Marrakech is a city of riads with tranquil courtyard gardens, built around a pool or fountain, and which offers a wonderful antidote to the sensory overload, crowds, dumper trucks, motorcycles and laden donkeys of the medieval Medina. It … Continue reading
The first time I visited Jardin Marjorelle, some 12 years ago, I was excited to see this wonderful garden with its cacti and succulents displayed with an artist’s eye. It was a revelation to me, and of course the vibrant … Continue reading
Gardens can be interesting for many reasons, but for me there is one category that holds a special fascination – those created by almost superhuman effort out of the most inauspicious circumstances. The Palmatum in Santa Cruz, Tenerife is one … Continue reading
People love plants for many reasons, and at one end of the spectrum are those who value and collect them for scientific interest and at the other, those who take great joy in the structure of a garden, the mass … Continue reading
The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco (chimpampas) are just 25km (15 mile) from the historic centre of Mexico City, but as a mega-city of 22 million people, it can take over an hour to reach them. They have a delightful carnival … Continue reading
Although Cesar Manrique’s El Jardin de Cactus is his best-known landscape intervention, Jameos del Agua is his most spectacular. Visitors descend first into the large cavern-like café-restaurant, then zig-zag down a steep bank planted with shade-loving perennials into an astonishingly … Continue reading