering plants.
TULIP
It is a herbaceous flowering plant, consisting of a slender stem, up to 1 m tall, dark green, with lance-shaped leaves, with alternate insertion. The flower has a corolla with very distinct petals, of a fleshy consistency, rounded or pointed depending on the variety, very fragrant.
It has various colors: white, yellow, pink, red and purple . It requires a well-drained and fertile soil, preferably with a basic and never clayey component. It must be exposed in sunny and warm areas, because it fears the cold.