Within minutes of seeing the Garden of Ninfa for the first time, I knew it was something special. Located south of Rome, the English-style garden, built around the ruins of an abandoned Italian town, feels as if it was plucked from a fairytale. As our group took in the view, the garden seemed to demand silence for us to appreciate its surroundings—buildings covered in thick ivy and sinewy roses; knee-deep, lake-edge irises; and careless bunches of lilies around timbered trees. As we tiptoed through installations of seasonal blossoms, we heard a symphony of nature—the twittering of birds, the hum of winds blowing through lofty trees, and the insistent clacking of bamboo fronds.
Situated only a few miles from Cisterna in the lee of the Lepini mountains, the 260-acre garden, dotted…
