Gargano - Europe’s finest natural rock garden

For the lover of wildflowers, orchids in particular, few European localities can even begin to rival the Gargano peninsula in Puglia, the wonderful limestone lump that forms the spur to Italy’s boot. Once an island, it is now joined by the alluvial Plain of Foggia to the Italian mainland.
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Paul HD initially explored the region in the spring of 1979 in order to gather material for his first book Wild Orchids of Britain & Europe (1983). Since then, he has been back two dozen times at least, written numerous articles and walked practically every path and by-way possible. In fact, for us a year without a visit to Gargano is incomplete – we need that fix of wild orchids in vast numbers and variety. The whereabouts of many of the best plant locations often elude the casual visitor and they can only be found by wandering away from the beaten track and, each year before clients arrive, we go and check which sites are doing well. This land is an inspiration to anyone who has tried to build a rockery, for this is, arguably, Europe’s finest natural rock garden...

Gargano was once separated from the Italian mainland by a channel that later became silted up to form the plain of Foggia. Isolation from neighbouring land masses enabled
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plants here to evolve quite separately from mainland relatives with four orchid taxa considered endemic to the peninsula. Gargano is now elevated to legendary status among lovers of wild orchids. There is limited development near the coast, where pines descend from white cliffs to the sea and the waters are a deep azure blue. But, inland, Gargano is sparsely populated with much of it an upland landscape, threaded with miles of ancient stone walls and peppered with conical dwellings - ‘trulli’ - whose design dates back to the stone age. There is a wonderful beech forest at high altitude, the Foresta Umbra, that is maintained under the control of the Corpo Forestale and grazed by cows that crop at just the right height to leave it carpeted in spring with blue anemones, white narcissus and yellow orchids... Bird life is extraordinarily rich and we have seen five species of woodpecker, goshawk, eagle owls, hoopoe and golden oriole...
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There is a change of nearly 1000m in altitude between the base and summit of Gargano so that orchids and other plants on the heights can flower some three to four weeks after the same species have bloomed closer to sea level. We choose the time of our visits carefully to get the best of the plants near sea level and up at over 800m - it is a balancing act. From a distance the hillsides of Gargano might appear barren but close up they reveal an abundance of orchids and a myriad dwarf wild irises: (Iris lutescens) in lemon yellow and intermediate colour forms and the blue iris (Iris biflorus). Perhaps the true prize among Gargano endemics is the elusive Siponto Ophrys (Ophrys sipontensis) named after Siponto, the ancient Roman city on the Gulf near Manfredonia where it flowers in March- whilst, on high, it is at its best in late April: in mid to late May some very rare and unusual orchids flower - Lacaita’s Ophrys (Ophrys lacaitae) and Conrad’s Ophrys (Ophrys conradiae) - we can offer ‘made to measure’ trips at any time.
Wildphoto PRESENTATION 2008 re-worked for DVD .086

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