That’s “Gardens of Florence” according to Google translate. Well, there are not quite as many public gardens and parks here as I would like, but, the few here are winners. My mom and I visited two yesterday. The Gardino delle rose and the Gardino dell’Iris. They are on either side of Piazzale Michelangelo.

The rose garden isn’t quite in full bloom, so I’ll plan to go back at the end of May. But there are spectacular views.

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The Iris garden, on the other hand, is in prime time. It is only open about one month out of the year, and it’s now! Fun fact: the symbol of Florence is an iris, not a lily (this is according to the iris society people).

Iris, not lily.

The iris garden is incredible. There are 1,500 species of iris! It is on a hill sloping North East, dotted with olive trees and large sprays of iris. In parts of the garden, the iris are planted in large groupings by color, creating a nice flow and rhythm in the garden. For example:

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Close-ups. Dad, I need some tips on flower close-ups. These are no bueno.

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And here is the garden from above.

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All for now. I know everyone can hardly wait to read all about Italian cooking school. I’m planning to write a few posts, probably one post per week of class, so just hold your horses.