Shortly after we purchased Casa A Corte we bought several jasmines to grow up and partially cover our beautiful  stala (barn we use for storage). We loved the smell so much we decided to plant more around our large kitchen and dining room terrace. The perfume from the flowers is incredible.

Marcelo our friendly local from Gugliano is a very keen gardener and encouraged us to cover our kitchen terrace, making it an outdoor room, which is a lovely cool place to eat without the direct rays from the Tuscan sunshine.

After April and May the rain stops until September/ October apart from the odd storm with the grass changing from emerald green to gold.

Despite the hot summer temperatures our farmer  Gianfranco & brother still work in the full sun. Farming in Italy is a very tough job. Gianfranco wears a different hat for every job. Hay making requires a black beret, whereas spraying the grapes has to be made from a brown paper bag – who said the English are eccentric??

I love the golden hour, the perfect light that lasts about an hour at dawn and dusk which is perfect for artists. It has a beautiful warm softness. This light has attracted artists to southern Europe for hundreds of years.

Yana, one of our lovely guests painted some beautiful water colours. Her observations and use of bold colours around the house and garden were stunning and really captured the spirit and warmth of Tuscany.