On Greens

It's giving Harry Potter.

Welcome to the Friday UnRecipe post for paid subscribers, another installment of photo stories from Italy. If you missed the first installment, On Reds, you can read it here. Thanks for being here! You can read more about my work here.

The first time I went to Firenze, I was surprised that I loved it so much given how little greenery was around. It was enchanting and frustrating for me to realize that many of the gardens there were tucked behind the walls of a building, hidden from public view and reserved as quiet havens for the people who lived there. I’m sure that has been the case there for centuries.

Now, when I go, I make it my mission to seek out as many green areas as I can. On a recent trip, this included the Giardino di Boboli, the Giardino dei Semplici, and a small community garden called Giardino Elio Chianesi that Colin and I stumbled into completely by accident.

I love walking around these gardens and soaking in the shades of green, especially in juxtaposition to the other colors and textures that abound in such ancient urban areas. To see the way that the green morphs from yellow to blue to aquamarine to brown is to see the full spectrum of the color. To see the way that the citizens of the city find ways to preserve these little snips of greenery is to see the full spectrum of life within a place such as Firenze.

This color story, anchored in greens, tells the story of these hidden worlds where greenery thrives. As always, make sure to click on the photo to enlarge it! We’ll be back on Tuesday to showcase another color story.