The magic of Moroccan garden design
Year long colour is a gardener's dream that is so rarely realised - but why rely on plants?Moroccan gardens and their use of tiles bring permanent colour and texture to outdoor spaces permanently. In Gardens of Marrakesh, Angelica Gray visits the historic gardens of the city, absorbing the tradition, beauty and timeless style of the outdoor spaces. An owner of one of the spectacular gardens featured in the book describes how every day is a battle against the heat. This sentiment is often reflected in the design of the spaces - from shady alcoves and loggias to stunning enclosed courtyards, intricate, considered tiling appears everywhere.
The perfect remedy to holiday blues, garden tiling adds a flavour of the exotic. Companies like Fired Earth stock a wide selection of bright tiling options and Habibi offer delivery of artisan tiles from directly their workshops in Fez, Morocco. Take inspiration from these amazing gardens and add a touch of paradise to your outdoor space.
'Gardens of Marrakesh' by Angelica Gray, Photographs by Alessio Mei, Published by Frances Lincoln at £14.99 in paperback is out now.
Alessio Mei1/10There is no bright sign outside. It would be superfluous, a bit like Buckingham Palace announcing itself in lights. The Mamounia is not just the most notable hotel in Marrakesh but is something of a twentieth-century legend.
The Mamounia is the grande dame of Marrakesh hotels and this entrance garden hits the right note of romance, luxury, fantasy and simplicity. Tiled steps edged in traditional green and white zellij lead indirectly up to the impressive front doors, surrounded by luxuriant planting, which is a sign of life and abundance. Oversized lanterns light the travellers' way in the tradition of Islamic hospitality.
Alessio Mei2/10Drama is created in a simple linking passageway at Riad Madani with a brooding shade of magenta plaster twinned with the green tiled floor. Potted bananas interspersed with young Philodendron Bipinnatidum add hot tropical notes.
Alessio Mei3/10The loggia at Riad Enija provides a sheltered place from which to sit and enjoy the play of light and shade, the scent of owers and foliage, the gentle trickle of the fountain and the chatter of a multitude of birds.
Alessio Mei4/10There are several stunning courtyards at the Enija, besides the important riad garden. In this tiled patio courtyard potted palms have been used to dramatic, sculptural effect. To the left a pair of Trachycarpus Fortunei sit squat, like two exotically plumed birds on their nests. The star of the show though is undoubtedly a Magni cent Dypsis Decaryi, or Triangle Palm. A native of the Madagascan rainforest, it is best displayed as here, with a lot of space around its graceful arching fronds.
Alessio Mei5/10Riad Enija was constructed in the 1730s by a local dignitary as a collection of seven interconnected dars with a riad garden at its heart. But the building we see today is the legacy of a wealthy silk merchant from Fes who bought the complex in 1860 to accommodate his forty-two family members.
Blue and white is a very popular colour combination for zellij tiling, but more typical of Fes than Marrakesh. The walls of the loggia at either end of the riad garden are richly decorated with a frieze of delicately incised stucco plasterwork - known as Geps - defining the area between the colourful tiles and plain white wall above.
Alessio Mei6/10Situated near the Bahia Palace, in the area locals call the Palace or Andalusian Quarter, the Riad Mounia was built in 1860 at the start of an extraordinary building boom.
A seqqaya, or wall fountain, is a traditional element in riad architecture but this one has real personality with a modern twist.
Alessio Mei7/10In contrast to the bustling medina outside, the riad garden at Dar Si Said is a haven of peace and harmony, a veritable poem to the senses. Beautiful green and white glazed tiles imitate the ripple of water and are cool and smooth underfoot. The central fountain is protected by a kiosk, decorated with hand-painted blooms in jewel box colours. Most striking of all is the perfume of Brugmansia arborea, whose white blooms release such a heavenly scent that their common name, Angel's Trumpet, seems doubly apt.
Alessio Mei8/10Beyond the The Museum of Moroccan Arts' in Marra are whitewashed, vaulted corridors and stark ground-floor apartments, the mansion contains a well-guarded secret - a garden of chocolate box perfection. A paved, central courtyard garden, without plants, is known as an ouest ed-dar, or patio. Surfaces are decorated with multi-coloured zellij tiles which often imitate the effect of real blooms and are designed to redirect light. An elaborate wall fountain, or seqqaya, and central marble khossa, a cup-shaped fountain, animate the space with the sound of life-giving water and keep the courtyard cool.
Alessio Mei9/10The complex of buildings and gardens which make up the Bahia Palace has been described by the scholar Mohammed El Faïz as 'the last showcase built to the glory of the architecture and art of garden making of Marrakesh'. The Petit Riad gives a masterclass in proportion and balance. The four planted areas contain orange trees, underplanted with a bubbling froth of Horse Tongue Lily (Ruscus Hypoglossum) a drought-resistant and shade-loving perennial, possibly used to make the laurel wreaths of Caesars.
Alessio Mei10/10The owner of this garden loves the simple generosity and glowing fowers of the Plumbago family. Here, Plumbago Auriculata has been trained over an arch in the riad to frame a view of the beautifully painted niche, which makes the perfect hideout on hot afternoons. Inticately patterned tiling decorates the interior of the alcove seating area.
