The British nation stops, everyone’s talking about it, others are watching it on TV; it is THE trend setting event of the year where the media have the potential to make or break you as a member of industry. It’s gruelling, tiring, exciting and attended by everyone who is anyone. It is simply known as ‘Chelsea’.
The Chelsea Flower Show is the Royal Horticultural Societies long running horticultural show, allowing designers, growers and many other stakeholders to showcase their talent, expertise and unique products (outdoor living and sculpture is in abundance) to the general public. It is the world wide gardening event of the year, bringing together garden lovers from around the globe – this year saw exhibits by Flemings & Trailfinders Australian Garden [Australia], Kirstenbosch [South Africa] and the Horticultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago to name just a few.
There were a number of evident common trends in plant selection which were showcased amongst the big Show Gardens. General consensus was that Alliums, which have featured not only this year but for the past 6 or so, have become all too common as a stately plant associated with Chelsea. There is a strong desire from industry to see something new and different. Along with Alliums, other popular favourite plants include clipped Buxus which can be shaped to a wide range of forms, making it one of the most versatile base plants of a design.
While lush clean greens and pure white flowering plants dominate the designs this year, the other standout featured colour was purple. There was a significant amount of predominantly rich purple flowering plants cleverly offset by the contrasting white and green theme. As mentioned, the rich purple flowers of Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ stand tall in many of the exhibitor’s displays with Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ also a popular purple structural plant. It also comes into its own when in flower, with a large yellow Crassulaceae inflorescence rising above the plant.
With the event being held at a high point in the middle of spring when many plants are flowering, timing the flowering period of these to coincide with Chelsea can be difficult with designers often having backup selections if one crop fails for one reason or another. Prior to opening on Press Day, walking around the site you would see Paeonia flowers wrapped up with insulation material around the buds like little blankets. This primarily aids in keeping the temperature even around the flower to prevent it from spoiling and opening too much before the all important Press Day. Just one of the many tricks in constructing a garden at Chelsea.
While the Wisley Plant Centre does not display at Chelsea, many other major garden centres do, with the common ‘grow your own’ theme dominating. There was a feast of ideas demonstrating outdoor living intermingled with home grown fruit and vegetables and ornamental displays of a wide variety of trees and shrubs.
So what is it that we as members of the Nursery and Garden Industry can take from this? These trends are a prime marketing point to increase sales within your nursery. At the Wisley Plant Centre, we have taken these trends of Chelsea and constructed Planted Containers and a display garden with associated plants for sale next to this. Appropriate point of sale is a must to ensure that the theme is understood and cross merchandising evident to inspire the customer. It is your opportunity to sell!
One of my favourite suggestive planting combinations I saw (at the Hilliers display) include the bright red bottle brush flowers of Callistemon citrinus and red roses, worked as focal points amongst coppiced Eucalyptus, Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, Ceanothus cv., Lavandula ‘Tiara’, Choisya ternata ‘Aztec Pearl’, Pinus sylvestris, Convolvulus cnoerum and other plants in the same silver, green and red palette.
And of course I can not go without mentioning the Flemings Trailfinders Australian Garden. It was fantastic to see a piece of Australia be built up surrounded by everything else so quintessentially English in character. The final result was colourful, full of contrast and highly curvaceous, brought about by the featured sandstone walls and stringy bark decking. Yet again, another prime marketing point for you to utilise!
If you’re keen to see what it’s all about, and get an insight into the 2008 Chelsea Flower Show, the DVD is out now, available through www.rhs.org.uk/shopping
Chelsea Highlight Plants
Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ (P)
Achillea ‘Moonshine’
Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ and other cv. (P)
Angelica sp.
Buxus sempervirens ??
Carex testacea
Cercis canadensis ‘Forrest Pansy’
Dicksonia antarctica
Digitalis cv.
Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’ and other cv. (P)
Hosta cv.
Lavandula cv. (P)
Lupinus cv. (P)
Nepeta sp.
Papaver cv.
Phormium cv. (P)
Salvia cv. (P)
Verbascum cv.
(P) – The Purple Plants of Chelsea
Text and Photos by Anthony J Curnow
Reference Websites:
www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea
www.sanbi.org
www.hillier.co.uk
www.flemings.com.au/chelsea2008
Monday, 2 June 2008
Monday, 12 May 2008
France - Springtime In Paris
It had been two years since my last visit to the love capital of the world; and I was head over heals yet again… Spring time in Paris is a must see, with the flowering trees (Aesculus and Paulownias particularly) putting on an amazing display of colour, and an erotic ambiance which hovers and envelops you as you picnic (with a fine drop of red!) in the parkland surrounding the Eiffel Tower.
Despite my love for the city on a whole, the gardens are what drew me back to this beautiful city. Travelling with a group of students undertaking the Wisley Diploma in Practical Horticulture (see the education section at www.rhs.org.uk); we had received a grant to visit iconic gardens in our chosen destination. Arriving in Paris, we visited both Jardin des Plantes and Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Both of these are very different in their own right and worth a visit, but if you are limited for time, then my pick in central Paris would be Parc André Citroën.
Constructed on 14 hectares, the public open space is the former site of a Citroën automobile manufacturing plant, being named after its founder as Parc André Citroën. It is a modern landscape consisting of a number of gardens and features which is said to create a transition from the urban to rural landscape. The creators, Alain Provost and Gilles Clément are two of France’s leading landscape architects and explain the design as having four themes – artifice, architecture, movement and nature. Each is represented in its own unique manner, blending together to create an overall landscape that has elements that will appeal to nearly any plant enthusiast.
The central feature is a large lawn which is popular with Parisians who enjoy taking a break from their busy lifestyles to work on their tans. It is surrounded by a number of various water features and tightly clipped Magnolia grandiflora, Photinia robusta and huge blocks of Carpinus betulus (Hornbeam) and Fagus sylvatica (Beech). Surrounding the lawn, the landscape splits off into a number of very different gardens all with their own character and style. One area, known as the Serial Gardens were of great interest, portraying six different colour themed gardens which provide inspiration to any gardener. They demonstrate various dramatic planting combinations, featuring a wide range of plants and utilising hard landscape features and structures which tie the whole setting together. The blue garden for example was looking particularly spectacular with swathes of Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, Myosotis, Camassia cusickii, Pansies and a show stopping display provided by a large Wisteria floribunda. One plant which really stood out in this garden however was not blue flowering, but a large yellow flowering Cytisus battandieri. The plant complimented the rest of the garden with its silver blue foliage, but when in flower it stands out from the rest and makes a huge statement. Parc André Citroën is a well thought out landscape with many attractive features, providing a tranquil haven for escape from the busy city life, right in the middle of town.
Other parts of the garden feature a variety of clipped plants, all grown for their colour and seasonal interest. In one area there is a grove of Betula under planted with Buxus which is clipped into small squares of varying heights. I was in awe of what was being achieved there. What to the untrained eye looks simply like an amazing landscape, I doubt is appreciated for the high level of maintenance which goes into such a setting. Parc André Citroën is one of the most astonishing urban landscapes I have seen.
Outside of Paris, I visited the decadent Palais de Versailles. Here lies one of the most famous landscapes of the world, typical of the French Baroque style, the site was designed as the palatial centre of government for Louis XIV. It is made up of vast avenues, opulent fountains, magnificent parterres, a collection of elaborate outdoor sculpture and an Orangery where the ‘Versailles’ planter originates (a style of planting container).
Walking around the site is tiring to say the least, the place is huge. Classical music is played over huge speakers, setting the scene and projecting into every corner of the garden, relaxing and diminishing the effect that thousands of people in one place can have. The buttress of a Platanus (Plane) tree provides welcome respite from the hot midday sun, allowing one to revel in the magnificence of the avenues that the line of trees creates.
Clipped conical Buxus is a prominent feature around the palace, with the main vista (the Great Perspective) covering not only the Park of the Château but the whole town of Versailles stretching out as a centre point from the Palace. Either side of this vista, the garden is split up into large squares, surrounded by hedging and formally laid out in a pattern of diagonal running paths. Each large square is laid out differently creating very different settings, but walking between them one can easily become disoriented by the never ending stretches of pleached/hedged Fagus that wall you in either side of the path and fork off in all sorts of geometric directions. Versailles has a bewildering layout, but one which works given its size. The formality makes for some ease of movement around the site, while each corner reveals something different; sometimes a quiet and shady corner under a burgundy leafed Beech (suspected Fagus sylvatica ‘Riversii’) tree surrounded by buttercups (Ranunculus sp.) springing from the lawn or a hot dry gravel square featuring at its centre, a flat water feature that throws out ridiculous amounts of water at a ridiculous height from a singular jet.
On arrival, with the warm European sun pelting down upon the masses, none of the water features were running. However, as the light clouds began to roll in early afternoon, on queue something magical happened. The fountains came to life little by little, with their glory adding a unique element to the landscape. In a landscape as vast as this one, without the running water it felt hot and heartless, but with the sound and light spray of water in the air, life was restored and an ambiance of elegance was created.
Versailles, is not just a garden, but a landscape that oozes with arrogance, dwarfing the people that move through it, emphasising the self indulgence that it was developed around. The garden has much to offer at many levels, not just for the horticulturist and garden lover but for the historian as well. Delving into the history of the place helps to understand the magnificence of Versailles. It is indeed one of the most famous gardens in this world for a reason; the pure monumental scale on which it has been constructed is something that must be seen with the naked eye. It simply must be seen to be believed…
Text and Photos by Anthony J Curnow
Despite my love for the city on a whole, the gardens are what drew me back to this beautiful city. Travelling with a group of students undertaking the Wisley Diploma in Practical Horticulture (see the education section at www.rhs.org.uk); we had received a grant to visit iconic gardens in our chosen destination. Arriving in Paris, we visited both Jardin des Plantes and Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Both of these are very different in their own right and worth a visit, but if you are limited for time, then my pick in central Paris would be Parc André Citroën.
Constructed on 14 hectares, the public open space is the former site of a Citroën automobile manufacturing plant, being named after its founder as Parc André Citroën. It is a modern landscape consisting of a number of gardens and features which is said to create a transition from the urban to rural landscape. The creators, Alain Provost and Gilles Clément are two of France’s leading landscape architects and explain the design as having four themes – artifice, architecture, movement and nature. Each is represented in its own unique manner, blending together to create an overall landscape that has elements that will appeal to nearly any plant enthusiast.
The central feature is a large lawn which is popular with Parisians who enjoy taking a break from their busy lifestyles to work on their tans. It is surrounded by a number of various water features and tightly clipped Magnolia grandiflora, Photinia robusta and huge blocks of Carpinus betulus (Hornbeam) and Fagus sylvatica (Beech). Surrounding the lawn, the landscape splits off into a number of very different gardens all with their own character and style. One area, known as the Serial Gardens were of great interest, portraying six different colour themed gardens which provide inspiration to any gardener. They demonstrate various dramatic planting combinations, featuring a wide range of plants and utilising hard landscape features and structures which tie the whole setting together. The blue garden for example was looking particularly spectacular with swathes of Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, Myosotis, Camassia cusickii, Pansies and a show stopping display provided by a large Wisteria floribunda. One plant which really stood out in this garden however was not blue flowering, but a large yellow flowering Cytisus battandieri. The plant complimented the rest of the garden with its silver blue foliage, but when in flower it stands out from the rest and makes a huge statement. Parc André Citroën is a well thought out landscape with many attractive features, providing a tranquil haven for escape from the busy city life, right in the middle of town.
Other parts of the garden feature a variety of clipped plants, all grown for their colour and seasonal interest. In one area there is a grove of Betula under planted with Buxus which is clipped into small squares of varying heights. I was in awe of what was being achieved there. What to the untrained eye looks simply like an amazing landscape, I doubt is appreciated for the high level of maintenance which goes into such a setting. Parc André Citroën is one of the most astonishing urban landscapes I have seen.
Outside of Paris, I visited the decadent Palais de Versailles. Here lies one of the most famous landscapes of the world, typical of the French Baroque style, the site was designed as the palatial centre of government for Louis XIV. It is made up of vast avenues, opulent fountains, magnificent parterres, a collection of elaborate outdoor sculpture and an Orangery where the ‘Versailles’ planter originates (a style of planting container).
Walking around the site is tiring to say the least, the place is huge. Classical music is played over huge speakers, setting the scene and projecting into every corner of the garden, relaxing and diminishing the effect that thousands of people in one place can have. The buttress of a Platanus (Plane) tree provides welcome respite from the hot midday sun, allowing one to revel in the magnificence of the avenues that the line of trees creates.
Clipped conical Buxus is a prominent feature around the palace, with the main vista (the Great Perspective) covering not only the Park of the Château but the whole town of Versailles stretching out as a centre point from the Palace. Either side of this vista, the garden is split up into large squares, surrounded by hedging and formally laid out in a pattern of diagonal running paths. Each large square is laid out differently creating very different settings, but walking between them one can easily become disoriented by the never ending stretches of pleached/hedged Fagus that wall you in either side of the path and fork off in all sorts of geometric directions. Versailles has a bewildering layout, but one which works given its size. The formality makes for some ease of movement around the site, while each corner reveals something different; sometimes a quiet and shady corner under a burgundy leafed Beech (suspected Fagus sylvatica ‘Riversii’) tree surrounded by buttercups (Ranunculus sp.) springing from the lawn or a hot dry gravel square featuring at its centre, a flat water feature that throws out ridiculous amounts of water at a ridiculous height from a singular jet.
On arrival, with the warm European sun pelting down upon the masses, none of the water features were running. However, as the light clouds began to roll in early afternoon, on queue something magical happened. The fountains came to life little by little, with their glory adding a unique element to the landscape. In a landscape as vast as this one, without the running water it felt hot and heartless, but with the sound and light spray of water in the air, life was restored and an ambiance of elegance was created.
Versailles, is not just a garden, but a landscape that oozes with arrogance, dwarfing the people that move through it, emphasising the self indulgence that it was developed around. The garden has much to offer at many levels, not just for the horticulturist and garden lover but for the historian as well. Delving into the history of the place helps to understand the magnificence of Versailles. It is indeed one of the most famous gardens in this world for a reason; the pure monumental scale on which it has been constructed is something that must be seen with the naked eye. It simply must be seen to be believed…
Text and Photos by Anthony J Curnow
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Great Dixter - A Garden of More Than 4 Seasons
Great Dixter is one of England’s finest garden examples where traditional horticultural practices are still being used to maintain an historic, seasonally interesting and highly intensive garden full of colour and contrast. It is an English garden of aspiration!
Set around the Manor of Dixter which dates back to the 1450s, the gardens were developed from 1912, when it was bought by Nathaniel Loyd as an agricultural property with farmhouse attached. Since that time, Christopher Loyd who inherited the property after the death of his father Nathanial in 1972, developed a strong love for plants and as such became one of England’s acclaimed gardening writers and plantsmen.
Christopher Loyd met Fergus Garret in 1988 when he was visiting the gardens as a student, and their combined passion and motivation led to a lifetime of friendship. Since the passing of Christopher Loyd in recent years, Fergus Garret has continued to set gardening trends while challenging horticulture. He has done this by avoiding traditional planting schemes and literally reinventing the colour wheel by utilising combinations that go against the rule such as the use of pink and yellow! On arrival to Dixter, one of Garrett’s first challenges was to convert what was a tired old formal rose garden into a rainbow of colour that would be an exotic garden featuring Cordylines, Cannas, Dahlia, Musa, Eucalyptus, Verbena bonariensis (a characteristically Dixter plant) and others. This level of ongoing experimentation is what makes Great Dixter one of Englands much loved gardens.
I was spending two days at the gardens with the Wisley Diploma students on a volunteer weekend, but little did I realise in the middle of winter that the gardens would be bare, only outlined by the characteristic Dixterian Yew hedges. As a result, there were a number of other maintenance duties which take place throughout the winter, and the one I was assigned to would be making fresh potting mix (or compost as it is called here).
The first step in this process is to use a turf cutter to take the top off a meadow and then to stack this high and let it decompose. From this, shavings are taken from one end and spread over an area, and then top dressed with compost from the gardens which is comprised mainly of decomposed clippings from those same meadows. These two parts are then rotary hoed together before being shovelled through a screen filter. This fine material is the base of the compost, with peat, pine bark, grit, fertilisers and other additions made after it has been sterilised by a huge fire throwing machine. It is backbreaking work, but I think one would agree that it makes a supreme growing medium, whereby plants will grow out of the media into its new surrounding soil quicker. This has been found on site at Great Dixter, primarily attributing to the fact that they are being grown in essentially the same soil they are to be planted into as stock plants for the gardens ongoing replacement scheme.
The stock produced by the Gardens Nursery staff is sold through a small plant centre at one end of the gardens, where visitors have the option of buying a plant propagated and grown on site in Dixters very own compost. It makes for a very attractive and attainable souvenir!
There are many interesting attributes that characterise Dixter as such a progressive garden. Quiet possibly it’s most popular of these is the successional planting schemes which Christopher Loyd is famous for. Having written many books on the topic, Dixter is the garden where these ideas were born. In each season the planting schemes primary goal is to provide interest throughout the entire growing season. This means that from Spring through to Autumn as one plant flowering early in the season begins to fade, another pops up in its place to provide further interest. There is no doubt that the level of success is varied, and it is an ongoing challenge to find combinations that work well, resulting in an incredibly high maintenance garden where the love for plants is evident at every level.
The philosophy behind successional planting is exhaustive, but to start such a canvas as Garret explained to us, the first step is to identify what you want the garden bed to look like at its peak and work first backwards and then forwards from that point. In doing so, think about using as much variation in colour, texture, form, height, flower, fruit and leaf and also plant type such as climbers, evergreen, perennials, biennials and annuals so that you create a canvas which changes constantly. The key is to also ensure that it looks good if it were viewed not only in colour, but black and white which is where the varied design elements and principles come into play. It’s all about balancing the number of plants so that one doesn’t swamp the other and they live in harmony. For example, bulbs will often die off if the other plantings around them are too thick and don’t die down at the right time.
Great Dixter demonstrates a truly inspirational style of gardening, bringing forth every little bit of passion that England and Australia share for our favourite past time. Forget the no maintenance style of gardening; this is one style where the purpose is to create your own living landscape full of ever changing interest throughout the year. While it is difficult to create what Great Dixter does due to Australia’s varying environment, the love and care which goes into developing a garden is something that we must harness once more. As horticulturalists in the nursery and garden industry, and the primary promoters of plants, we have to recapture that passion for gardening by encouraging and inspiring our customers when they step through the door of your plant centre looking for something to buy.
Text and Photos by Anthony J Curnow
Set around the Manor of Dixter which dates back to the 1450s, the gardens were developed from 1912, when it was bought by Nathaniel Loyd as an agricultural property with farmhouse attached. Since that time, Christopher Loyd who inherited the property after the death of his father Nathanial in 1972, developed a strong love for plants and as such became one of England’s acclaimed gardening writers and plantsmen.
Christopher Loyd met Fergus Garret in 1988 when he was visiting the gardens as a student, and their combined passion and motivation led to a lifetime of friendship. Since the passing of Christopher Loyd in recent years, Fergus Garret has continued to set gardening trends while challenging horticulture. He has done this by avoiding traditional planting schemes and literally reinventing the colour wheel by utilising combinations that go against the rule such as the use of pink and yellow! On arrival to Dixter, one of Garrett’s first challenges was to convert what was a tired old formal rose garden into a rainbow of colour that would be an exotic garden featuring Cordylines, Cannas, Dahlia, Musa, Eucalyptus, Verbena bonariensis (a characteristically Dixter plant) and others. This level of ongoing experimentation is what makes Great Dixter one of Englands much loved gardens.
I was spending two days at the gardens with the Wisley Diploma students on a volunteer weekend, but little did I realise in the middle of winter that the gardens would be bare, only outlined by the characteristic Dixterian Yew hedges. As a result, there were a number of other maintenance duties which take place throughout the winter, and the one I was assigned to would be making fresh potting mix (or compost as it is called here).
The first step in this process is to use a turf cutter to take the top off a meadow and then to stack this high and let it decompose. From this, shavings are taken from one end and spread over an area, and then top dressed with compost from the gardens which is comprised mainly of decomposed clippings from those same meadows. These two parts are then rotary hoed together before being shovelled through a screen filter. This fine material is the base of the compost, with peat, pine bark, grit, fertilisers and other additions made after it has been sterilised by a huge fire throwing machine. It is backbreaking work, but I think one would agree that it makes a supreme growing medium, whereby plants will grow out of the media into its new surrounding soil quicker. This has been found on site at Great Dixter, primarily attributing to the fact that they are being grown in essentially the same soil they are to be planted into as stock plants for the gardens ongoing replacement scheme.
The stock produced by the Gardens Nursery staff is sold through a small plant centre at one end of the gardens, where visitors have the option of buying a plant propagated and grown on site in Dixters very own compost. It makes for a very attractive and attainable souvenir!
There are many interesting attributes that characterise Dixter as such a progressive garden. Quiet possibly it’s most popular of these is the successional planting schemes which Christopher Loyd is famous for. Having written many books on the topic, Dixter is the garden where these ideas were born. In each season the planting schemes primary goal is to provide interest throughout the entire growing season. This means that from Spring through to Autumn as one plant flowering early in the season begins to fade, another pops up in its place to provide further interest. There is no doubt that the level of success is varied, and it is an ongoing challenge to find combinations that work well, resulting in an incredibly high maintenance garden where the love for plants is evident at every level.
The philosophy behind successional planting is exhaustive, but to start such a canvas as Garret explained to us, the first step is to identify what you want the garden bed to look like at its peak and work first backwards and then forwards from that point. In doing so, think about using as much variation in colour, texture, form, height, flower, fruit and leaf and also plant type such as climbers, evergreen, perennials, biennials and annuals so that you create a canvas which changes constantly. The key is to also ensure that it looks good if it were viewed not only in colour, but black and white which is where the varied design elements and principles come into play. It’s all about balancing the number of plants so that one doesn’t swamp the other and they live in harmony. For example, bulbs will often die off if the other plantings around them are too thick and don’t die down at the right time.
Great Dixter demonstrates a truly inspirational style of gardening, bringing forth every little bit of passion that England and Australia share for our favourite past time. Forget the no maintenance style of gardening; this is one style where the purpose is to create your own living landscape full of ever changing interest throughout the year. While it is difficult to create what Great Dixter does due to Australia’s varying environment, the love and care which goes into developing a garden is something that we must harness once more. As horticulturalists in the nursery and garden industry, and the primary promoters of plants, we have to recapture that passion for gardening by encouraging and inspiring our customers when they step through the door of your plant centre looking for something to buy.
Text and Photos by Anthony J Curnow
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Morocco - Souqs, Odd Smells and Citrus
Buttocks and thighs pummelled by the rhythm created by the dromedary which I am sitting upon, and the sun setting on the distant moon like landscape, I am a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the medina in Marrakech, Morocco, North Africa.
Looking out over the vast sand dunes of Erg Chebbi, I am awed by the existence of plant life, but not surprised by nature’s ability to colonise places that seem -at first glance- uninhabitable. A local technique (Photo 1) I viewed was to apply mud to the tips of newly planted trees to protect the growing tip from the sun but also to break apical dominance and create lateral bud burst and overall a bushier plant.
Photo 1
In the dunes of Erg Chebbi on the edge of the Sahara near the Algerian border, there are clusters of distorted trees growing close together, suspected to be Tamarix sp. (Photo 2), often on their own little hills of sand held together by the intertwined roots that have been exposed over time as the dunes have shifted and changed shape. Walking across the rocks, at the base of a huge dune, there is a large stand of a sweetly scented Lilly which I thought was either an Ornithogalum sp. or Puschkinia sp. (Photo 3) which common to the foothills of Turkey, is seemingly found throughout that equatorial zone. On reaching the top of the dune, the silence is as overwhelming as the vastness of the desert.
Photo 2a
Photo 2b
Photo 3a
Photo 3b
On the bus to Marrakech, flagged down in front of a house in the middle of nowhere, the teen collecting the tickets proceeded to climb onto the roof of the bus and began to throw Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) pups (Photo 4) down to a group of men who were inspecting them with much debate. Date palms are dominant throughout the country and used for their ornamental but more importantly productive value.
Photo 4
Everywhere you go, but particularly in the cities, the trees that line the sides of roads are painted white to about 4 ft up the trunk. It is said that this is to aid in their visibility during night time, but also to reflect heat from the trunk, providing protection from the hot desert sun.
On arrival in Marrakech, it is immediately evident that there is a greater appreciation for this urban landscape, with lined avenues of clipped Citrus sp. (Photo 5) under planted with a mixture of Rosa cv. ablaze with their fresh burgundy growth which is beginning to bud up with the onset of Spring. ‘The municipality, with the help of landscapers, botanists and ecologists are working hard to restore and lay out more gardens in the city.
Photo 5
Marrakech is famous for its gardens, having more than any other Moroccan city, and while I didn’t have time to check out some of the more famous ones, I did take the time to visit a very progressive garden with a twist. The Cyber Park Arsat Moulay Abdel Salam garden (Photo 6) is a short walk from the meeting point of Djemaa el-Fna, the main square in the centre of town where you will find all sorts of characters from snake charmers to story tellers. Lying on 8 hectares of land, it was given ‘a 21st century overhaul by the Kings (Mohammed VI) Foundation for the Protection of the Environment in conjunction with Maroc Telcom’. Part garden, part internet café, it is an interesting place to visit in the middle of such a dry country. It staggers me that self standing touch screens (Photo 7) offering free internet in the middle of a green oasis are so accepted by its people and seemingly standard in a place where donkeys are used to haul gas bottles piled high in enclosed areas of historic medinas.
Photo 6
Photo 7
As soon as you walk through the gates of Cyber Park, you enter a green lush oasis in the desert, back dropped by the snow capped peaks of the High Atlas Mountains. With straight long pathways, the park is laid out in a grid like fashion, segregated by swathes of Pennisetum alopecuroides (Photo 8) that line the pathways, shifting elegantly in the light breeze. Beyond that you find Citrus sp. and gnarled old Olea sp. planted in rows, creating an orchard-like feel but which are clipped and coppiced to an inch of their life. They thrive in the heat however, as does the colourful bougainvilleas which ramble and climb their way towards the sky, using Phoenix sp. as a support (Photo 9).
Photo 8
Photo 9
The garden beds lie lower than the pathways and are shaped by wells making for large reservoirs which are flood-irrigated regularly, distributing moisture to the root zone of particular plants with ease. It is a rudimentary system, but one which works as most plants appear in exceptional condition. The rampant buffalo grass particularly loves the moisture and it appears to be an ongoing battle to keep it from taking over hedging and the garden beds.
Ceratonia siliqua (Carob) trees provide deep shade and respite from the sharp sun, while other flowering genus’ such as Melia azedarach, Schinus molle, Jacaranda mimosifolia and Acacia sp. all provide seasonal interest at varying times of the year, and functional value as more welcoming shade. Colour is added to the predominantly grey (from the olives) and lime green landscape (which is caused by the exuberant flush of new growth from Citrus) by mass plantings of Nerium oleander, Hibiscus cv. and Plumbago auriculata. The delicate pink stem borne flowers on Cercis silaquastrum and bright yellow flowers of Acacia sp. create a supposedly unpalatable contrast, which I think in fact works very well.
Morocco is awash with natural attractions from the calming silence of the Sahara to its tallest peak Jebel Toubkal which stands at 4167m. Marrakech, the cultural capital, is a city standing in the middle of western influence with a progressive present and positive outlook for the future, their gardens a welcome escape from the cigarette smoke and pollution created by zippy mopeds weaving their way through the tourist populated souqs (markets).
Reference – Morocco Lonely Planet Travel Guide
Other Good Sources of Plant Information:
http://www.herbarium.rdg.ac.uk/moroccan_plants/moroccan%20plants/main.asp
http://homepage.mac.com/jmdelacre/flore/ - FR
Text and Photos by Anthony J Curnow
Looking out over the vast sand dunes of Erg Chebbi, I am awed by the existence of plant life, but not surprised by nature’s ability to colonise places that seem -at first glance- uninhabitable. A local technique (Photo 1) I viewed was to apply mud to the tips of newly planted trees to protect the growing tip from the sun but also to break apical dominance and create lateral bud burst and overall a bushier plant.
Photo 1In the dunes of Erg Chebbi on the edge of the Sahara near the Algerian border, there are clusters of distorted trees growing close together, suspected to be Tamarix sp. (Photo 2), often on their own little hills of sand held together by the intertwined roots that have been exposed over time as the dunes have shifted and changed shape. Walking across the rocks, at the base of a huge dune, there is a large stand of a sweetly scented Lilly which I thought was either an Ornithogalum sp. or Puschkinia sp. (Photo 3) which common to the foothills of Turkey, is seemingly found throughout that equatorial zone. On reaching the top of the dune, the silence is as overwhelming as the vastness of the desert.
Photo 2a
Photo 2b
Photo 3a
Photo 3bOn the bus to Marrakech, flagged down in front of a house in the middle of nowhere, the teen collecting the tickets proceeded to climb onto the roof of the bus and began to throw Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) pups (Photo 4) down to a group of men who were inspecting them with much debate. Date palms are dominant throughout the country and used for their ornamental but more importantly productive value.
Photo 4Everywhere you go, but particularly in the cities, the trees that line the sides of roads are painted white to about 4 ft up the trunk. It is said that this is to aid in their visibility during night time, but also to reflect heat from the trunk, providing protection from the hot desert sun.
On arrival in Marrakech, it is immediately evident that there is a greater appreciation for this urban landscape, with lined avenues of clipped Citrus sp. (Photo 5) under planted with a mixture of Rosa cv. ablaze with their fresh burgundy growth which is beginning to bud up with the onset of Spring. ‘The municipality, with the help of landscapers, botanists and ecologists are working hard to restore and lay out more gardens in the city.
Photo 5Marrakech is famous for its gardens, having more than any other Moroccan city, and while I didn’t have time to check out some of the more famous ones, I did take the time to visit a very progressive garden with a twist. The Cyber Park Arsat Moulay Abdel Salam garden (Photo 6) is a short walk from the meeting point of Djemaa el-Fna, the main square in the centre of town where you will find all sorts of characters from snake charmers to story tellers. Lying on 8 hectares of land, it was given ‘a 21st century overhaul by the Kings (Mohammed VI) Foundation for the Protection of the Environment in conjunction with Maroc Telcom’. Part garden, part internet café, it is an interesting place to visit in the middle of such a dry country. It staggers me that self standing touch screens (Photo 7) offering free internet in the middle of a green oasis are so accepted by its people and seemingly standard in a place where donkeys are used to haul gas bottles piled high in enclosed areas of historic medinas.
Photo 6
Photo 7As soon as you walk through the gates of Cyber Park, you enter a green lush oasis in the desert, back dropped by the snow capped peaks of the High Atlas Mountains. With straight long pathways, the park is laid out in a grid like fashion, segregated by swathes of Pennisetum alopecuroides (Photo 8) that line the pathways, shifting elegantly in the light breeze. Beyond that you find Citrus sp. and gnarled old Olea sp. planted in rows, creating an orchard-like feel but which are clipped and coppiced to an inch of their life. They thrive in the heat however, as does the colourful bougainvilleas which ramble and climb their way towards the sky, using Phoenix sp. as a support (Photo 9).
Photo 8
Photo 9The garden beds lie lower than the pathways and are shaped by wells making for large reservoirs which are flood-irrigated regularly, distributing moisture to the root zone of particular plants with ease. It is a rudimentary system, but one which works as most plants appear in exceptional condition. The rampant buffalo grass particularly loves the moisture and it appears to be an ongoing battle to keep it from taking over hedging and the garden beds.
Ceratonia siliqua (Carob) trees provide deep shade and respite from the sharp sun, while other flowering genus’ such as Melia azedarach, Schinus molle, Jacaranda mimosifolia and Acacia sp. all provide seasonal interest at varying times of the year, and functional value as more welcoming shade. Colour is added to the predominantly grey (from the olives) and lime green landscape (which is caused by the exuberant flush of new growth from Citrus) by mass plantings of Nerium oleander, Hibiscus cv. and Plumbago auriculata. The delicate pink stem borne flowers on Cercis silaquastrum and bright yellow flowers of Acacia sp. create a supposedly unpalatable contrast, which I think in fact works very well.
Morocco is awash with natural attractions from the calming silence of the Sahara to its tallest peak Jebel Toubkal which stands at 4167m. Marrakech, the cultural capital, is a city standing in the middle of western influence with a progressive present and positive outlook for the future, their gardens a welcome escape from the cigarette smoke and pollution created by zippy mopeds weaving their way through the tourist populated souqs (markets).
Reference – Morocco Lonely Planet Travel Guide
Other Good Sources of Plant Information:
http://www.herbarium.rdg.ac.uk/moroccan_plants/moroccan%20plants/main.asp
http://homepage.mac.com/jmdelacre/flore/ - FR
Text and Photos by Anthony J Curnow
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