Spring Rambles in Tuscany

Along one of our nearby country roads

One of the great joys of our time here in Tuscany has been watching the land come alive with the coming of spring and seeing all the blooming plants and  flowers.

Since our arrival in March, the land has seemed to burst forth, and every walk and drive along the country byways, reveals something new.

We recognize some of them from home-- daffodils, lilacs, irises, roses, etc., but the so many of the wildflowers are new to us or in an abundance that we have never seen.

The poppies are incredible

The poppies that seem to spring up in every field, on on every stone wall, in every cranny are especially delightful and fun.

Poppy closeup

We have tried and tried to grow poppies in our various gardens but have never had much success.  To see them growing in such wild profusion has been a treat.

Mustard fields were prevalent during March

Earlier in the spring, the fields of mustard, glistening in the sun were also a new experience for us.  The mustard is mostly gone now, the farmers have plowed them under to sow their spring crops, but while they lasted they were a sight to behold--solid fields of yellow amidst a landscape of green.

Small farmer's vineyard--just a few rows

What dominates one's view most often are the vineyards and olive groves.  It seems to be every Tuscan's birthright to grow his own grapes and olives.

Even in  the smallest plots--in towns, cities and countryside, you see olive trees and grapevines.  We have been told that it takes about one tree to make a liter bottle of olive oil--so everyone's goal seems to be to grow enough for their own use.

Palazzo that we see on our walk with its vineyards & cypresses

Here in the Siena countryside, each farmer  seems to have three or fours rows of grapes; and we assume that is enough to make a year's supply of red table wine for his family's consumption.

As you drive along Tuscan provincial roads you see vineyards covering hundreds if not thousands of acres or hectares, which is how they measure land here in Italy and most of the world. And for many of these large vineyards, there is a winery.  Some like Ricasoli produce 3 million bottles a year, others like a little winery, Tenuto La Nouvela, we visited in Poggio, 12,000 bottles is a big production.

View from our window

But we started out talking about the lovely flowers and blooming plants that we see each time we step out our door or take a drive or better yet, a walk through the countryside.

One aspect of the Tuscan countryside that we like is the clustering of houses in small communities or settlements, so the landscape is not as broken up by farm houses and outbuildings as it is in the States. Casabella is part of a small cluster of houses--not really a village, but just a community.  We are surrounded by family gardens, olive groves, and vineyards as well as fields of wheat and sunflowers. We would love to be here this summer when we are told the wheat fields are golden and the sunflowers all turn their blooms to the sun.  The Italians call sunflowers, girasole, or sun follower.

Yesterday, in a break from the May showers that are more prevalent and frequent than we had expected, we were able to get out for a long, leisurely walk along the country lanes that criss cross the landscape.  We saw any number of new and interesting plants, at least to us--most of which we cannot name. But we wanted to share the pictures with you, in hopes that it might help to understand this faccinating landscape just a little bit better. Everyday, something new and different seems to appear, and of course as the season progresses, things die, stop flowering, or are just get overwhelmed by new growth.

A geranium or cranesbill that we noticed for the first time yesterday

A type of succulent that seems to grow out of every stone wall we pass

Wild gladioli

Not a clue, but found it peaking out of a bank of two foot high grass

There are lots of thistle--both the giant ones and its smaller relative

Earlier in the spring there were lots of ground cover daisies, but now their bigger cousins are showing up

We think this is another kind of geranium

Is the sage native or just naturalized--either way the big bushes of blue are impressive.

Earlier in the season, this plant was everywhere--it has now been overwhelmed by so many other plants, but still in a lovely clump like this it is striking.

There are many others that we have missed or cannot capture well with the iPhone camera, but we know that when we have the time for a walk, these sights and many others will be there to greet us.