Southern Europe
Gardening in Italy
Hot dry summers on the coast, real winters in the north and the mountains.
The numbers that decide your year
- Growing zones
- USDA 7b–10b · Mediterranean to alpine
- Last spring frost
- Late March in the south, mid May in the Alps
- First autumn frost
- November to December
- Rainfall
- Concentrated in autumn and spring
The local challenge
August. Everything survives on what you built into the soil in March.
Rules worth knowing
Olive and citrus movement is controlled in Xylella-affected regions; check before buying or transporting trees.
How people actually garden here
- Formal terraces
- Olive terraces
- Courtyard gardens
- Citrus in pots
Native to this country
Plants that evolved here. They ask least of you and give most back to local insects and birds.
Reliable in this climate
Introduced rather than native, but proven in these conditions. Each links to its full encyclopedia entry.
Seasonal jobs
Open the calendarThe calendar reads your device clock and orders every job for the northern hemisphere.
The printed guide
The Italy Gardening Guide
284 pages written for this country alone: its soil, its frost dates, its rules and the plants that reward the effort. Everything on this page, expanded and in your hands.
- Gardening with a real dry season
- Terraces, walls and shade
- Citrus in containers
- The Italian kitchen garden
- Mountain versus coastal calendars
- Irrigation without waste
€9.95284 pages · PDF download