Abruzzo’s flower power is extraordinary; wandering in Abruzzo becomes a voyage of botanical discovery.  Throughout Spring you can uncover Naked Men (Orchis Italica)  and go gaga over the ampled thigh Lady Orchids (aka Ochis Purpurea) plus a whole host of other wildflowers that I can’t yet begin to put a name to.  That naming problem is common here with no all-encompassing flower books that I can find, thank goodness for Flickr & Facebook.

Walking in Abruzzo in early Spring, whether hiking in the valleys or pathfinding in the Apennine highlands, one thing is guaranteed, the fragrance of “un mille fiori”!   The high & low notes of nature’s perfume can almost cause neck ache as you look around desperately trying to identify from what bloom or blossom each diaphanous scent comes from.

Whether staying in the Majella or Corno Grande mountains in Spring expect to see that hibernational coat of bright white snow dusting those grey stone forms transform into a seemingly unending wave of colour. Meadows as well as farmers’ fields become a wildflower rainbow festa, enchanting you with an array of silky petals whose shapes & textures leave you gasping as you become almost a rather ungainly human honeybee.

 6th June 2010

Author: Sam Dunham

Sam is a very lucky midlife 'mamma' to A who is 13 and juggles working as a freelance SEO copywriter & teaches IGCSEs at Istituo Cristo Re in Rome. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo and 'English in the Woods' initiative.