Even the rockiest of hill-towns can have beautiful gardens. They were specially opened to us by their owners yesterday at Buggiano Castello as part of a social pre-booked garden day. What wonders one can make with steeply terraced slopes!
it was not the first time we’d visited Buggiano Castello but it was the first since this charming little mountain village had opened its gates after COVID last year. Our original blog can be read at
Such open days as we experienced in 2015 are suspended until further notice. Now one must book, join a small group and be taken around by a guide. Unlike previously, however, one can bring ones car to the town instead of using a shuttle-bus to get there.
We enjoyed a fabulous afternoon at Buggiano Castello and came back with many tips gleaned from the locals’ gardens about how to handle our own little domain at La Costa.
From.Alexsndra Pettitt: We wandered around about seven gardens all guided by their owners each had a particular title scented garden fruit garden tortoise garden and so on. These are all privately owned gardens except the final hotel garden. It was several hours long too much uphill walking for me but I managed it except felt the aches today. This was a real treat different to the open day with a surge of people as we’d been there before and wandered around without the useful explanation. Despite the odd Spring weather plants survived and there was such a vast variety of flowers to delight! Oranges espalier lemons ugly fruits bergamot orange lemon bushes in huge vases. So many beautiful flowers and scents. Lemon water and lemon tea greater us as a most welcome thirst quencher!