Ortidea, orchids on display at the Botanical Garden of Rome, more than a visit among flowers and in nature, it was a therapeutic and multisensory experience. Lingering at the exit for a few seconds, the visitors’ reassuring smiles and regenerated faces say a lot about the time spent inside the exhibition.
“It’s therapeutic, I feel better. If they rented me a room here I would move in right away,” stated a lady holding terracotta pots.
Ortidea is a mix of activities: from workshops to seminars to in-house tours, there are those who have spent an entire weekend indoctrinating themselves on the subject. Now that growing plants indoors is all the rage and our relationship with nature makes us healthier and more humane, those who don’t appreciate it are aliens, or have a secret to hide.
Easy ironies aside, it is impossible not to appreciate the Jap garden, the rose garden, the bamboo grove, and even the panorama from above that returns a memorable view of Rome. The Botanical Garden, these days as flowered as ever, has no small history: it was founded in 1886; before that date it was just another garden.
The Botanical Garden has popular, research and plant conservation purposes. Not to mention the positivity and romance of the butterfly house: somewhere between fiction and reality, you can appreciate butterflies of all colors and sizes fluttering about. For children it seems like a dream, but even for adults the beauty and surprise effect is there. Not only flowers, but also fountains, small bridges, rocks and ponds make the garden a unique and rare location. Including the meditation space, where you can stop and admire how much beauty nature gives.
Not to mention kokedama-grown plants, which is a Japanese technique involving potting soil, clay, and a natural culture that makes plants flourish despite not having a pot. The outward result is what it is. Not to mention plants from the air: referred to as tillandsia, which have been trending lately, but what a beauty to hang them under the ceiling and make the rooms green, purified and simply wonderful places!
