blossomzine.eu 105 The release of the latest book by Lidia Zitara, “La piccola estate”, published by Pendragon, once again amazed her most careful and faithful readers. Lidia is an eclectic and independent character in the world that revolves around the word “gardening”. The book does
not explore and analyse critically the latest trends in gardens, as many would expect; it is actually a novel where the leading character is the hot southern summer and the supporting roles are plaid by a garden and a girl. It did not come as a surprise
to her fans because Lydia is not new to unsettling choices, like when she decided to abandon her mythical group of friends, administrators of the site “Compagnia del giardinaggio” to start her own blog, which then become one of the most respected and consulted in Italy.
It is the title “Giardinaggio irregolare” and its motivation “created to rebel against common feelings about gardens and gardening”, marked the point of no return in a conventional manner to match trivially roses and a cerebral, cultural, talk about plants and gardens.
The publication of her first book “Giardiniere per diletto, contributo ad una cultura irregolare del giardino” was also a nice surprise for many readers of her blog. The text is full of unconventional ideas and suggestions on how to conceive a modern garden. And finally, in a year when not much new had been published in terms of green issues, Lidia published in “La piccola estate” a novel whose plot she describes like this: “a girl has to look after a country garden for a summer.” A few words to summarize a story about friendship, summer and gardens that, I assure you, will amaze you once again; Lydia knows just how to do it.