The secret garden - Morroco - inspiring gardens

Hi

This has to be one of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen. I just had to write about it.  It is the sort of garden that makes me want to recreate it for myself. 

Its in Marakesh, Morocco. Monty describes it as "breathtakingly simple". 

There are some Olive trees around the edges, Rosemary forms a low hedge around each area. The main plant used is a grass - Stipa Tenuissima - each grass plant appears to be clipped individually, and is upright. So it doesn't look like a lawn. 

There are small patches of a pale Lavender and a few patches of Cape Garlic. Both pale violet or blueish in tint which goes with the silver leaves and the tiles on the pavement. 

Why does it work - I think its because of the following. 

It has a very limited palette - Mainly green with some silver mixed in. Some pale greys and blues in the tiles (see below). There are very few types of plants so there is a lot of repeating of plants. Both of these are good design principles. The amount of green in the garden gives it such a relaxing feel. 

I came across it watching a BBC programme called Paradise Gardens presented by Monty Don. 

To see the clip from the programme - go to.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05txncq

The garden was designed by Tom Stuart-Smith who is based in the UK http://www.tomstuartsmith.co.uk/  You can see Tom's own garden - the Barn Garden through the National Gardens Scheme on the 10th June 2018. Its nr St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK

https://www.ngs.org.uk/?bf-garden=11970 Definitely a date for my diary.

The plants
Stipa Tenuissima Link to buy plant - Jacksons Nurseries
Cape Garlic - Tulbaghia Violacea available from Unwins see picture below.
Lavender - Pale Pretender available from Perry Hill Nurseries.
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I hope you love it as much as I do.

Caroline
x


To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

My most favourite rose of all time

Dear Reader

This stunning rose is Lady Emma Hamilton. It is the best rose ever I think!


https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/lady-emma-hamilton

I bought mine from David Austin Roses - link above.

I bought it last year and have fallen in love with it. I've a lot of lovely roses, some with fantastic scents in my garden but this is the most beautiful and has the best scent of all. It is named after the mistress of Lord Nelson!

It is the most gorgeous blend of colours. I usually go for things like blush pink roses, lavender, catmint, and generally pastel shades in my garden - this is an unusual choice for me but it looks stunning with the colours I already have.

It leaves are a wonderful colour - you can just make them out in the picture, I'm not sure how to describe the colour but there is dark green, red and bronze in there!

The scent is just wonderful its like marmalade and citrus. I picked a bloom and put it on the dash of my car just as we were heading off carpacking  in the wilds of the NW coast of Scotland. For a week I could bury my nose in it and enjoy the scent which lasted, unchanged for at least a week.

Its repeat flowering, its leaves are still on the plant and its mid January. It has good disease resistance and certainly has been looking healthy in my garden. It has won an award of garden merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. It also won 1st Prize for its fragrance in the Prix International at the Nantes trials in France. I think it richly deserves these awards and I hope it got to go to the ceremonies and had a good tea afterwards.

I do hope you try it out in your garden

Caroline
x



To learn more about me please visit
https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/


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