Southern Italy feels like home to Peter Amann and Gundula Anders, Munich residents who have spent the last decade or so caring for a centuries-old olive grove in the Cilento region. “It seems strange, but the Mediterranean landscape feels like a bridge to my childhood, surrounded by Latin language and Roman influences,” Amann says.
He, a botanical researcher–turned–cultural tour operator and travel-guide author, and Anders, a vocal instructor, share a love of gardening. “But not the typical Italian style,” Anders says. “Local villagers don’t understand why the garden is brown and dry in the summer and looks like the surrounding landscape.”
The orange garden (set within the orange grove) features Madonna lilies and Mediterranean bulbs like Portuguese squill, tezetta daffodils, and sea squill. Hundreds of irises bloom from November to May.Richard Bloom
Amann and Anders, who are only part-time residents, chose not to irrigate to honor the natural beauty of the Mediterranean macchia and garrigue—dense shrubs that thrive here. “I’m trained to see patterns, to understand the landscape ecology, how plants grow together. We think the mellower neutrals during summer’s drought are just as beautiful as when things are flowering,” Amann says.
They rebuilt old stone wall terraces, trimmed back orange and olive trees, and restored the rustic stone farmhouse “so that it looks exactly as we found it,” he says. They did add Euphorbia dendroides, however, which grows higher on the surrounding rocky slopes. “It’s beautiful and corresponds with the surroundings,” Amann adds. “Beauty has to do with order and things that make sense.”
The restored stone house opens to the landscape.Richard Bloom
And much of the beauty here, he notes, comes from the borrowed landscape. “The garden itself is only about an acre, but what we see is huge—mountains, woodlands, the Gulf of Salerno, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast. It’s all part of our garden.”
2026 World’s Most Beautiful Gardens winner. This article was originally featured in the July/August 2026 issue of VERANDA. Produced by Grace Haynes Wall; written by Stephanie Hunt.
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