What is a Tuscan Garden?
Tuscan style gardens are named after the Tuscany region in Italy. Tuscany is agriculturally very rich. Tuscan style Gardens can be found all over the world and are extremely popular in the USA.

Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Imagine the scent of fresh-cut herbs and fragrant flowers floating on a summer breeze.

Picture a garden filled with Grecian style urns, beautiful floral arrangements, Italian pottery overflowing with fragrant herbs, a rustic stone path leading to a vegetable garden filled with ripe tomatoes, abundant garden greens, and fruit laden trees. That is your basic design for a lovely Tuscan Garden.

Now add a wrought iron bench, roses climbing a trellis, some beautiful statues and a water fountain.

You have just imagined your own Tuscan Garden.

Your Tuscan garden is the place where family, friends, and food come together to spend care-free days and romantic summer nights. Your Tuscan Garden is casual in it's rustic charm, yet elegant in it's simplicity.

A Tuscan garden is designed using the combined elements of greenery, water, stone-work, wood, iron and pottery.

Its Mediterranean style, gives you a stress-free environment where you can relax and have quiet peaceful romantic meals or large fiendly family gatherings.

A Tuscan garden can seem formal, and yet informal. It can be the size of your entire property or take up only a corner of your apartment patio.

A good Tuscan garden is made up of a combination of all of the above along with whatever else you want to put into it. You choose the vases and containers that you like, add a comfortable little seating area or a table big enough to hold the entire family. It's up to you!

Some garden statuary, a water fountain or bird bath all go fine and add to the Tuscan look.

This Tuscan garden is yours and yours alone. Only you can decide what you want to include in it. I'm just here to help make your decisions easier and provide a few good ideas and recipes.

Pictures were found through a creative commons search. Tuscan Gardens photo appears courtesy of echiner1 Tuscany Garden photo appears courtesy of JohnMorton

Where is the best place to put a Tuscan Garden? Any place in your yard!

Your own Tuscan garden can be large or small, patio sized or it can take up your entire yard. There is no right or wrong size, or location.

Just remember that many of the best tuscan garden plants will require sunlight to keep them healthy.

A Tuscan Garden is a place where beauty, food, friends and family come together to share a garden fresh meal or unwind from a busy day. This series of articles will help you plan and plant your own beautiful Tuscan garden.

What is the Best Location for a Tuscan Garden?

A Tuscan garden is a place of elegant simplicity. You can basically grow your own Tuscan garden anywhere in your yard as long as you choose your plants accordingly, keeping sun loving plants in sunny locations and shade loving plants in the cooler shady areas of your yard.

The best location for a Tuscan garden is right outside your back door or surrounding your patio area where you and your friends and family can enjoy it the most. Choosing patio furniture and benches made of wood or wrought iron will add to the Tuscan look but are not necessary if you don't have them available.

Most plants and vegetables will thrive in full sun when planted in rich well-draining soil so try to plan your garden where these are readily available and use a patio umbrella or gazebo to provide shade for your happy guests.

If you are lucky enough to live in or around the Morrisville, NC area, you can visit a store called Capri Flavors where they keep a good example of a small, Tuscan-type garden out front. Capri Flavors is an importer of fine Italian foods and goods and is located in an industrial area of the town but you'd never know it with its entry and parking area flanked by fig trees, Italian herbs, lovely flowers and bushes all surrounding a gazebo covered picnic area.

Capri Flavors is owned by an adorable Italian couple who grow and care for the garden and the store themselves. The wife, Titina Vuotto gives cooking lessons in the Caprese style there and is the author of two cookbooks. Her recipe for La Caprese Salad has become world famous.

If Capri Flavors can turn an industrial type parking area into a lush Tuscan garden just think what you can do with your own back yard, or side yard, or even just a small corner of your patio.

In a Tuscan garden, size doesn't matter, the relaxing casual Mediterranean feeling is what you are looking for. In order to set the mood for your Tuscan garden try to choose a location that allows for a little privacy and incorporates some sort of seating area, whether it be a picnic table, a bench or simply a single chair for your guests to sit on and kick their feet up.

Flower filled pottery is an important aspect in getting the right look for a Tuscan garden so when choosing your location, be sure to incorporate places to set these.

Your vegetable garden needn't be hidden away. Having fresh vegetables growing nearby only adds to the beauty and ambiance of a Tuscan garden. After all, what would any Italian-style garden be without fresh tomatoes and basil?

Keeping in mind the facts that you need sun and rich, well-draining soil, choose any location in your yard and get started.

Simply Tuscan photo was found through a creative commons search and appears courtesy of Zesmerelda

When choosing plants for your Tuscan garden try to include some fresh herbs. Fresh herbs are not only useful when cooking up some terrific tuscan food but they also flavor the air of your tuscan garden with their deep sensuous aromas.

Tuscan Blue Rosemary is one of my favorites. It's easy to grow and smells wonderful. You might also want to include some of the different varieties of basil, oregano and parsley.

A Tuscan Garden is a place of beauty where food, friends and family come together to share a garden fresh meal or unwind from a busy day. This series of articles will help you plan and plant your own beautiful Tuscan garden.

How to Choose Plants for a Tuscan Garden

The Tuscan garden is named after a region in Italy known as Tuscany. Its Italian name is Toscana and it lies on the western coast of Italy. Tuscany is home to the cities of Florence, Pisa, Siena and Livorno. It is a rich agricultural area and is famous for its Chianti wine district.

When choosing plants for your Tuscan garden, look for plants that usually thrive in the Mediterranean region of the world. Choose rich fragrant herbs, lush flowers, hardy vegetables, fruit trees and vines.

Layering different types of plants together gives the Tuscan garden some of its luscious appeal. Mix vegetables, herbs, flowers, bushes and trees into the same garden beds. When layering, read planting directions carefully to avoid placing larger growing plants in front of smaller ones and be careful not to place invasive types near other plants that can be easily trampled when the invasive ones get out of hand.

You also need to watch your sun shadows being careful not to plant delicate sun lovers under containers or large trees where they will be kept in the shade for long periods of time.

There are no right or wrong plants that can be planted in a Tuscan Garden. Choosing plants and vegetables that you and your family love is a great place to start. Other good choices would include any and all vegetables, edible cooking herbs, flowering herbs, fruit trees or bushes, annual and perennial flowers, flowering or evergreen bushes, and a fruit tree or two. Your vegetable garden can be a separate entity but should be visible from your seating or water area and should include some herbs like basil, parsley and oregano.

Tomato, eggplant, all types of lettuce and cucumbers, beans, apples, figs, berries, rosemary, sage, thyme, geraniums, roses, grapes, and evergreen bushes are all wonderful in a Tuscan garden. The casual look allows for any type of flora or fauna and is only limited to your imagination.

Remember to include some smaller growing plants for your pottery containers and some shade lover's for underneath trees and along fences. Trellis climbing vines are also a wonderful choice when choosing plants for your Tuscan garden.

Remember beauty, food and family are to be combined when planning your Tuscan garden. You want to be able to experience all three elements together and a big part of that combination is the food, both seeing it grow and eating it.

Tuscan food is rustic and flavorful, a true delight in Italian cooking. A visit to Tuscanrecipes.com will give you a good sense of what Tuscan cooking is all about. Scroll through the ingredient glossary there to see what types of herbs, spices and vegetables are mainly used in Tuscan cooking then visit the recipe section for tantalizing Tuscan recipes including dishes for everything from appetizers to desserts. Use this knowledge when choosing plants and herbs for your own Tuscan garden.

Photos found through a creative commons search. Tuscan Grapevine appears courtesy of SzymonNitka and Tuscan Sunflowers appears courtesy of Funkybug

Basically any container will do nicely in your Tuscan garden. I like to mix and match planter sizes and colors to add variety to my own garden.

Grecian urns look great when paired up with colorful bowl planters or terra-cotta pots.

You can even turn an unused bird bath into an incredible looking Tuscan garden planter.

Just be sure that every container you choose has some drainage holes at the bottom to keep your plants healthy.

A Tuscan Garden is a place where beauty, food, friends and family come together to share a garden fresh meal or unwind from a busy day. This series of articles will help you plan and plant your own beautiful Tuscan garden.






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How to Choose Containers for a Tuscan Garden

Container gardening is a huge aspect in creating the look of a Tuscan garden. Whether or not you choose to use ornate Grecian style urns or simple terra cotta pots is completely up to you but the use of some form of pottery with vegetables, herbs or flowers growing out of them is imperative to achieve the proper look.

You can use several different types and sizes of pottery in your home garden. In fact, mixing pottery is encouraged and adds to the casual ambiance of your Tuscan garden.

Terra cotta pottery is a popular choice for Tuscan gardens and is usually the most inexpensive way to go. If you choose to use something a bit more ornate for your containers, keep in mind that the decor color scheme for the Tuscan style includes rich shades of brown, ochre, rusty reds, apricot or peach colors, orange, bright yellow, olive greens and deep blues.

Metallic pots and urns are another popular choice, as well as ceramic and wooden containers.

Today there is a large selection of plastic and fiberglass urns, bowls and pots that look like the more expensive pottery and metallic varieties but are cost effective as well as being unbreakable. These potting containers make it easy for the average home gardener to turn their backyards into lush Tuscan gardens using pots that only look delicate but last for a life time.

Places like Home Depot and Lowes have a good selection of these types of containers but you can find them just about anywhere including places like Big Lots and the Dollar Store.

You might even have something laying around the house that would be suitable for use as a container in your Tuscan garden. If you do choose to use something unconventional, be sure it has enough drainage holes to insure the good health of your plants. Too much water and your plant's roots will rot and die. Tuscan gardens are about life and living!

Mixing different sizes and shapes of pottery will give your Tuscan garden a more interesting look and make it possible to plant many different types of plants around your yard. The best part about using containers in your landscape plans is that they are moveable, making it possible for you to change the look of your Tuscan garden whenever the mood strikes.

Be sure to choose containers that are the appropriate size for the plants you are going to grow in them. Check plant labels for the mature plant's size before potting them.

A visit to the online site Accents of Salado will give you a good idea of what types of garden containers and yard decorations to look for when planning your own Tuscan garden. They carry a full line of containers, hanging baskets, Tuscan styled wind and garden sculptures along with interior Tuscan decorating things for your kitchen and bath. The pictures contained at this site are both beautiful and relaxing. Enjoy!

You don't have to go out and spend a fortune on pottery and urns. A few well-placed containers in your yard will be enough to achieve the Tuscan look you are going for. You can always add more, if needed, in the future.

Now that you know all the basics of planning and planting your own Tuscan garden, get outside and get growing!

Tuscan Container Garden photo was found through a creative commons search and appears courtesy of Liketearsintherain

Some of the prettiest patios I've ever seen have a Tuscan garden design.

They're comfortable and yet look elegant.

Even the smallest of spaces can be made gorgeous with a few potted plants and a bit of statuary.

Tuscan Patio Gardens photo was found through a creative commons search and appears courtesy of SzymonNitka

Tuscan Style Patio Garden photo appears courtesy of and with permission from the photographer Floralgal (Many thanks!)

Imagine your own Tuscan kitchen garden full of fresh red-ripe tomatoes, firm eggplants, rainbow colored peppers bursting with flavor, robust fragrant herbs and seasoning vegetables always available, always at your fingertips, just outside your door. You can have all this and more by planning and planting a Tuscan kitchen garden today!

To start your own kitchen garden, pick a sunny spot in your yard that is convenient to get to, you may want to run out for some herbs while in the middle of cooking, and has well draining, nutrient rich soil. Your garden doesn't have to be huge in fact, if you live in an apartment you can even grow your Tuscan garden on a patio.

Choose artistic planting containers for your herbs and smaller growing vegetables. Place these in differing spots in your garden to add interesting focal points in and amongst your vegetables. Tuscan kitchen gardens should be just as beautiful as they are practical.

Choose vegetables and herbs that are mainly used in Mediterranean cooking, think Italian food.

A seating area isn't a necessity but will add a nice touch and come in handy when you're done weeding and watering, or for relaxing with a nice glass of wine at the end of the day.

Add some pretty statues to enhance the Tuscan look and feel of your garden.

A Sampling of Tuscan Garden Plants

Tomatoes are a must in every size and color (plum tomatoes make the best sauce)
Eggplant (Parmigiana anyone?)
Hot and Sweet Peppers of every color! Don't forget those Italian frying peppers.
Zucchini (Have you tried Zucchini Linguine yet?)
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Sweet Basil, the scent alone says Italy.
Parsley, plain and Italian curly style should both be present
Pleasant tasting Greek Oregano
Tuscan Blue Rosemary (This one brings luck along with flavor)
Arugula
Broccoli Rabe
Spinach
Romaine Lettuce
Onions
And of course, lots and lots of garlic!

Tuscan cooking is simple and simply delicious. Try this Tuscan salad recipe for Bread and Tomato Salad, the next time you have some day old Italian bread on hand and see if you don't agree.

Imagine This photo appears courtesy of a creative commons search and Graylight

Find all of your organic gardening solutions here, at Arbico-Organics.com

Tuscan cooking is rusticly delicious.

It combines simple ingredients and simple cooking techniques with wonderful spices that enhance the meal and turn it into an extravaganza for the taste buds.

Everyone and anyone can be a good Tuscan cook!
Why not try one of these easy recipes tonight?

Tuscan Dining photo was found through a creative commons search and appears courtesy of SzymonNitka






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Tired of the same old salad recipe? Try something new. Tuscan-Style Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper salad made with marinated, grilled chicken served over a bed of mixed lettuces, fresh roasted red pepper and plum tomatoes all topped with Italian Vinaigrette and shredded mozzarella cheese is simple to make yet makes an unforgettable meal. It's perfect for serving as a special lunch but becomes a delight to both body and soul when enjoyed as a light supper outside on your patio (or even better while sitting in your own Tuscan Garden) on a warm summer night. Bellisimo!

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Fresh Roasted Red Peppers, sliced into strips
1 cup Italian Vinaigrette Dressing, separated into 2 ½ cup measures
4 Cups Arugula, torn
4 cups Romaine Lettuce, torn
4 fresh Plum Tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions

Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes in the fridge, using one half cup of Italian vinaigrette dressing. I personally like to make my vinaigrette fresh using Good Season's dressing mix but your favorite vinaigrette will work just as well. I usually marinate my meats and vegetables using a zip-lock bag but you can use a covered bowl instead if you prefer. Be sure to cover the chicken evenly with the marinade by turning several times.

Grill marinated chicken over medium heat. Discard left over marinade. Cook chicken approximately 6 to 8 minutes per side or until cooked entirely through. When cooked, remove from grill and cut into strips about ½ inch thick.

Using a large bowl or rimmed platter, combine arugula, romaine lettuce, roasted red pepper slices and plum tomato wedges. Toss to mix. Place the grilled chicken on top. Drizzle with the remaining ½ cup of vinaigrette and top with shredded mozzarella cheese and basil.

Serves 4

Kitchen Notes

This recipe will take about one hour from beginning to end including the marinade time.

Chicken can be broiled instead but you will lose that great outdoor flavor.

Jarred roasted red pepper may be used instead but fresh is best!

The arugula can be switched with another lettuce such as iceberg, if arugula is unavailable or unappealing to you.

I have no idea what the calorie count is for this meal but everyone knows that salad isn't fattening. If you're worried about it, just spend some extra time working the calories off in your garden, or you can use low-fat salad dressing instead.

Imagine having all of your personal favorite Tuscan recipes (or any type of recipe) organized into one convenient book. Combine your favorite professional recipes along with your own family recipes under one cover.

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This is a simple dish to prepare and serve.

Ingredients

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic (peeled, left whole)
About 1 lb. Ham cut into chunks (leftovers work great here)
1 2lb. Can (35oz.) whole Italian style tomatoes (puree them yourself in blender)
2 Empty tomato cans of water
1 teaspoon dried basil (or 4 or 5 fresh leaves)
2 Tablesppons of dried Parsley (or a hand full of chopped fresh)
Ground black pepper to taste
1/2 of a 1lb. box of small pasta (uncooked) (med. shells or ditalini work well)
2 or 3 15oz. size cans of Cannelloni Beans (white kidney beans)

Directions

In large sauce pot, heat oil over medium heat.

Add garlic and saute until browned. Remove garlic from pot and discard.

Add Ham chunks and heat about 5 minutes.

Add pureed tomatoes, water, basil, parsley and black pepper, lower heat and simmer for about a half hour to cook the tomatoes.

Add uncooked pasta and simmer until pasta is tender, about 8 minutes. (If your soup is too thick you can add more water)

Add canned beans and heat through, about 5 more minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy!