The centuries-old park of the suggestive Villa Erba in Cernobbio has just dropped the curtain on Horticultural Garden, one of the most anticipated annual events among nature lovers.
The lawns and avenues were flooded with a riot of a thousand varieties of flowers, shades of colors and inebriating scents. This was the first stage of what, from now on, we will call "floral gypsies”, with the aim of telling the community about our journeys through exhibitions and gardens, with the same lowest common denominator: the search for beautiful and unique things.
The horticultural event, now in its fifteenth year, has once again proven to be a magnet for all green enthusiasts, immersing them in the beauty of nature, inspiring wonder and giving shape to enchantment.
Around 250 carefully selected exhibitors showcased rare and unusual botanical varieties, as well as niche artisanal products whose distinctive feature is their uniqueness and the magic of detail. The offerings ranged from garden furniture to artistic ceramics, from textiles to handmade soaps, from jewelry to wicker objects.
Furthermore, there is a wide range of free and paid collateral activities, including floral workshops, tastings, themed meetings, creative demonstrations, and educational workshops to introduce even the youngest visitors to the plant world.
In this edition dedicated to the Garden of Eden to celebrate primordial biodiversity, with a focus on alimurgic plants, edible spontaneous species and symbol of the return to fashion of foraging, there was no shortage of performance spaces, such as the one presented on the afternoon of the inauguration, entitled What comes first, almost reminiscent of a perfectly directed theatrical performance, with floral design by renowned Event & Flower Designer Vincenzo Dascanio and the table setting by Aglio e Oglio catering. Special mention also goes to the seven artistic installations designed for the event and competing for the prestigious "The Golden Leaf of Lake Como”.
It would be reductive and, to say the least, unfair to call Orticolario a garden show like so many others, but rather an open-air laboratory where connections between art, nature, and landscape culture are intertwined to nourish curiosity and instill a certain sensitivity, creating an innovative concept of the garden, one that can be both indoors and outdoors, because it no longer contemplates boundaries. One always returns from Orticolario inspired and enriched with experiences, because it offers an emotional narrative that invites us to put down roots and cultivate the garden as an act of healing that regenerates—a gesture that is nothing short of revolutionary in such uncertain times, increasingly characterized by social anorexia and pain anaesthesia.
Article Author: Francesca Pera
