The Garden
Torre di Sopra is part of a hamlet which comprised two other towers and a chapel, surrounded by olive groves. When my architect husband Bruno Sacchi bought it in 1976, the land was somewhat abandoned. The property came with the resident farmer whose family had farmed there for over 200 years, but he was retired and just pottered about looking after the parts nearest to the Torre. When, together, we prepared the land to plant more olives and the lorry arrived with the young trees, his eyes filled with tears; he said he couldn’t remember the last time anything had been planted.
That was the beginning of my garden.
I bought a small tractor and, to the amusement of my neighbours, I ploughed and harrowed the land, cultivated the old olive trees, made hay (using the old ox cart as a trailer), kept chickens, ducks, goats, geese, two chil- dren, and grew vegetables.
In 1985, however, my marriage broke down and I returned to the UK. Bruno continued to live there but refused
to allow anything to be pruned, pro- nouncing: “how would you like it if someone came along and cut off your arm?”
After his death in 2011 I returned to an olive grove that was totally overgrown, the trees having grown so tall it was impossible to pick the olives.
My son, daughter and I decided to renovate the property and I took on management of the work. We were obliged to create a new entrance and designing the driveway was an excit- ing opportunity.
I HAVE BEEN PLANTING THE GARDEN SINCE 2011
Firstly hedges and trees at our bound- aries. Holm oak along the olive grove and bay near the vegetable garden and pool area. Nearer the house I have used Elaeagnus as it is a grey green which tones with the olive trees. This hedge draws a line to contain that part of the garden. I wanted to continue the line with a darker green; box not being suitable I have used rosemary. Clipping it regularly it has made a wonderful thick hedge.
Creating the drive gave me a long bank to plant with Salvias. What a joy. I have mixed them with roses, using Rosa Mutabilis which does so well in Tuscany, and ceanothus, stachys creti- ca, nepeta, agapanthus, and in spring, tulips, iris and alliums.
This mix I have repeated on the bank
by the swimming pool. This is a steep retaining bank, so planting was a con- cern. I put in small plants and in fact it has taken them three years to fill out completely. Now dense with lavender, cistus, salvias, stachys, and Pony Tail grass, it is an enticing haven for butter- flies.
Along the walk to to the pool the Jas- min hedge is thick with flower in June, with its intoxicating, deep scent.
In 2017, having renovated the barn to become a private home for the family and put in a swimming pool, I thought it would be nice to keep the grass green during the summer months,
so I installed an automatic watering system. It is very efficient and time saving, but no-one had told me just how much water is required to create a lawn. By July 2018, our well had run dry.
Digging another well was suggested and my architect and I interviewed three different water diviners, who all ‘found water’, but in different locations!
The quotes came in. Not a cheap exercise and no guarantee.
So in December 2018 I went back to England and asked Father Christmas for Olivier Filippi’s book ‘Planting Designs for Dry Gardens’. Long before the ham and Stilton had been eaten, I was hooked.
Inspired by Filippi I have decided to replace the lawns with Medi- terranean plants that are drought resistant, some of which can be walked on.
I would like to create various types of dry gardens: mixed meadow, green carpet and gravel garden.
Returning to Florence in Febru- ary 2019, I immediately visited my supplier Luigi Broghi of Manini
e Broghi Nurseries, to discuss a choice of plants that would fill this remit.
He was enthusiastic, agreeing that this is the way forward for gardening in Tuscany, despite the limitations posed by the local climate which can be +40% in the summer, but also - critically, -10% in the winter, which elimi- nates many plants from the list of options.
THE DRY GARDEN
By June, I started my gravel garden along the path to the pool, planting plumbago Ceratostigma plumbaginoi- des, cistus, erigeron and more stachys. During their first summer they have been watered a little, but when they are more established, they will hope- fully manage with only an occasional drink.
Round the corner, the area in front of the tower which is essentially rock, has the beginning of the gravel garden with helichysums, creeping thymes, and verbascums.
It has been an exciting experience, learning which plants are most suited to our environment. I am thrilled that the project is successful; our water consumption has decreased hugely, as has lawn and garden maintenance. Even more satisfyingly, despite having exceptionally hot augusts we do not water the gravel areas at all.
We do however water the vegetable garden and the grass around the pool, plus anything recently planted includ- ing our young fruit trees, and the cost of the water was still notable.
So in 2024 however we dug for water and found it so now have another well feeding our Medieval water tank. We are therefore no longer dependent on mains water.