SOn its cover, the illustration by Maria Rite Stirpe di a sprig of raspberry loaded with delicious red fruits invites you to spend the next year together with Gardenia. A habit that has become a real appointment for many of us over the last 20 years.
The Gardenia diary is in fact the best-selling on newsstands in Italyas evidenced by the 40,000 copies of last year. This practical and refined weekly guide accompanies us among blooms and plantings to always keep with us, in a perfect format to always be at hand (12 by 18 centimeters) to write down thoughts, appointments and also to always have available information, curiosities and useful advice on plants and bloomsas well as always telling us what the main events and horticultural exhibitions of the year.
Made of ivory handmade paper with a burgundy page marker ribbon and it also contains the indication of the moons and the Saints. The 2026 edition is embellished with 15 watercolors signed exclusively by Maria Rita Stirpeone of the most successful botanical painters in Italy, and from six artists who trained at her schoolnamely Elisabetta Aroldi, Francesca Bottazzi, Luigia Dal Puppo, Giulia Galasso, Paola Pasini and Alessandra Zoppini.
Gadernia’s agenda and botanical art
«Like every year, Gardenia’s Agenda is a tribute to a precious art, that of botanical illustration that our magazine has always valorised. And a tribute to the first issues of Gardenia, when the cover was illustrated” – explained the director Emanuela Rosa-Clot – «Even in times of pervasiveness of the photographic image, within reach of every smartphone, we continue to believe that botanical painting offers something more. Because of this we wanted to dedicate the 2026 Agenda to the work of an artist, Maria Rita Stirpewhich has created a real school through the courses it holds throughout Italy. On the cover we publish a delicious raspberry portrayed by Maria Rita; illustrating the 12 months are the drawings of six artists who learned from her the patient art of portraying nature from life. A collective work made of flowers and fruits to wish a fruitful year to all our readers.”
The Gardenia exhibition
Gardenia’s Agenda 2026 was presented at Natural History Museum in Milan during the meeting “Flowers and fruits: illustrated biodiversity”. For the occasion the original watercolor plates created for the 2026 Agenda are exhibited on the first floor of the museum together with entomological specimens from the museum’s collections e they will remain on display until Sunday 2 November.
The whole world of Gardenia just a click away
Gardenia in addition to the monthly magazine on newsstands, the diary and the page Instagramis now also available online at Gardenia Webthe new platform designed to offer an even richer and more engaging experience to those who love greenery. On Gardenia Web. you can browse the issues of gardenia, read the insights, consult the guides and even interact with a virtual gardener who answers all our questions using Gardenia’s decades of experience to provide timely and useful answers.
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