Italian Cypress Trees

When I think of Tuscany, I think of the majestic Italian Cypress trees dotting the landscape, walking down roads and up driveways.

Lately, I've been thinking of Tuscany a lot. #2 Son leaves on Sunday for Florence. He will spend his fall semester there, and we plan to visit mid-October.

It will be fun driving through the countryside, taking photos like the one above of Italian Cypress trees.

Although we think of these trees as Tuscan, they actually originated from Syria and Persia.

They were brought to Italy by the Etruscan people and valued for their "supernatural" powers. They believed the fragrant wood of the trees could ward off evil spirits.

I'm glad we have Italian Cypresses in Asti. Here they are marching up our driveway, lending a Tuscan feel. They seem to thrive in the wine country climate, so I've been planting them here and there. Maybe they can ward off evil spirits! Or rattlesnakes!

My latest project is to plant Italian Cypresses at the end of the pool, behind the roses. I bought

seven of them and had them planted in a straight line, which wasn't easy because of the terrain.

After planting, they look much shorter!

My goal is to have them towering over the roses.

I'm throwing some fertilizer on the cypresses next week and trimming the roses. That should do the trick!