Garden Maintenance in Abruzzo: How Quickly Does a Garden Become Overgrown?

If you own a property in Abruzzo but spend much of the year elsewhere, the garden can be one of the biggest surprises when you return.

You leave behind a reasonably tidy patch of grass, a few weeds around the edges and some vegetation that looks perfectly manageable. A few months later, you can find yourself facing waist-high grass, weeds taking over paths and terraces, climbers heading in directions they were never invited to go, and trees or shrubs beginning to reclaim areas you thought were under control.

It can happen remarkably quickly.

Abruzzo's combination of rainfall, sunshine and warm growing conditions means that leaving a garden unattended for several months can create considerably more work than simply mowing the grass when you return.

For overseas homeowners, particularly those renovating a property or only spending part of the year in Italy, regular garden maintenance can therefore make a considerable difference.

Spring is when things really get moving

Spring is probably the period when an unattended Abruzzo garden can change most dramatically.

As temperatures rise and rainfall combines with longer daylight hours, grass, weeds and other vegetation can grow quickly. Land that looked fairly dormant during winter can suddenly become very active.

Leave it for several weeks and what would have been a straightforward grass cut or strim can become a much bigger clearance job.

This is particularly noticeable with rural properties where the "garden" may actually include a mixture of lawn, rough grass, olive trees, fruit trees, banks, tracks and areas of unmanaged land.

For an owner living overseas, this growth can easily happen between visits without you seeing it.

Summer doesn't necessarily stop the problem

Abruzzo summers can be hot and dry, but that doesn't mean garden maintenance becomes unnecessary.

Some grass growth may slow during particularly dry periods, but weeds, scrub and established vegetation can still become a problem. Different parts of a property can also behave very differently depending on shade, altitude, irrigation and local conditions.

There is another reason to keep vegetation under control during the summer: dry, unmanaged growth around a property isn't particularly desirable.

Keeping grass and vegetation cut back helps maintain accessible paths, entrances, gates and outside areas and generally prevents the property from looking abandoned.

A few months can make a big difference

There isn't a single answer to how quickly an Abruzzo garden will become overgrown.

A small garden in a town is very different from a farmhouse sitting in several thousand square metres of land.

But if you're leaving a rural property unattended for two, three or six months at a time, it's sensible to assume that the garden you return to may look very different from the one you left.

Regular cutting and vegetation control prevents each visit from turning into a major clearance exercise.

It can also be considerably easier to maintain land regularly than repeatedly allow it to become heavily overgrown and then bring it back under control.

Renovation properties are particularly vulnerable

This is something that's easily overlooked when buying a house to renovate in Abruzzo.

Naturally, most of your attention goes towards the house.

You're thinking about the roof, electrics, plumbing, windows, bathrooms, builders and the seemingly endless list of decisions involved in renovating an Italian property.

Meanwhile, outside, everything continues growing.

A renovation that takes 12 or 18 months can leave a previously manageable garden or piece of land requiring significant clearance if nobody has looked after it during the work.

Keeping the outside areas under control throughout a renovation also makes access easier for contractors and means you're not faced with another major project once the building work is finally finished.

What should be maintained while you're away?

The amount of maintenance required depends entirely on the property, but for many overseas owners it doesn't need to mean creating a perfectly manicured garden.

The objective is often simply to keep things under control.

That might include:

• grass cutting and strimming

• weed and vegetation control

• keeping paths and entrances accessible

• cutting back excessive growth

• seasonal pruning where appropriate

• keeping vegetation away from gates and frequently used areas

• clearing particularly overgrown sections of land

For a renovation property, the priority may simply be preventing the garden and surrounding land from becoming another problem that needs solving.

How often should an Abruzzo garden be maintained?

There isn't a universal schedule.

The right frequency depends on the size and type of garden, the time of year, altitude, rainfall and how tidy you want the property kept.

During periods of rapid growth, visits may need to be more frequent. At other times of year, considerably less intervention may be required.

For overseas owners, a sensible approach is to agree a maintenance schedule based on the property rather than automatically arranging the same visit frequency throughout the year.

A rural property near Vasto or Scerni, for example, may have very different requirements from a smaller garden closer to Pescara or a property at higher altitude towards L'Aquila.

Keeping an eye on things when you're not in Italy

The other advantage of somebody visiting the garden is simply that somebody is visiting the property.

Obvious problems can be spotted. A damaged gate, fallen branch or something that doesn't look right can be photographed and reported rather than potentially sitting unnoticed until your next trip to Italy.

For owners living abroad, photographic updates are particularly useful. You don't need a lengthy report every time somebody cuts the grass. A few photographs can often tell you everything you need to know.

Garden maintenance for overseas homeowners in Abruzzo

Owning a home in Abruzzo shouldn't mean spending the first week of every visit fighting your way through the garden.

A little regular maintenance while you're away can keep grass, weeds and vegetation manageable, prevent land becoming heavily overgrown and make returning to your Italian home considerably more enjoyable.

Abruzzo Property & Garden Care provides English-speaking garden maintenance for overseas homeowners across Abruzzo, including regular grass cutting, strimming, vegetation control, land clearance and garden care during property renovations.

If you're not in Italy full-time and need someone to keep your garden under control between visits, get in touch and tell us where your property is and what you're dealing with.