Paradise Revisited

This issue our gardening expert Conrad McCormick shares inspiration from the gardens he has visited on his travels to Marrakech.

- Conrad McCormick

Marrakech, known as the ‘Red Rose City’ due to the earthy colour of its historic pink hued buildings, is an intense place, with bustling souks, where exotic spices piled high scent the air, and Islamic, North African and European cultures all come together in one chaotic and beautifully intense melting pot. The thronging city of Marrakech is only a short three hour 30 minute flight from Ireland, with direct flights from Dublin, but both physically and culturally, it’s a thrilling and exhilarating world away from our Northern European way of life.

Its lush secret gardens, found in the central courtyards of its historic riads, surrounding its grand places and museums all provide a welcome haven from the sensory overload of the bustling Medina. Initially we found the whole experience almost overwhelming, but by taking time to recharge in its tranquil gardens we could emerge refreshed, ready to take on the city once again.

Ever since its origins in the eleventh century it has been a place of gardens, with over two thirds of the walled Medina originally comprising gardens and orchards. It remained this way until the 1920s when Morocco was still a French protectorate, after which many open spaces were built over.

The region has a dry and seemingly inhospitable climate, searingly hot in summer with temperatures in July and August sometimes exceeding 40°C, while the majority of its rainfall is mainly limited to winter and spring. The Atlas mountains, looming on the horizon, are what allowed city life to flourish in this hostile and arid region. A network of tunnels, known as khettaras, an ingenious feat of engineering, were built to transport water over a distance almost 50 miles from the mountains to the city, some of these are still in working order 900 years later!