you can't control nature I can control
this now I control the compost and I
control them these are all dutifully
tidy and I feel happy because I'm clean
five surface but that's about as far as
it goes when I first came here I lost
every single plant I'd bought over two
years because I didn't understand that
you need to you need to really get out
of yourself and into the place to try
and understand what the place isn't
about near the house you want to control
it a little bit within your view because
there is a winter to think about and now
we have our attention is not taken by
the formal shapes but by what surrounds
it but when you get into the autumn and
the winter shapes become architecture
and they're very important in the garden
because that that's what I found
difficult at the beginning it was to
merge the formal garden and the
wilderness over the river you know I
don't want it to be just trees in a row
I have you know as a collection I wanted
to be also put in a more garden esque
way I'm interested in the visual and I'm
interested in making a garden beautiful
and a connection beautiful and make
people understand that you can have a
collection without being boring
my childhood was in on top of the hill
600 meters with views of hundreds of
miles
the Apennines on one side and rome on
the other we lived a very very sparse
life in a house which had no curtains
but it had bats behind them the pictures
I suppose it's it's it's a place where I
could indulge in doing something which
is quite unconventional for for for a
Roman girl who whose world was to get
married and produced children and maybe
have a job as a lawyer instead of which
I'm in a garden doing manual work
dealing with soil I have a feel for
plants they I have a connection and you
know sometimes I even put myself in
their shoes I think well if I was that
book what would I want I want to be I
want to be a sundown and I want to be
surrounded by water so I'm a sundial
surrounded by water
ok you must be worried about planting
trees you're never too old never I mean
I'm still planting trees now and I will
for the next 10 years it you know it has
an inner life which I can't control at
all I mean you know superficially I've
done what I wanted and what my
enthusiasm and passion and whatever once
and is satisfied by but actually I can't
control it
which is why I'm obsessively gardening
the whole time right sort of fight
against the idea that nature was
actually sometimes against one but I
suppose what I've learnt is that you
can't fight you just have to accept it
that's the way it is you're not going to
be able to change that look this one
which isn't symmetrical it's not easy to
be a gardener and then you have to deal
with people
you