VerdeMura, Lucca April 10-11-12, 2026 - Blooming Balcony - The Gardening Blog

The event VerdeMura 2026, in Lucca next weekend, is dedicated to roses, and we couldn't start without the specialists in the field: at this link you can find the complete program of the event.
Floricoltura Lari is presenting in preview in our country and among the first in Europe, Rosa ‘Coragold’, a variety originating from the United States, a magnificent bicolored floribunda, featuring coral orange and mustard yellow, obtained from the crossing of two famous roses, ‘Pullman Orient Express’ and ‘Ketchup and Mustard’. It is appreciated for its repeat blooming, abundant flowering, healthiness, and compact growth habit.
The Rosa richardii, synonymous with the holy rose, is a botanical species discovered in 1848 by Richard in Abyssinia, and is among the offerings of Lorenzo Chisci, Vivaio Occhi di Rosa – Il Piano d’Erboli. Its fragrance is intense, the flowers are white-pink and simple. The blooming is unique. Its growth habit is compact, not growing much in height, with a somewhat unruly yet soft development featuring long drooping shoots. Height and diameter are comparable, reaching around 120 centimeters.

As with every edition of VerdeMura, I will be present on Saturday and Sunday with my gardening tips and will share the event on the Stories of my IG profile.
Here are my appointments:

• Saturday, April 11, 11:00 AM | Spazio FiorAbilmente, Baluardo La Libertà
  A balcony for spring, instructions for use, practical advice, fun, and a few provocations will show how to set up new balcony arrangements for balconies, terraces, and gardens.

• Sunday, April 12, 10:30 AM | Spazio Agorà Verde, Baluardo San Regolo
  Antique and vintage roses, with Elena Tibiletti, curator of the Passione in Verde series: we will talk about roses, cultivation, and practical advice.

• Sunday, April 12, 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM | Meeting at VerdeMura Store, Baluardo La Libertà
  I will take you on a Botanical walk among the exhibitors, to visit VerdeMura from a new perspective, and see you in Lucca, Francesco Diliddo.

For the more discerning plant collectors who await events like VerdeMura and Murabilia to find unusual plants and species they have yet to encounter in person, the Vivaio Corazza of Lucia Cortopassi presents the Hippeastrum idimae. It is the smallest among all Hippeastrum, but also one of the rarest in nature and cultivation. This bulbous species was described only in 2017 and discovered in the mountainous and wooded region of Cardoso Moreira in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The blooming is early, with the first flowers appearing as early as the end of February. The flower stalk can reach a maximum height of 20-25 centimeters with small white and pink flowers streaked with darker lines. It grows approximately from March to October.
The Vivaio Area Palustre of Roberto Pellegrini, specializing in aquatic plants and those for wet areas, will bring to VerdeMura 2026 marsh and wetland irises, a taste of the collection boasting over 250 different taxa among species and varieties. Iris nelsonii is one of the 5 botanical species that make up the Louisiana Iris group. Famous for the unusual color of its flowers, which are usually red or pink, it is cultivated in gardens or within ponds and lakes. In nature, it is very rare and has only been found in the swamp of Abbeville in Louisiana.

Spring is also the season for flowering trees and shrubs, from native species, perhaps selected over time, to those coming from the other side of the world.
The blooming of fruit trees marks the spring landscape, joined by cherry trees, prunus, and flowering almonds that color the gardens. In the space of Vivaio Il Sorbo, you can find Prunus triloba, a charming shrub, up to three meters tall, that bears elegant, double pink flowers on reddish branches. Hardy and easy to cultivate, it should be sheltered from prevailing winds and cold drafts, making it a true herald of the new season.

Camellias, also due to their historical connection with Lucca, and the cut flower exhibition, ‘Fior di Camellia,’ which takes place in the basement of the Botanical Garden in conjunction with VerdeMura.

Tulips are among the must-have blooms for a garden that wants to have a wow effect, just like daffodils, hyacinths, and then alliums. Tulips in incredible colors, with shapes that are not always predictable, capable of surprising like ‘Exotic Emperor’, a hybrid of T. fosteriana, which when it opens becomes a celebration of petals creating a very decorative volume effect, almost as if the flower has “exploded.” White tending towards yellow with green streaks. You can find them at Floriana Bulbose.

Color, as Gabriele Cantaluppi of GEA, Green Ever After teaches us, can also be obtained using plants like the splendid leaf pelargoniums, species where the decorative value of the bloom remains subordinate to the base chromaticism. Perfect for adding a warm and colorful note even where sun exposure is only partial and traditional varieties would struggle to bloom. Capable of creating, by skillfully combining different species and varieties, a chromatic mosaic comparable to a palette of colors.