Living in San Giorgio di Pesaro and Kingston

On Sunday we went went with Pam from Tavernelle to visit the Reinhardt Garden near Lake Trasimeno in Umbria. The Garden was created by Thomas Reinhardt and his wife and is open to the public for two days in July. They have created a perennial garden, an olive garden and a tropical garden. We were able to visit the perennial and olive gardens. It was worth the the 2 hour car trip to see it.

Above are view from the perennial garden which is basically a traditional long borden. It was quite a shock to the eye to see it in the middle of Umbria – fresh green grass with lots of different perennials in tip top condition. The perennials were repeated in various combinations and it was very beautiful. However, beautiful as it was it was not a lesson in gardening for dry conditions as the soil was kept very moist proving that with heat and water most things grow well.

The olive garden was a delight and a surprise as one moved the flatness of the long border to the gentle hills planted with olives. I was looking forward to this garden as I like to see what plants people use to underplant their olive trees. At the entrance to the garden a group of trees were underplanted with “golden creeping jenny” which created an incredible effect but as it is a plant which needs moisture not something to be used in San Giorgio

After the gardens there was a small market which although small was good as there were a number of nurseries selling some unusual plants. We bought a “Salvia Sagittata” and a grass “Eragrostri trichodes”. It was also a place to see the other visitors to the garden and being a hot sunny day lots of ladies in hats were very much in evidence.
After the garden we went looking for a restaurant for lunch and found one with a view over Lake Trasimeno. Was the view over the lake better than the views over the Reinhardt Garden?

A very hot sticky night here in San Giorgio and hard to believe that just a week ago  we were having to wear jackets sitting outside. We had gone to celebrate Pam’s 60th birthday. (The photo of Pam and Michael has appeared before but as I forgot to take my camera to the party I decided to reuse the photo)

Sitting out under the trees in their garden we were wined and dined in style with the full moon adding something to the occasion. As the evening progressed the climate became chilly and shawls, wraps and jackets were put on and with the arrival of the cake refuge was taken indoors.

Despite the low temperatures the people at the party were warm, friendly and interesting with a wide range of ages and backgrounds.  At the table I was fortunate to be sitting between Pam’s daughter Katherine on leave from Hong Kong where she manages the office for “Get Reading Right” a system of teaching reading using synthetic phonics and Pam’s sister in law Catherine who is an artist and when I mentioned stopping at Mulhouse when driving back to England asked if I had seen the “Ricola Building as it’s a “must see” of modern architecture by Herzog & de Meuron. I had to confess my ignorance of modern architecture. Below is the building I’ll be looking out for next time we drive to London: