Gardening Australia – September 2019

OutsideRome,setamidcrumblingruins,Ninfaeasily

livesuptoitsreputationasthemostromanticgarden

intheworld,writesJENNIFERSTACKHOUSE

T

here’ssomethingveryspecial

abouttheGardenofNinfa,builtin

andamongtheruinsofamedieval

town.Thisisagardenfilledwith

romance.Profusionsofold-fashioned

climbingroses,Chinesestarjasmineand

mauvewisteriascenttheairwiththeir

deliciousfragrance.Hereandthereare

beautifulblossomtrees,andtheproperty

istraversedbynumerousstreamsand

cascadesflowingfastamongswathes

ofsoftgrass.There’snothingquitelikeit.

Thehistoryofthesitegoesbacktothe

MiddleAges,whenitincludedhouses,

churches,bridgesandotherbuildings,all

containedwithinfortifiedwalls.Thetown

wasdestroyedin 1382 andleftinruins.

Afterthat,allattemptstorepopulatethe

area,whichiswetandswampy,were

plaguedbyoutbreaksofmalaria.

Moveontothe20thcentury,when

descendantsoftheCaetanifamily,who

hadownedNinfasincethe13thcentury,

setaboutreclaimingthegarden.They

didn’twanttoreconstructthewholesite,

justgardenamongtheruins.Fromthe

1920s,successivegenerationscreated

andtendedthegarden,withthehelpof

manytalentedandinspiredgardeners.

Weespeciallyowethankstothefinal

ownerofthisuniquespace,LeliaCaetani,

whobequeathedNinfaasagardenand

wildliferefuge,tobemanagedbyatrust.

Alongwithitshistoricsettingandthe

inspiredworkcarriedoutbytheCaetani

familyandothers,Ninfabenefitsfrom

fertilesoilsandaspecialmicroclimate.

Itisfragrant,lush,whimsicalandalive

withbirds,insectsandgreen-backed

lizards.Raretroutswimlazilyinstreams

dottedwithducks.Thereareplentyof

photoopportunities.Youwon’twantto

leavethismagical,fairytalegarden.

TRAVEL

PHOTOS

ISTOCK

GARDENINGAUSTRALIA SEPTEMBER 2019 65

LEFT & ABOVE

Wisteria woven among the ancient ruins

at the Garden of Ninfa produces weeping

racemes of fragrant blooms during spring,

creating a storybook quality; crystal-clear

streams flowing through grassy meadows

add to the feeling of tranquillity.