Villa Carlotta

Wow! This has to be one of the most amazing gardens I've ever visited. Think Trebah and the Lost Gardens of Heligan, add in the Alps and Italian Lakes as a backdrop and you are starting to get the picture! The Villa was built at the end of the 17th Century by the Milanese marquis Giorgio Clerici. Visitors are allowed in all the rooms and they are breathtaking - especially the ceilings, which I tried to photograph before a fierce looking lady shook her finger at me. Once again the views were stunning. And the azaleas were out of this world.

I loved this planting combination of hostas and forget-me-nots:

There was an impressive bamboo collection:

I loved this unusual variety of Iris, I've never seen it before. It has many flowers to a stem. Perhaps someone else out there knows of it?

There was another towering Wisteria climbing up towards Giant Land.

A 'green wall' had been ingeniously created using a form of industrial wadding, made from cotton waste.

Oranges and lemons hung from pergolas:

 

I'd like to take this cheeky chappy home:

Even a sign for the toilets looked beautiful against the azure waters of Lake Como:

Ciao for now!