Living the dream - Springtime in the garden on Rio Cazziola

The weather has been gorgeous lately, so we've been taking advantage of it to work in the garden. All the flower beds needed a good weeding already, and trees needed some pruning. Just about everything is done now, we can sit back and enjoy the rest of the summer with just some maintenance to the flower beds here and there. I need to go scout around in the next few days to find geraniums for the flower pots in the back yard and on the terrace.

After alot of garden work the last few days, we were able to spend a quiet afternoon of sunshine yesterday. I took the opportunity to snap a few photos.



We were lucky enough to find these steamer chairs on the internet, being sold by a lovely woman in the UK. The price was a steal, compared to what I was seeing them being sold for here in Italy, and she even included the cushions! She agreed to ship them to us here, and we've been enjoying them ever since! What a great addition to our outdoor living space.

My backdoor gargoyle Louis just recently arrived in Venice along with our shipment of household goods. He now has a lovely new home. I love seeing him again, just brings a smile to my face everytime I walk by him!

The irises have just popped out and we are delighted to see them. We've been pleasantly surprised to see things come into bloom- there were daffodils, and hyathis, forsythia, lily of the valley, a few bright red tulips, and now the iris.

This the brick walkway that runs all the way from one side of the garden to the other, and ends at the water door to the canal. There is a grape arbor along the walk, and wisteria growing over the brick wall.

These Venetian lanterns can be seen all over the city, hanging at outdoor restaurants. They are outrageously expensive to buy, but these are from the US!! I found them a few years ago at Home Goods, bought all that they had that day, and have used them in our Baltimore backyard. I couldn't bear the thought of parting with them, so they were part of the household goods shipment. Looks like they belonged here for ages, I think!

I tried to catch a photo of a lizard who was sunning himself on this mossy brick, but he was just too darn quick for me. Maybe next time!!! I love the old pieces of marble columns that are scattered around the garden. It just reminds me of the Roman Forum and I like to think we have our own little piece of ancient Venetian history right here in our midst.

More of those lovely deep blue iris. I wish there were huge beds of them.

The wisteria is just coming into bloom. The smells are delightful. How did we get so blessed to have some of our very own ?





The garden has two palm trees, this one and one a bit smaller. Now all I need is a parrot and a monkey!