Villa on Lake Garda

The Garda region has all the characteristics of a pre-Alpine xerothermic oasis with a sub-Mediterranean climate that is so mild and distinct from that of other lakes that we could categorize it as a separate Lake Garda or “Benacense” climate. The lake water, colder than the air in summer and warmer than the air in winter, contributes significantly to mitigating both summer heat and winter chills, making the Garda climate exceptionally mild and temperate.

The name of the eastern shore of Lake Garda, Riviera degli Olivi, comes from its typical local flora, the olive tree. Olive trees were popular in the Etruscan period, but were spread further afield by the Romans and quickly became typical of the Lake Garda area. Along with the cypress, the olive tree is a symbolic plant of Lake Garda. The mild temperatures also gives rise to rich spontaneous vegetation with wild rose bushes, dittany, tufts of lemon grass, oleanders, mimosas, acacias, gorse and forsythia.

The western shore, Riviera dei Limoni, boasts the name of another kind of typical local flora, the lemon tree. Lemon trees tend to be cultivated in the typical local pillar gardens and on pebble-wall tiered terraces.

In this context, Spazio Verde created a villa garden planted with typical plants for the Garda area, including sculpted, formal boxwood and cypress trees. To add an exotic touch, groups of chamaerops excelsa (or trachycarpus fortunei) palms, from the Far East, were planted, characterized by branchless stems covered with thickly intertwined brown fibres. Every year, new, large, well-defined, bright green fan leaves develop from the top of the trunk. In June, the palm is covered with long, cream-yellow panicles, and then clusters of blue-black fruit.

A high-performance irrigation system was installed for maximum water savings, and recessed LED spotlights used to create lighting effects in the tall, secular plants.

Finally, a surface drainage system was created to improve permeability and decrease water stagnation in the land adjacent to the lake.