The sounds of these sidestreets were playing children, distant sweet accordion music and the klickity-klack of dinners being made. And of course the streets were covered in plants of all sorts. Vines dangling like tinsel on a Christmas tree, flowering over window frames and doorways, grapes full of fruit that were actually quite edible spilled over into reach.
At first glance, they look a little haphazard and ill-kept, these gardens on the walls, roofs and pavement. Yet the more I saw them, the more I realized they were quite purposeful and cared for.
These photos are all from within a couple of blocks of our apartment, but the other places I went in Rome held a similar scene. It makes me excited to visit my own little back porch garden next to my terracotta orange apartment building in Portland. Until then, I’ll just soak up the greenery, Italy style.
