Spring Flowers in Italy

May is a beautiful time to visit Italy. All the rain this year has brought a profusion of flowers. Everywhere I go in Italy there are flowers, even in the cities.

In Florence you can visit the Boboli Gardens (see Top Florence Places for information) or see the Iris garden near Piazzale Michelangelo. The Italian Iris Society has photos of the Iris garden and information (in Italian).

Secret Gardens Italy offers some fantastic spring garden tours in Rome and in the nearby regions of Lazio and Umbria (information and photos). Tours can last from a half day to a full week and can be customized depending on what the traveler wants to see. We recently took the Roman Spring Garden Tour, the highlight of which was a visit to Rome's spectacular orchid collection, not open to the public. We also toured a lovely monastic garden in a Roman amphitheater.

Most monasteries have small flower gardens. One of my favorites is Le Celle, founded by Saint Francis. Near Lucca is Garzoni Gardens, Baroque garden dating from the early 1600's considered by some to be one of the best gardens in Italy. Lucca itself has a botanical garden inside the city walls.

Padua's Botanical Garden, Orto Botanico, is the oldest botanical garden in Europe. Padua is a short train ride from Venice and is a recommended stop on our Milan to Venice Suggested Itinerary.

For more Italy gardens, go to Grandi Giardini Italiani. They have information (in English) about many of Italy's top gardens.