The good luck flowers

 Good luck, happy marriage, wealth, honor

This column most of the time is about food. Today I want to talk about one of the most impressive and beautiful places I ever seen, the Centro Botanico Mountan, one of a kind worldwide. It’s a wonderful private peonies garden, the largest one in Europe where there is a rare collection of peonies. Very close to Viterbo, about one hour from Rome, easy to reach, the garden is in Vitorchiano. It’s located on an area of fifteen hectares, together with centuries-old oaks, holm oaks, cypresses, olive trees and two wonderful avenues covered with wisteria. It is said that the peony is named after Paeon,a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Asclepius became jealous of his pupil; Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower. A peony is a plant you will enjoy for a long time. Peony plants can live to be up to 100 years still producing flowers. The Centro Botanico Moutan collection brings together over 250,000 plants including about 600 different varieties and natural hybrids belonging to known botanical species.
Paeonia officinalis (European peony, Common peony) has been cultivated in Europe for years. The root has been used medically for over 2,000 years. Root is antispasmodic, diuretic, sedative and tonic and has been successfully employed in the treatment of convulsions and spasmodic nervous affections such as epilepsy. It has also been used in the treatment of whooping cough and suppositories are sometimes made of the root to relieve anal and intestinal spasms, hemorrhoids and varicose veins. Peonies are also used for cosmetics; they can act on skin spots with a depigmenting efficacy. They have an antioxidant action, protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV rays and have important anti-aging properties for reducing wrinkles. Beautiful to the eye but also pleasant to the nose, peony inebriates with its delicate floral notes that enter the composition of fresh and elegant perfumes.
Inspired by the many colors of the peonies, inside the Centro Botanico there is the Color Cafè, an elegant and informal restaurant with a warm yet sophisticated atmosphere where you can have lunch in the midst of floral scents.
The Blooming season takes place in a time frame of 2 months, April and May, so don’t miss it.

Moutan Botanical Center
Vitorchiano
Località Pallone
Strada Statale Ortana 46
www.centrobotanicomoutan.it

For any further information contact me at
stefania.montalbano@carlozucchetti.it