16,407 views
On a journey of discovery with organic gardener Karl Ploberger Italy's capital Rome - a city of architecture, good food, the good life and magnificent gardens and green spaces. In fact, more than half of the Roman city area is green. Karl Ploberger sets off on a special journey of discovery to Rome and the surrounding area in search of garden paradises full of Italian joie de vivre. The first stop on his journey takes the organic gardener to the beautiful organic garden of Villa Wolkonsky, the seat of the British Embassy. A seven-hectare garden laid out in a typical English style with a mix of Mediterranean and English plants in the middle of Rome - and they even produce their own honey here. The Campo dei Fiori is the most beautiful flower market in the city. It is also one of the favorite places of ORF Rome correspondent Mathilde Schwabeneder. The Upper Austrian native studied in Rome in the 1980s and has been reporting from the Italian capital for many years now. She always buys the artichokes for her favorite recipe at Campo dei Fiori. On the Aventine, the southernmost of Rome's seven hills, there is a hidden green place of power - the garden of the Knights of Malta. Karl Ploberger gets an exclusive insight into the formal garden with many shaped box trees in the middle of huge palm trees and fragrant orange and lemon trees. Karl Ploberger's next stop on his garden tour is the small town of Ronciglione north of Rome. There he meets the artist and author Paola Igliori. Her huge, picturesque garden with a baroque fountain around the Villa Lina is often used as a film set. Even the Hollywood actress Keira Knightley has filmed in this setting. In the south of Rome lies a paradise on earth: the Garden of Ninfa, one of the most romantic gardens in the world. The ruins of the city blend harmoniously into the garden landscape and show the traces of a tragic history: the destruction of the city of Ninfa at the end of the 13th century. Stella and Lauro Marchetti manage this natural jewel and live here all alone. Karl Ploberger's penultimate destination is the Giardino della Landriana - a Mediterranean garden just five kilometers from the sea. The Italian countess and writer Lawinia Taverna had the idea for this garden in the 1950s. With the help of the British landscape architect Russel Page, it has become a dream garden with an olive garden and many orange trees. The organic gardener's journey comes to an end at Lago di Trasimeno - Lake Trasimeno. Here he visits the garden of the Italian artist Daniela fe D'Ostiani. Her planting concept is well thought out - there is a symmetrical and a wild part. A dream of rosewood spurge and many small fruit trees characterize the garden and offers a breathtaking view of the lake.