Abruzzo Clive wrote:

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and also to gardening! I wish my old dad were here
to advise me, he had extremely green thumbs!




I live with my wife in central Italy and after seven years we are
finally in a position to turn our attention to the garden.

At the moment the nights are clear and the temperature drops to well
below zero; it was -14°C a few nights ago. Just now in the sunshine it's
around 17°C. During the summer months the mid-day temperature can hit
42°C which is hot even for me!

The question is what would folks recommend for bedding plants - I am
about to start creating rockeries etc., (the garden contains a number of
slopes).

Over the years we've found that Ice Plants are the best at surviving the
summer heat but I don't want to have a garden full of Ice plants!

The garden faces south East.

I'm thinking along the lines of growing from seed - is that the most
economical approach?

Any help would be very gratefully received.

do you have any local garden societies you
can look to for help? a local greenhouse or
garden center can be helpful. check your
directory for master gardeners associations,
agricultural extention agencies, also ask
around (friends, co-workers, church, police,
social clubs, etc).

also, look around the neighborhood at the
yards and see who has what you like, introduce
yourself and ask them for help. bring cookies.

most gardeners love to talk about their plants
and often have clones/sprouts/extras to give away.

the more plants that you use that are adapted
to your climate the easier it is to take care of
them and this avoids the troubles brought on by
irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides and
herbicides. it also tends to be less expensive
in the long run.

as you gain more experience you can add more
difficult things to worry about.

are you planning on growing vegetables, greens
or fruits in some of the beds?


songbird