Purchased an abandoned olive grove, revitalized it with a meadow-style garden brimming with wildflowers.
Let's dive into the captivating Garden of Hera, a spot that'll make your historian heart skip a beat!
Located in the sun-drenched, UNESCO-protected Cilento National Park of southern Italy, this Gallic Arcadia boasts stunning views of the Gulf of Salerno, Amalfi Coast, and Island of Capri. In essence, it's a Mediterranean oasis inspired by Greek roots, a stone's throw away from the ancient Greek colony of Paestum.
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The property's heart is an ancient trade route between Paestum and Velia, now a quiet, narrow road hidden amongst dry-stone walls, terraces, and ancient olive trees.
Spring comes alive, transforming the terraces into a canvas of wildflowers. A swathe of Tordylium apulum (Italy's cow parsley) blankets the grounds, offering a delicate background to flowering rock roses, sage, thyme, and a riot of lavenders, red and white valerian, roses, and irises.
The lowdown on this Italian haven:
- What: An irrigation-free, Mediterranean garden in Italy, adorned with olive trees, myrtles, orange trees, and wildflowers.
- Where: A slice of paradise nestled in the southern part of Italy.
- Size: Two-and-a-half acres of cultivated garden sprouting amidst a seven-and-a-half-acre olive grove and meadows of wildflowers.
- Soil: Rich, calcareous, and well-draining.
- Climate: Mediterranean. Warm winters and hot, dry summers that can reach temperatures of 40°C, with annual rainfall of approximately 1,000mm.
- Hardiness Zone: USDA Zone 10a.
To create this haven, two adventurous German garden enthusiasts, Peter Amann and Gundula Anders, spent nearly two decades searching for "the place," not a mere home, in Italy. They poured their hearts into restoring the antique stone cottage, work that continued even when they slept in a humble garden hut with an unforgettable view of the coastal plain and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
"It's always been the garden first," Peter reminds us. The property is home to several rebuilt dry-stone walls, meticulously pruned olive groves, and a harmonious dance between nature and cultivation. If you're seeking a real-life European Garden of Eden, the Garden of Hera might just be your ticket.
- The Garden of Hera, reminiscent of a European Garden of Eden, is a Mediterranean oasis that beautifully blends nature and cultivation.
- This irrigation-free garden, nestled in the heart of southern Italy, is adorned with olive trees, myrtles, orange trees, and wildflowers, creating a botanical haven.
- The lifestyle and home-and-garden enthusiasts will find inspiration in setting foot in this two-and-a-half acre garden, surrounded by a seven-and-a-half acre olive grove and cascading meadows of wildflowers.
- For those who love gardening, visiting the Garden of Hera will transport them to a captivating landscape of vibrant flora, invoking the essence of a sustainable family garden in Australia or an elegant, rural Italian garden designed by Cristina Mazzucchelli.
