Gardens, with their shady trees, fragrant flowers, and peaceful lanes, have always served as a counterpoint to the narrow, crowded streets of Florence’s city center. During the Renaissance, a new form of garden-design arose, heavily influenced by classical models from Roman villas. Florence, and its surrounding area, is a garden-enthusiasts’ paradise, boasting numerous Renaissance-style gardens, along with examples of 16th-century and English-style designs.

 

Hidden behind a set of high Oltrarno walls, is the Torrigiani garden, the largest private garden within city walls in Italy.

 

Originally planted by the founder of the Italian Botanical Society – the world’s oldest – the garden still has an uncommonly wide variety of trees, especially exotic species, in keeping with its 19th century “English Landscape” style.

 

Giardino Torrigiani feels somewhat mysterious, and was, in fact, laid out as an initiation path with secret Masonic symbolism. It includes Gothic follies and the recurring theme of research and enquiry. There is no secret, however, in the dedication to the art and sciences, which are still the owners’ guiding principles, as the Torrigiani garden encloses a successful commercial nursery and regularly hosts lectures on the arts and gardening.

Shots of bright yellow and neon coral spiced the garden yesterday, as the mimosa and quince shrubs were in full bloom.

A few hearty narcissi nodded their happy, yellow heads in the spring sunlight.

 

Magnificent urns filled with sculptural aloe graced one section of buildings.

There were many spots to hone in on, but this door, topped with a wisteria vine, was my favorite.

 

I hope to return to the garden later this spring when the wisteria is in bloom.

Yes, there is a bamboo grove.

 

The piece de resistance, the tower: