My most frequently used words in the month of May will forever be “Look! Poppies!”
Spring starts at 5 AM, when the birds wake up and sun peeps through the apple tree outside our house. There’s nothing quite like enjoying your morning tea, sitting on the warm doorstep, watching the dog making poor attempts of capturing lizards and the shadows of butterflies. Needless to say, he fails every time.
There’s always a hum of quiet joy every time we need to drive across Tuscany to get to a garden job. We finish our morning tea and brush the dried mud from our rubber boots and lave plenty of time to meander through the countryside in a slow pace, so slow in fact that every Fiat Panda proudly overtakes us.
Spring manifests itself in many ways, and the seasons here in Tuscany are very much defined by color. The fields have turned bright green and as May moves closer to June, some of these fields will turn into a multicolored spectacle, thanks to the abundant selection of wild flowers the Val d’Orcia region in Tuscany has to offer.
Wild garlic, wild carrot and even wild orchids are only a few of the treasures that grow along side the paved and curvy roads that take you from village to village. Not to mention the poppies. Did I forget to mention the poppies? The poppy fields are famous for a reason, I can tell you that much.
As tempting as it is to pick these flowers and desperately try to make them last forever in your dark, medieval kitchen, there is one thing you quickly learn when you live with a passionate gardener and nature enthusiast; never, under any circumstance, pick wild flowers. “Who are you to pick these beautiful flowers and put them in a dark room for your own selfish enjoyment?” I see the point. But as an eager collector and flower picker, it took me some time to break this habit, but I got there eventually. In the end, who am I to pick the beautiful flowers and put them in my dark medieval kitchen for my own selfish enjoyment? I still stand without an answer.
However, there are some flowers and plants I am allowed to pick as we grow them ourselves, and these are perhaps my favorite plants of all time; the medicinal ones. The herbs you can make tea from, cook with and treat wounds with – practical plants that have been used for centuries. They smell good, and they look even better.
We live on ancient ground here in Tuscany, and growing medicinal plants comes very natural, as we are simply following the footsteps of the Camaldolesi monks that used to live here long before us. They were specialists in the art of natural medicine and the use of Mediterranean herbs and flowers. Their knowledge has been passed on through the generations, and we are eager to study and learn.
It doesn’t matter how long I’ve lived in Tuscany, I still feel an urgent need to stop the car every 5 meters to step outside and get a closer inspection of the many roadside treasures that are scattered around. I have a growing suspicion that I will remain in this state, in some sort of silent awe, constantly surprised and baffled by natures effortless ability to transform itself. I can’t wait to see what June has in store for us this year.
Update: Turid is now living in Norway. Be sure to visit Turid’s website, Toscana Hus offering a vast array of exquisite holiday homes in Italy. Based in Tuscany and offering a charming selection of holiday houses concentrated in the Siena and Florence areas of Tuscany.
