- Active & Green
- Lifestyle
Lombardy: spring has come to town
Spring flowers bloom on the balconies, terraces, window sills and in the gardens of Lombardy's towns and villages
Spring has arrived, bringing with it the eagerly awaited and wonderful spectacle of nature reawakening, as it does every year. As the cold weather recedes, buds literally explode on the branches of trees and plants in the town gardens and balconies of throughout Lombardy.
Flowers are blooming everywhere: in the parks and flowerbeds and every green corner, but it is above all the balconies that give city dwellers the satisfaction of seeing daisies, tulips, daffodils, violets, primroses, jasmine, camellias, and wisteria grow... And, for the more daring, it is time to sow some small vegetables, for an entirely home-grown harvest.
Flowers bloom on city balconies
Confined to the city and home by the health emergency, as we wait to get back to enjoying Lombardy's beautiful landscapes, many of us have devoted ourselves to urban gardening, creating oases of green at home, green gyms for exercising our green fingers. In Lombardy, gardening has invaded balconies, terraces, windows and even metropolitan gardens. Have you already put yourself to the test or would you like to? In that case, let's discover together the 10 most common flowers that bloom in spring, between March and April, marking the arrival of this beautiful season.
Spring flowers in terraces and gardens
Want to take up gardening in the city? Spring is the right time! The first flowers to announce the arrival of spring are daisies, which create dense, soft carpets of colour in the lawns of public gardens, houses and apartment blocks. They are joined by primroses, colourful wild meadow plants that are perfect for balconies and can also be eaten. Then we have delicate violets: the bravest ones appear at the end of March, warmed by the direct rays of the sun.
In spring, tulips are a must on the balcony. These bulbs are planted in autumn and develop into flowers with bright corollas, reminiscent of turbans. They are called tullbands in Turkey, the country from which, in the 16th century, they were imported to European royal palaces from the court of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. According to legend, red tulips are drops of tears mixed with the blood of the beautiful Farhad, who was mortally wounded and desperate because she would never see her beloved again. Every spring, however, her memory is revived by the blossoming of this beautiful flower. Another elegant balcony flower is the daffodil or narcissus, which gets its name from the beautiful protagonist of many myths. In Greek mythology, the cruel Narcissus – enamoured of his own image and repentant – kills himself, and the flower emerges for the first time from the earth, soaked in his blood. Finally, we have the charming and brightly coloured gerberas, large daisies that bloom in late spring.
Climbing plants and shrubs that bloom in spring
Pink and white corollas glisten on the branches of cherry trees in March. The Camellia shrub produces beautiful flowers in sophisticated white and all shades of red. Jasmine and wisteria delight us with their intense, sweet scents. Jasmine has small white flowers that look like stars, while wisteria covers windowsills and climbs balconies and porches with cascades in an unmistakable shade of lilac.
The most beautiful balconies? The most widely photographed!
If you don't have green fingers or you are simply looking for extra inspiration, you should know that Instagram has a huge following of flower and garden enthusiasts. With the hashtag #balconifioriti (over 23 thousand posts) you can find the most photogenic balconies in Italy, including many in Lombardy. There are almost 2,000 posts tagged #balconiditalia with examples from all over Italy. Dedicated to Lombardy's capital city, #balconimilanesi collects photos of contemporary and vintage balconies and window sills. The famous and much-photographed balconies of the #boscoverticalemilano are a real spectacle in this period! Finally, #igerslombardia shows beautiful videos and images of spring blooms in our region.
Designer gardening and more
If, in addition to urban gardening, you would like to cultivate a small vegetable garden, @ilcontadinonick, a guy from Desio (MI) will give you the best advice on how to care for flowers and seedlings. And finally, while waiting for the botanical gardens to reopen, we suggest you admire the snapshots of the flowers that have just come into bloom at @villacarlotta_lakecomo, one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in Italy.
