The Garden of "La Moscatella"  dates back to the 40s of the XXth century, but was abandoned for over 50 years.  It is located in the Alta Murgia National Park, where the local climate ranges from cold, snowy winters to hot, dry summers. When Filippo moved with his family in this place,  he hoped to create a traditional kind of garden, encouraged by the lush green expanse of grass in front of the rural house where he was about to move.  Only later he found out that the same yard consisted of a layer  of crushed stone and construction debris  covered in asphalt and concrete; it had looked green, when he bought he property, only because weeds were growing in the cracks. There was no decent soil whatsoever, and moreover very little water was available. Filippo realized the garden was a challenge and that he had to experiment with a different approach to gardening. So he started with  removing the asphalt crust - a back-breaking work- and meanwhile  studied the landscape surrounding his place. He collected from old gardens and balconies herbaceous perennials and grasses that had proved hardy to the area, and  started to explore the mountains and fields in the neighbourhood hunting for native plants.

 

Slowly he developed  his lovely garden, using dry farming techniques: each bed is looked after without the addition of artificial chemicals and irrigation water.  Soon the garden was followed  by a very specialized nursery where he promotes unusual native plants and some non native staples of water wise gardens

 

The garden is 4,000 square meters located in the countryside of Altamura (Ba) in strada comunale esterna Trani-Cuirtolirizzi n 21

 

We are open to the public by appointment only from March to November excluding holidays from 8:30 am to sunset.  Ticket €8 a person, min 5 persons.

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Disclaimer: the information, the photos, and the text about the garden are provided by the owners