We have spent the morning island hopping on Lagos Maggiore and wanted to share with you observations that may help you improve the appearance of your garden. To be honest, the observations are not truly mine... rather, they are techniques developed by Giardino Borromeo and his descendants in building the garden on Isola Bella... over the period since 1569.
Tip No 1 - to get a good garden, be prepared to work at it for a couple of centuries. Certain types of pine, conifers and even roses to some degree, perform better on old root stock. It takes time to get your levels between different beds choreographed to perfection... not only must each bed be perfectly level... but the depth of drop between each bed must fit the perspective adjusted to size and distance. My suggestion is to retain the head gardener within the one family... pass the position down from father to son. Over time you will (naturally) have events of national significance in your garden... signing of international treaties... perhaps a few royal weddings... have a Pope spend his dying years in the garden. All this takes time... but adds immeasurably to the ambient effect. Isola Bella had Napoleon Bonaparte and the young Josephine spend a few days visiting in its garden (yes, before they were married). The prenuptial bed is proudly on display in the Palace. More interestingly still, the gardens entertained heads of state from Italy (Mussolini), France and Britain (Ramsay McDonald) in their attempts to avoid World War II. Unfortunately, someone forgot to invite the Germans... so the attempt was not successful... the table used for the failed negotiations is proudly on display in the palace. I mention these pieces of history just to jog your imagination in identifying garden events that can make your garden as interesting as Isola Bella.
Tip No 2 - build your garden on an island... thereby reducing the volume of airborne seeds that can be a source to weeds. The island setting allows your garden to be viewed from a distance... and with proper terracing can provide a dramatic effect. The context of a trip to see your garden... even a short trip in a lake will add luster to your garden. The opportunity is available to exercise your imagination and shape your island into a symbolic work of art. In the case of Isola Bella, the garden island has been made to look like a ship. The terraced garden looks like a bow... statues at the highest point of the garden look like communications equipment... the bulk of the palace gives a nice balanced perspective of the stern. I'm sure you can come up with your own design of different motifs.
Tip No 3- it almost goes without saying, to have a proper garden, you need a supporting palace. You all have your own standards... but my advice would be to build the palace around a ballroom of (say) 100 metres in length... decorated in a manner that synchronises with the garden. Of course, you will need bedrooms, library, dining rooms, etc, of a quality to match the invitation list you intend to apply. Keep the rooms with the best views of the garden for royalty only... as you know, royalty hate sleeping in beds that others have used... especially if those people are now dead. The only works of art to be hung should be pillaged from some ancient historical site. Never, under any circumstance, show work from an aspiring artist... you will only end up being embarrassed. If some important relative insists in giving you a statue or painting... have a series of grotto rooms in the cellar of the palace to accommodate these dangerous bombs. I think Giardino Borromeo (the owner of Isola Bella) went a little too far... he set up another island paradise on the island next to Isola Bella... and put all his second rate works of art there.
Tip No 4 - only invite your guests into the garden on just one day each year. Flowers bloom in season and it is not possible to have your garden at its peak every day of the year. Do not try to design a garden that performs the whole year round. You will end up achieving nothing. Get your roses to bloom in a synchronised way with flowering shrubs and trees. Get your colours coordinated for the one day of display... and don't vary from your theme. If weather is inclement on the proposed day of the garden party... cancel the event for the year. You want your friends only talking about your success... so don't flirt with failure if a shower is likely. We saw the discipline of the Isola Bella regime on our visit... early June... every flower in the garden was showing itself to perfection. I can only guess that the place must have looked pretty drab on other weekends throughout the year. You too must show discipline.
So, there it is... common sense, really. I'm sure you already have these philosophies built into your garden program. The purpose in my mentioning the tips is just to give you confidence in sticking with your program.
No comments:
Post a Comment