Gardeners in Italy reserve the space for growing vegetables but are known for using beautiful fragrant flowers in their window boxes, balconies, and landscaped areas. The orange-tree flower, white lily, violets, and roses in shades of white, pink, and yellow are popular flowers to use as gifts in Italy, according to The Flower Expert website. The rolling countryside boasts many colorful and fragrant flowers, such as the Del Papa, oleander, bougainvillea, jasmine, aster, wild orchids, periwinkle, and bluebells.
Even city dwellers in Italy grow native herbs on their fire escapes, balconies, and windowsills. Using herbs in Italian recipes is considered a must in this culture, which is famous for its spicy, tangy cuisine. Native herbs that are plentiful in farmer's markets and home gardens include sage, rosemary, mint, thyme, and basil. Curly parsley is mainly used as a garnish, but the flat leaf parsley is often used in fish, soups and salads, and vegetable and pasta dishes.
Olives, grapes, broccoli, wheat, parsnips, and carrots all originated from Italy, and this is one of the reasons food is among its main exports, according to the KidCyber website. Different types of lettuce grow well in Italy, and radicchio is native to this country. Garlic, fennel, and arugula are grown in the temperate climates of Italy and help to create salads with many different taste sensations. Italy was also the first country known to grow tomatoes as edible produce, as early as around 1500.
