Great Gardens of Tuscany

Tuscany has a way of making even seasoned gardeners stop in their tracks. It’s not just the honeyed light on cypress avenues, the scent of rosemary warming on a stone wall, or the soft geometry of olive groves stitched across the hills. It’s the sheer confidence of the gardens: places where centuries of design, craft and plant knowledge come together to create landscapes that feel both theatrical and deeply lived-in.

This is exactly what makes the Great Gardens of Tuscany tour such a treat — and why I’m genuinely excited to be escorting it. I’m never happier than when I’m sharing practical insight, pointing out the small details that make a big difference, and helping people see a garden with fresh eyes. On this tour, we’ll be doing just that — in one of the most garden-rich regions in Europe.

A Tuscan garden journey – where design meets atmosphere

Tuscany’s gardens are often described as “formal”, but that word doesn’t quite capture the experience. Yes, you’ll see structure: clipped hedges, stone terraces, long perspectives and carefully placed statuary. But you’ll also feel the softness that comes from age — moss in the joints of old paving, wisteria thickening over pergolas, and borders where Mediterranean shrubs mingle with roses and perennials.

As we travel, we’ll explore gardens that represent the very best of Italian garden tradition: places shaped by Renaissance ideals of proportion and harmony, and later enriched by romantic planting and a collector’s eye. Expect moments of grandeur, certainly — but also intimate corners, shaded courtyards, and those irresistible Tuscan views where the garden seems to dissolve into the wider landscape.

Villa Gamberaia: a masterclass in elegance

One of the jewels of the tour is Villa Gamberaia, set in the hills above Florence. Garden lovers around the world speak of it with reverence, and for good reason. It’s often cited as one of the finest examples of an Italian villa garden, famed for its balance of restraint and drama.

Here, the garden is a series of outdoor rooms, each with its own mood: terraces with crisp lines and rhythmic planting, water features that bring movement and light, and carefully framed vistas that draw your eye out across the valley. It’s a place that teaches you about composition — how a path is aligned, how a hedge is clipped, how a pot is positioned — and yet it never feels cold. It feels like a garden made for living.

When we visit, I’ll be encouraging you to look beyond the headline views and notice the craft: the way evergreens are used to anchor the design, the role of repetition, and how the planting supports the architecture rather than competing with it.

The romance of historic villas and their gardens

Tuscany is rich in historic villas, and the tour brings you into gardens that are normally experienced only through books and photographs. These are places where the past is present in every stone step and weathered statue — but they’re also living gardens, constantly evolving.

You’ll see how Italian gardens use structure to cope with heat and drought: shade from pergolas and tall trees, thick walls that hold warmth, and planting choices that thrive in long summers. Think aromatic shrubs, silvery foliage, cistus and myrtle, clipped box or yew, and the unmistakable presence of cypress. It’s inspiring for anyone gardening in a changing climate, and I’ll be sharing ideas you can take home — whether you garden in a city courtyard or a large country plot.

Florence and the wider Tuscan landscape

No garden tour of Tuscany would be complete without time in Florence, a city where art, architecture and horticulture have always been intertwined. The region’s gardens don’t sit apart from culture — they are part of it. You feel that in the way terraces echo the lines of palazzi, and in the way sculpture and planting are used together to create atmosphere.

And then there’s the landscape itself: vineyards, olive groves, woodland and rolling hills that provide the perfect setting for these gardens. Even between visits, the journey is part of the pleasure — the changing light, the glimpses of hilltop villages, the sense that you’re travelling through a painted backdrop.

What you’ll gain — beyond the photographs

A tour like this is more than a collection of beautiful places (though you’ll certainly come home with a camera full of them). It’s a chance to deepen your understanding of gardens and to enjoy them in good company.

As your escort, I’ll be on hand throughout to add horticultural context, answer questions, and share the sort of practical observations that help you translate inspiration into action. We’ll talk about:

• How Italian gardens use structure to create calm and clarity
• Plant combinations that cope with sun, wind and dry soils
• The role of water, stone and shade in making a garden comfortable
• How to borrow Mediterranean ideas in a British garden (without trying to copy Tuscany wholesale)

Most importantly, we’ll enjoy the gardens properly — not rushing, but taking time to absorb the detail, the atmosphere, and the quiet brilliance of these landscapes.

Join me in Tuscany

If you love gardens — whether you’re an experienced gardener, a passionate beginner, or simply someone who finds joy in beautiful places — this tour is designed to delight you. Tuscany offers a rare combination: gardens of international significance, a rich cultural setting, and that unmistakable Italian sense of style.

Places on escorted tours can fill quickly, and the best way to avoid missing out is to book while availability remains.

Come and join me on the Great Gardens of Tuscany tour — and let’s experience some of Italy’s most inspiring gardens together.