That’s how I felt as I struggled to find my camera in time to catch this series of shots that illustrate the intricacies of gardening, Florence-style.

Ready

These little Ape (ahh-pee) trucks are everywhere in Italy and for good reason.  They provide transport on narrow city streets and they are very economical to run.  This is a four-wheel model, but the three-wheeler is even more common.  Ape is the Italian word for “bee” and it’s an appropriate name because that’s what these mini-trucks sound like.  I couldn’t quite decipher what I was looking at as the little vehicle buzzed along in my direction at a very impressive speed,

Set

but by the time it got this close, I could see that someone was getting a delivery of a few very healthy potted trees.

Go

The mystery of a city like Florence is that on many streets that look just like this one, there are wonderful gardens behind the buildings.  It’s always a surprise to enter an apartment from a busy street, only to walk through to a leafy green oasis that separates two city blocks. I watched as the gardeners turned into one such arrangement…..a place I know.

Just another citizen getting ready for summer!