the ischia garden - saturday 2nd november 2013

Today is the first log entry for The Ischia Garden. The idea is to give people a glimpse about what grows well in Ischia in terms of flowers, plants, fruit and vegetables. We'll periodically update the page with new photos and updates and keep you up to date with what's in season and which things are coming to the end of their cycles.

Well this morning we've had a nice downpour, the first for about three weeks and the garden really needed this natural injection of water. Despite it being the beginning of November, the garden is awash with an array of colours from all kinds of wonderful flowers.

One of the highlights is the Bougainvillea in the photo, set against the backdrop of the white wall the rich purple and reds of the flowers really shows up well, along with the healthy green leaves.

One of my favourite flowers in the garden is the Dahlia. Planted as a bulb back in the spring it has been a revelation, providing countless large flowers every day which have lit up the garden all through the summer and now into the autumn. The soil type of the garden seems ideal for this type of flower and after the roaring success of this bright orange, red and yellow one, we'll be peppering the garden with plenty more next spring.

Another pleasant suprise of late has been the flowering of the magnificent Strelitzia (otherwise known as a "Bird of Paradise"). Having planted it in the spring with a couple of healthy flowers it strangely wilted and the flowers disappeared until just a few days ago. We're still trying to work out why this may be but it could be attributed to some leaves falling off the nearby cherry-tree and thus freeing up some more sunshine. Any advice about this would be greatly appreciated!

The vegetable patches are serving up some great stuff at the moment, just as you start to get a bit tired of eating the same seasonal vegetable, something new comes into season and can be cooked in a variety of styles with a mixture of herbs to complement it with. Right now there are an abundance of pumpkins, cauliflowers, fennel, cabbage and two types of broccoli including "Friarielli" (known in other parts of the world as "Rapini" or "Turnip Tops") which is known for its slightly bitter taste and is traditionally served with sausages in garlic and chili.

As far as the fruit trees are concerned everything is a little bit out of season at the moment apart from the Pomegranates. The big red bulbs hanging among the bright green leaves give them the appearance of baubles on a christmas tree and they make a pretty addition to the area, even if their taste isn't to everybody's liking. We've recently seen a lot of Persimmons in the garden although they would appear to be slightly on the wane now. The oranges are doing well and should soon be ready to eat, as will the quasi-omnipresent lemons which are having their quiet period of the year right now.

Anyway, we'll keep you up to date with the ever-changing state of the garden with as many photos as possible. If there are any green-fingered souls out there who'd like to contribute with any hints and tips then please write to us at [email protected], it'd be great to hear from you!

Until the next time.

Dion Protani - Saturday 2nd November 2013 - [email protected]