A suburban Liverpool garden

Pots inspired by her former home in Morocco take pride of place around Fatima Aabbar-Marshall’s plant-packed Liverpool garden, as Sue Bradley explains

- Sue Bradley

FATIMA Aabbar-Marshall regards her garden as a sanctuary, a beautiful place in which she can find peace and tranquillity after a busy day at work. She makes the most of the spaces behind and in front of her Victorian home to indulge a passion for plants that she shares with her mother Fatna, who lives in Morocco.

And while the temperate climate Fatima enjoys in the Sefton Park area of Liverpool is somewhat different from the drier conditions of her homeland, she’s able to grow some of the flowers, fruits and herbs she knew during her childhood through her liberal use of flower pots.

“We didn’t have a garden as such in Morocco, but we had a courtyard and my mum used to have all sorts of plants, many of which would be grown in five-litre oil cans,” Fatima explains.

Pots play an important role

“I remember seeing lots of tender geraniums (pelargoniums) and marigolds, which I grow here from seed, and also a few tomatoes and herbs such as coriander and parsley. “There was even a large fig tree that we would sit under, do homework and even sleep beneath in order to avoid the heat of the sun.”

“Pots help to soften the edges of hard landscaping”

Fatima’s pots of plants play an important role in the garden. They enable her to soften the edges of hard landscaping features, such as her patio and a wooden garden shed, with lush foliage and pretty flowers. They also offer her a degree of flexibility, enabling her to move seasonal flowering plants to the fore when they are looking their best.