The legendary Italian designer, who thinks of himself primarily as a gardener, on the importance of keeping gardens bold and simple, and working with nature in adapting to climate change. Words Clark Lawrence, Portrait Richard Bloom <\/p>

My job was important, biblical even: to quench its thirst. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
His own first gardening experiences were small steps taken as a four-year-old, growing up near Turin. \u201cI have a memory of a hot, sunny day in the large vegetable garden at Valsalice, and a small patch of land carefully assigned to me by Giovanni, the gardener,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe soil was heavy clay, dry, cracked, and my job was important, biblical even: to quench its thirst. I remember the heavy watering can<\/a> and the instructions \u2013 that the important thing was to be generous, but gentle.<\/p>\n
He went on to study architecture before moving to London in 1969, where he studied and worked with the great designer Russell Page. In the 1970s, he moved to Rio de Janeiro to work as an intern for Roberto Burle Marx. \u201cThey were undoubtedly my greatest mentors,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
These formative years helped to crystallise his design ethos, which has changed little in the intervening decades. \u201cKeep the plan bold and simple,\u201d he suggests. \u201cPlants for great gardens are often counted by the thousands.\u201d The labyrinth of the Masino Castle, for example, which was re-created faithfully to mid 18th-century plans, is the second largest in Italy and includes more than 2,000 hornbeams. An all\u00e9e on the same property is flanked by 7,000 bridalwreaths (Spiraea<\/em> x vanhouttei<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Plants for great gardens are often counted by the thousands. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Although he turns 82 this year, Paolo is not slowing down. His latest book, entitled I dubbi del giardiniere: Storie di slow gardening<\/em> (Doubts of a Gardener: Stories in Slow Gardening<\/em>), was published recently, and follows success with best-selling titles including In the Garden You\u2019re Never Alone<\/em> and A Real Gardener Never Gives Up<\/em>, which sold over 100,000 copies. Arguably the finest Pejrone title of all is Chronicles from a Garden<\/em>, about his own private home and garden Bramafam, which is situated high above the small town of Revello in Piedmont. Bramafam is literally his magic mountain, with terraced olive groves and ancient bastion \u2013 a perch overlooking the fertile plains of the Po River Valley, with a sunken vegetable garden<\/a>, mountain stream, bamboo grove, laboratory, library, studio<\/a> and \u2018nest\u2019.<\/p>\n
As gardeners age, it is inevitable that they think about designing gardens<\/a> that will outlive them, and Paolo considers the future of not only his own garden or those he has designed, but the planet we all share. He reflects \u2013 sometimes with humour, other times with irony, but always with eloquence \u2013 on the futility of creating artificial environments that can only be maintained through constant watering, manicuring and heavy-handed use of chemicals. As a lover of Nature and her timing, he dislikes instant gardens and awkward architectural or botanical incongruities that get foisted upon the landscape. \u201cWe have to remember that a messy garden is still a beautiful garden,\u201d he says, \u201cand straight lines are best when they give way to exuberance.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have to remember that a messy garden is still a beautiful garden. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Paolo is incredulous when he sees show gardens that are not in shows, but in backyards, and admits to clenching his teeth when looking out over an extensive green lawn in Sardinia. \u201cA summer lawn in Italy should be the colour of a golden schnitzel.\u201d The battle against nature and a changing climate<\/a> is one that he personally refuses to fight, and his mantra is clear: con, non contra<\/em> (with, not against). \u201cLet\u2019s remember that plants are not our enemies, and trees are not poles,\u201d he says. \u201cGardens grow, and must be planned for accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

A summer lawn in Italy should be the colour of a golden schnitzel. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
The designer\u2019s curiosity and passion for plants and people have taken him from California to Monaco and Morocco, but his next project is closer to home, for the Radicepura Garden Festival in Sicily. This biennial event, which is open now and until December, is located between an ever-smoking Mount Etna and the blue Ionian Sea, and features an intriguing line-up of international designers, architects, artists, writers and gardeners.<\/p>\n
Another of his recent works, the Royal Gardens of Venice, opened in 2019, just a few steps from St Mark\u2019s Square. When you\u2019re tired of the crowds in the piazza, there\u2019s a quiet bench closer than you might think, in the shade of an antique pergola of cast iron. Sit for just a few minutes to enjoy the fine form of a large leaf of Tetrapanax papyrifer<\/em> and the exuberant border of white hydrangeas<\/a> and blue agapanthus<\/a> blooms. This garden is just one of nearly a thousand subtly signed \u2018Paolo Pejrone\u2019.<\/p>\n
USEFUL INFORMATION<\/strong>\nRadicepura Garden Festival takes place near Catania in Sicily until 3 December. For more information visit radicepurafestival.com\/en<\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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