Piero Fornasetti Garden in the suburbs of Milan

They say that Piero Fornasetti invented many of his famous objects while sitting in the shade of an old apricot tree near his house. We invite you to take a walk in this garden with his son Barnaba

In the 1950s, Piero Fornasetti remodeled the family garden, preserving only the fruit trees.

Photo: MATTEO CARASSALE / PHOTOFOYER

This garden in the suburbs of Milan is a small secluded world, fragrant with hundreds of aromas, full of flowers and greenery, among which are the original creations of Piero Fornasetti (Piero Fornasetti): a clay dog, vases in the form of pine cones or white wrought—iron furniture with cute curlicues.

Barnaba Fornasetti and his 1959 Rover named Olivia.

Photo: MATTEO CARASSALE / PHOTOFOYER

“The garden was created by my grandparents when they built this house,” says Barnaba Fornasetti. — At first it was a classic orchard, but then, in the fifties, my father completely remodeled it. He created a strict, orderly composition with flowerbeds and paths laid out of stone. In the center, a giant weeping willow grew on the sand, under which I played as a child. Today, a little bit of everything is growing here.

Hydrangeas bloom in the garden in summer.

Photo: MATTEO CARASSALE / PHOTOFOYER

“There used to be a giant weeping willow in the center of the garden, under which I played as a child. A little bit of everything is growing here today”

View of the garden. The vase in the form of a cone is the work of Piero Fornasetti.

Photo: MATTEO CARASSALE / PHOTOFOYER

With the help of landscape designer Fabio (he is known as Fabio the Gardener) I managed to create a garden of continuous flowering. Forsythias appear first, then crocuses, hyacinths, daffodils planted by my mother, then comes the time of fruit trees, azaleas, wisteria, irises, peonies. But the most beautiful thing is in summer, when it’s time for hydrangeas.”

View of the house from the garden.

Photo: MATTEO CARASSALE / PHOTOFOYER

“Barnaba appreciates simplicity, and in recent years we have begun to plant flowers that have long gone out of fashion: coleus, althea, begonia, scaevola, nasturtiums,” Fabio picks up. — In autumn we plant black hellebore and different types of daffodils, scylla, hyacinths, which will be the first to bloom in spring.” We have to fight with the shadow.

A fragment of the interior. Glass glasses from the collection of Piero Fornasetti.

Photo: MATTEO CARASSALE / PHOTOFOYER

Barnaba Fornasetti’s conversation with blackbirds is simple: “I have a cat, and he’s not sleeping”

Thanks to the efforts of Barnaba and the landscape designer, flowers bloom in the garden all year round.

Photo: MATTEO CARASSALE / PHOTOFOYER

“We calculated how to properly position the trees at the entrance so that they do not block the sunlight, but still not all plants receive it in abundance,” Fornasetti Jr. continues. — We had to abandon the orchard and dig up almost all the roses, because they did not grow well. But we planted a lot of different plants to somehow “lighten” the dark areas and fill the garden with new colors and contrasts. These are white paniculate hydrangea, ligustrum, lush kiwis, which are entwined with a fence, a mighty passion flower and my favorite clematis. We have lilac, white and burgundy — almost black — lilies. Unimaginably beautiful! They self-pollinate and bloom until the end of September.”

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are prohibited in the garden, and Barnaba has a simple conversation with thrushes: “I have a cat, and he’s not napping. In general, I always leave them some berries and fruits so that they don’t touch another crop.” www.fornasetti.com