“Incontri di fine inverno” (Meetings at the end of winter) by Dario Tognocchi
“If you shout your thoughts in the wind, they will be taken away”
The air garden
Among the elements, air is the most difficult to represent in the garden, but the birds, travellers by nature, are its symbol and lords.
Here is therefore the “air garden”: a relaxing and exciting place, which allows us to rediscover the instinct and gestures that for millennia have linked our ancestors to nature, transforming us into skilled observers of animal life.
But in this garden more can happen … In the autumn and especially winter months, it becomes a real feast for all the creatures whose kingdom is the air.
Blackbirds, finches, robins, greenfinches, tits, thrushes, … They are all invited!
Plants
Even if it is small, each “air garden” needs the right “air plants”.
They are beautiful and there are so many that colour the garden and make it lively throughout the year.
Here are some examples:
Holly. Unmistakable thanks to its evergreen, thorny, leathery and shiny leaves and for the scarlet berries which birds are fond of.
Hawthorn. The showy and fragrant blossoming takes place between April and May; in autumn, its red berries in bunches create a flamboyant scenery. Very sought after by blackbirds and thrushes.
Honeysuckle. After the summer fragrant flowering, bright red berries germinate attracting blackbirds and all warblers.
Dogwood. Very elegant during the spring bloom, in autumn and winter, with its red, shiny and sour fruits, it is loved by thrushes and fieldfares.
Blackthorn. In the cold season it produces many berries, but it is very beautiful also during the flowering from March to May. Because of its intricate appearance, it is an impregnable nesting site.
Dog rose. Among hybrids and varieties, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Surely its bushes are the most visited by birds that build their nest inside them and eat their berries in autumn and winter.
Ornamental apple trees. In spring they seduce with their exuberant bloom and in autumn with their little apples that sometimes are exhibited throughout the winter.
And … in any good “air garden”, there should be no lack of mangers and artificial nests.
Source:
“Il giardino dei sensi” Maurizio Zarpellon (Blu Edizioni, 2000)
“Giardini d’inverno” (Jardins d’hiver) Cedric Coppet (L’ippocampo, 2017)