Sorry St.Petersburg, I was wrong, you have lots of cafes, wine bars
Oh dear, I must apologize. How wrong was I to say I couldn’t find any outdoor cafes and wine bars in St. Petersburg. I was just not looking closely enough. Mea culpa. Mi dispiace....
Life lessons and art treats in Russia’s classy St. Petersburg
We came to St. Petersburg for a few days rest and relaxation after the bustle of the Italy Islands and Lakes Tour, which we think was a big success.
Everyone one told me that I...
Last day of our Italy tour spent on Procida and Ischia
For our last day of our Italy Islands and Lakes Tour, we took the ferry from Naples to visit Procida, a small island that apparently is rarely visited by tourists although it is very...
Into Naples for pizza and to see more great gardens
We left Cagliari in Sardinia shortly after lunch to catch our flight to Napoli.
The flight was on time and went smoothly and we ended up arriving 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
From the air, I...
Cagliari is Sardinia’s lively capital and a foretaste of Naples
We left Olbia reluctantly because we had such a nice time there.
We were even able to see a local folk parade through the town when all the local groups parade in their unique traditional...
Discovering the rugged, raw beauty of Sardinia
The Sardinia Project was news to me.
I never knew that Sardinia was once a mosquito-infested land where malaria killed hundreds of people every year.
When we arrived in Olbia, the city on the northeast...
Back to Milan as we make our way to Sardinia
My first time in Milan was 2004. I remember going into the cathedral and not being able to see a thing; it was so dark and gloomy. The facade, of course, was as glorious...
Rediscovering love for Isola Bella and Isola Madre and more
Twenty years ago, I picked up a book by Penelope Hobhouse and read about a fantastic garden called Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore.
I remember looking at the beautiful pictures of this garden, and saying...
Brissago’s peaceful island garden is a gem on Lake Maggoire
We bid farewell to Lake Como and headed back over the top of Lake Lugano and down to Lake Maggiore and to the little town of Brissago, Switzerland to visit the beautiful garden on...
Wonderful day spent exploring gardens on Lake Como
Lake Como, north of Milan, Italy, is shaped like an upsidedown Y with the town of Como at the bottom of the first leg and Bellagio at the junction between legs.
We loved Bellagio and...
Falling in love with Como’s beautiful villages, Menaggio and Bellagio
There have been thunderstorms pretty much every day since we arrived in Italy.
The sky suddenly turns dark in late afternoon or early evening. There is a great crash of thunder followed by a downpour....
From Milan to the beautiful lakeside Swiss town of Lugano
Before leaving Milan, we made a quick stop so I could give everyone on the Islands and Lake Tour a close up view of the Bosco Verticale, the amazing green-garden tower high-rise designed by...
Magical time in Milan before start of Italy garden adventure
MILAN - I’ve come to Italy once again, this time to lead a 14-day Islands and Lakes Garden Tour, starting in Lugano and moving to the beautiful lakes just north of Milan before moving...
I see a plain fence and I wanted it painted black
My friend Rob Cannings and his wife, Joan, have a fabulous garden in Victoria. They have been working on it for many years.
It is special not just because of the wonderful variety of plants...
Protected: How to use your garden to give kids wonderful memories
How do you get kids excited about gardens and gardening?
I’ve written about this many times before and I always seem to come back to the same old ideas.
Planting bulbs is good, mainly because it...
The breathtaking beauty of the spring garden in all its glory
One of the joys of spring, especially on a warm, sunny, late April evening, is to sit quietly in the garden and watch the sun slowly go down as it sends glorious shafts of...
Why I blame Antonio Banderas for the way I am thinking
I’ve been thinking about my death a lot this week. I blame it on Antonio Banderas.
I read an interview with him in the Guardian about his work on Picasso in which he said, “I...
Rejoice! My favourite tool was lost and now it is found
I love my garden tools. But there is one I love more than all the rest - my beautiful, multi-functional, never tarnishing, never deteriorating, never diminishing six-in-one hand-trowel.
I love, love, love it. And...
New and exciting plants in my garden this spring
One of the new plants I have added to my garden this year is Euonymus japonica ‘Paloma Blanca’ which sometime goes by the name White Candles.
I have used it to create a short, formal...
Wonder of germination: It’s all about the will to thrive and succeed
Germination is one of the great mysteries of life. Yes, we see it working. Yep, we have lots of science on the process.
But the reality of a seed springing to life, forcing its...
