What to do in Maremma? Visit BotanicalDryGarden!

A holiday in the Tuscan Maremma can lead you to discover many more or less well-known wonders, especially when it comes to natural beauty. This fascinating and wild land is indeed imbued with a very special energy, giving rise to breathtaking landscapes and evocative hidden corners.

If you are a lover of greenery wondering what to see in Maremma during your stay, you are in the right place! This extraordinary land is home to Italy's first dry botanical garden, a themed garden of over 4 hectares, perfect for spending a day outdoors. Explore BotanicalDryGarden with us and discover many interesting facts about the park, the different areas that make it up, and the activities held within.

The botanical garden, a celebration of the dry philosophy

BotanicalDryGarden is a themed botanical garden: the over 1,500 plant species and varieties here are all low-water and low-maintenance. This selection brings together Mediterranean plants and unusual species from all over the world, blended into a harmonious landscape full of surprises.

The park was established in 2010 as an integral part of the Mates Piante nursery, which has specialized in producing Mediterranean plants since 1994. It is a living manifesto of the power of the dry philosophy: the species housed here are able to get by on very few emergency waterings throughout the year, a characteristic that makes them perfect from an eco-sustainability perspective.

The park can be visited in all seasons, and each has its own particular beauty. Summer is when the extraordinary resilience of the dry garden is most appreciable, capable of remaining lush even in the midst of a severe drought and releasing the most intense aromas. Spring and autumn, on the other hand, are the periods when the color palette is at its most splendid. Winter is the most unusual choice, but don't be fooled: the presence of so many evergreen plants will ensure plenty of beauty, especially if you come to visit us on a sunny day.

The possibility of a 360° sensory journey

Such a wide variety of plants makes BotanicalDryGarden a true sensory garden: the species within it are highly stimulating for visitors, enabling them to use all their senses to better connect with the surrounding nature. This type of approach makes it the perfect stop for a holiday in Maremma with children.

Sight is obviously the preferred sense, capable of getting lost among the endless colors of the flowers and the thousand shades of green in the park. Taste comes next, delighted by the scents of the vast selection of aromatic plants scattered everywhere. Touch will recognize textures of every kind (but don't forget delicacy and caution, we recommend!), and hearing can enjoy the thousand sounds of nature, a concert very different from the chaotic din of big cities.

We haven't forgotten taste, of course. This sense can also be exercised thanks to BotanicalDryGarden, but obviously not inside the park: tasting parts of unknown plants can be very dangerous, as we all know. At the end of your visit, however, you can visit our outdoor garden (a new feature we will inaugurate in spring 2022) and buy an aromatic plant to flavor your dishes: a tangible and tasty reminder of your visit to the botanical garden.

If you are particularly interested in fully experiencing this sensory journey, come visit us with a group of friends: with at least 10 people, you can book a guided tour including a sensory journey led by an expert from our team.

The areas of the park

BotanicalDryGarden is a multifaceted space in constant evolution, which aspires to blend different types of beauty within it to offer an unforgettable experience. The park includes many areas where art and nature harmonize perfectly; let's discover them together!

Garden of the Elements

The Garden of the Elements is a landscape installation that creates an environment conceptually evoking the four elements. It begins with water, which borders the path leading towards the air: here, the scent of a collection of rosemary accompanies you up to a massif covered by plants with an ethereal and light appearance, capable of swaying at the slightest breath of wind. This gives the garden a sense of movement and dynamism that we are often not accustomed to thinking about.

The next element is fire, symbolized by a brazier placed inside a crater. It concludes with a central space covered by a selection of grasses: it is here that tribute is paid to the earth, capable of giving life even when subjected to the harshest drought conditions.

Plant Theater

The Plant Theater is one of the crown jewels of BotanicalDryGarden, a space where nature and music manage to blend into a perfect synthesis. The theater's wings are composed of magnificent cypress trees that surround the stage, covered by a soft lawn of Zoysia tenuifolia.

The Plant Theater is a privileged venue for evocative concerts on summer evenings: it is an intimate and cozy environment where the silence of nature enhances every single note.

Garden Art

BotanicalDryGarden also houses a truly unique exhibition space, Garden Art. Here, a permanent collection of contemporary artworks is placed inside a dense cypress grove. The exhibited works are curated by Maurizio Cont, an eclectic artist who in October 2021 chose Garden Art to present his most recent work: a project dedicated to Julian Assange, co-founder of WikiLeaks, who has been in prison in the United Kingdom since 2019.

The work was presented at BotanicalDryGarden and temporarily exhibited here before being welcomed to its permanent home in the province of Cuneo, while an exact copy will continue to be part of our permanent collection. This new form of collaboration renews the potential of Garden Art as an exhibition space capable of hosting temporary exhibitions.

Labyrinth

The latest addition to BotanicalDryGarden is the labyrinth, an imposing area soon to be inaugurated. Built on an area of almost one hectare (roughly the size of a football field), the labyrinth consists of a maze of paths bordered by different species of low-water plants. The labyrinth will be accessible from three different entrances, from which you can explore the nine circles that make it up, which are themselves structured as smaller labyrinths.

New projects on the horizon for BotanicalDryGarden

The BotanicalDryGarden park, as we have seen, is a versatile space that lends itself to ever-new projects. In the summer of 2021, BotanicalDryGarden by Night was inaugurated, a series of tastings with Special Guests that saw us collaborate with local excellences and host highly distinguished personalities.

Spring and summer 2022 will see many new projects designed to allow visitors to enjoy the park in an increasingly immersive way. Among the must-see new features will be the opportunity to participate in picnics (both by day and by night) and discover the magic of a mobile aperitif immersed in greenery. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter to always stay up to date on the world of BotanicalDryGarden!