The fact that there is extraordinary land in Chianti to make excellent wine is now well known. Only a few people would expect that special species of wild orchids grow in this area, together with many other flowering plant varieties. For this reason, a visit to the not overly known Chianti botanical park is also worthwhile. Created in 2001, by the owners of the agricultural company Casa Emma that is situated on the same land, it aims to develop this natural heritage and make it into something to be enjoyed by the public. It is situated in the heart of the Chianti Classico, in the Municipality of Barberino Val D’Elsa to be precise.
The Park consists of 5 hectares of woodland, approximately 4 hectares of which have been left in their natural state, which can only be crossed by tracks that easily allow you to observe the plants there. In the remaining grounds you can see the rose garden where six varieties of roses found in old cottages have been gathered for now.
There is also a formal garden that is home exclusively to the plants that grow naturally in the parkland and the surrounding woods. However, the most striking spectacle that awaits visitors is from the second half of April when the wild orchids are already in full flower: first the Ophrys sphaegodes and Orchis morio, to then make room at the start of May for the Orchis purpurea, and so on all the others, finishing in June with the last, Himantoglossum adriaticum.
(Portions of this article first appeared in "Toscana & Chianti News")
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