Tag Archives: courtyards

A Stunning and Ornate Andalusian Courtyard in Cordoba, Spain

February 24, 2023 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

Cordoba is famous for its beautiful patios and courtyards, and even has a Patio Festival every year, where many private residences will open their doors to the public to show off their blooming patios. It is a source of pride to many of the people in Cordoba, and the door of many buildings are left open during the day so passerbys can admire the may courtyards dotting the historic old town.

The patios of Cordoba and Andalusia in general, show the strong influence of the Moorish occupation that lasted in Spain until 1492, when Granada was the last city to fall back to the Catholic rulers Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. That influence is obvious in the designs of the interior courtyards and in the use of the many water features, tiles and statuary to create green retreats.

This particular patio on Calle Encarnacion is actually two courtyards opening one into the other. The first one is a bit more formal:

The second one offers covered areas and is more an extension of the living space:

Botanical gardens, Historic gardens

The Jardins d’Essais, Rabat’s Historic Botanical Gardens, Part II: The Andalusian Garden

December 6, 2016 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

The city of Rabat, capital of Morocco, is a Unesco World Heritage site, and the Jardins d’Essai Botaniques, literally meaning Gardens of Botanical Trials, was classified a national heritage site in 1992.

These gardens were created between 1914 and 1919, under a joint initiative of the sultan Moulay Hafid and the French Protectorate. They were designed by one of my favorite garden architects, Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, best known for the Rose Garden and the Iris Garden of Bagatelle outside Paris, but who created gardens in Spain and Morocco in addition to his city planning work as a French public servant, laying out the plans for the modern cities of Morocco.

The gardens were reopened by the current King in 2013, following extensive renovations after years of neglect. They include over 650 species of plants, including rare varieties of tropical, sub-tropical, and succulents, and an arboretum.

The Jardins d’Essais are separated by a road into two distinct gardens. the western side includes the Moorish garden and museum, while the eastern garden is a bit larger and more formal, with distinct garden areas for various types of plants.

Because there is a good bit to see here, I am dividing this into several posts, and this is the second post on the western gardens.

Forestier was intensely influenced by the gardens of Andalusia, in particular the presence of water. He recreated for example the water canal running down the stairs of the Generalife in Granada, in the stairs of the Larribal Gardens he created in Barcelona. Here, he gives us a typical Andalusian garden, complete with plantings, water features, and a Moorish house used as the garden museum.

Container gardens, Patios & Courtyards

More Patios and Courtyards of Cordoba, Spain

October 20, 2016 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

Beautiful patios can be found throughout Andalusia, influenced bytthe Moors that ruled in Southern Spain until a final defeat in 1492. Cordoba embraced this heritage in its patio tradition perhaps more than any other Spanish city and has been celebrating with its famous Patio Festival in May since 1933. Here are a few of the many patios to be found throughout Cordoba’s old town, showcasing the use of fountains and water features, pebble patio designs typical of the region, and of course great container gardening ideas..

A craftsman’s workshop

Private residences:

A convent courtyard:

Cordoba bus station:

Botanical gardens, City Parks and Gardens, Historic gardens

The Jardins d’Essais: Rabat’s Historic Botanical Gardens, Part I

August 16, 2016 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

Because there is a good bit to see here, I am dividing this into several posts, and this is the first post on the western gardens.

While inaugurated in 2013, much work remained to bring these gardens back to their former glory, and it is visible in particular in the western gardens were large areas remain to be cleaned up, and others have been planted or replanted in recent years so the specimens are still quite small. But while wandering down the alleys, Forestier’s signature style is unmistakable in the way he creates intimate garden spaces tucked away everywhere, and blends plantings and garden structures seamlessly for an element of surprise.

Patios & Courtyards

More Pebble Designs & Patio Flooring Ideas from the Courtyards of Spain

March 6, 2016 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

Found throughout the south of Spain is the use of intricate pebble designs not only in the patios and courtyards, but also in many public areas and city squares. I am featuring here some of the many designs I came across, in particular in Granada , Cordoba and Sevilla.

Container gardens, Patios & Courtyards

Patios and Courtyards of Cordoba, Spain

February 21, 2016 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

The Archbishop’s Building:

Hotel courtyards:

Private residences:

Cordoba’s film museum:

Renowned Caballo Rojo restaurant:

The University of Cordoba:

Formal gardens, Historic gardens, Theme gardens

Sevilla’s Alcazar: Ladies Garden and Hydraulic Organ in the Mannierist Gardens

November 24, 2015 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

The Alcazar of Sevilla is an outstanding example of Mudejar architecture and one of the most beautiful palaces of Andalusia. Originally built by the Almohades dynasty, it was expanded upon by later rulers through the Middle Ages until the Reconquista by the Catholica rulers, who subsequently added to the palace as well until the 19th century. The Alcazar remains to this day the official residence of the King of Spain in Sevilla.

The gardens were developed in the Moorish style as an integral part of the palace design, with extensive patios, fruit orchards, produce gardens and landscaped grounds, to produce food for the palace as well as aesthetic pleasure. As with all moorish gardens, water features are everywhere.

The formal, or mannierist gardens, are laid out at directly along the palace and bordered by the fantastic grotto gallery. They are made up of several smaller gardens and architectural elements. In this post I will concentrate mostly on the Ladies Garden, with the Fountain of Neptune, the Hydraulic Organ and the Lion Pavilion.

Historic gardens, Patios & Courtyards

Sevilla’s Alcazar: The Courtyard of the Maidens

September 1, 2015 Globetrotting Gardener 1 Comment

This post concentrates on the Patio de las Doncellas. According to wikipedia :

“The name, meaning “The Courtyard of the Maidens”, refers to the legend that the Moors demanded 100 virgins every year as tribute from Christian kingdoms in Iberia.

The lower level of the Patio was built for King Peter I and includes inscriptions describing Peter as a “sultan”. Various lavish reception rooms are located on the sides of the Patio. In the center is a large, rectangular reflecting pool with sunken gardens on either side. For many years, the courtyard was entirely paved in marble with a fountain in the center. However, historical evidence showed the gardens and the reflecting pool were the original design and this arrangement was restored. However, soon after this restoration, the courtyard was temporarily paved with marble once again at the request of movie director Ridley Scott. Scott used the paved courtyard as the set for the court of the King of Jerusalem in his movie Kingdom of Heaven. The courtyard arrangement was converted once more after the movie’s production.

The upper story of the Patio was an addition made by Charles V. The addition was designed by Luis de Vega in the style of the Italian Renaissance although he did include both Renaissance and mudéjar plaster work in the decorations. Construction of the addition began in 1540 and ended in 1572.”

More so probably than any other part of the Alcazar, the Courtyard of the Doncellas and surrounding rooms in the distinctly ornate Moorish style are reminiscent of the grandeur of the Alhambra in Granada and its patios.

Historic gardens, Patios & Courtyards

Alhambra’s Iconic Patios & Courtyards in Granada, Spain

August 15, 2015 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

Granada, in southern Spain, is of course most famous for the Alhambra and Generalife gardens. The patios of the Alhambra are iconic images of Granada. Best known are the Patio the los Mirtos and the Patio de los Leones.

According to Wikipedia, “The Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes) is part of the palace and fortress complexe of the Alhambra. It is located east of the “Guilded Room” (Cuarto Dorado) and west of the “Patio of the Lions” and the Baths. Its current name is due to the myrtle bushes that surround the central pond and the bright green colour of which contrasts with the white marble of the patio. It was also called the Patio of the Pondor or the Reservoir (Patio del Estanque o de la Alberca) because of the central pond, which is 34 metres long and 7,10 meters wide.^[1] The patio is divided in two sides by the pond, which receives its water from two fountains. The espace has chambers and porticoes around it. These porticoes rest on columns with cubic capitals, which have seven semicircular arches decorated with fretwork rhombuses and inscriptions praising God. The central arch is greater than the other six and has solid scallops decorated with stylised vegetal forms and capitals of mocarabes.”

Also in Wikepedia, “The Courtyard of the Lions is an oblong courtyard, 35 m in length and 20 m in width, surrounded by a low gallery supported on 124 white marble columns. A pavilion projects into the courtyard at each extremity, with filigree walls and light domed roof, elaborately ornamented. The square is paved with coloured tiles, and the colonnade with white marble; while the walls are covered 1.5 m up from the ground with blue and yellow tiles, with a border above and below enamelled blue and gold. The columns supporting the roof and gallery are irregularly placed, with a view to artistic effect; and the general form of the piers, arches and pillars is most graceful. They are adorned by varieties of foliage, etc.; above each arch there is a large square of arabesques; and over the pillars is another square of filigree work. In the center of the courtyard is the celebrated Fountain of Lions, a magnificent alabaster basin supported by the figures of twelve lions in white marble. ”

Container gardens, Patios & Courtyards, Vertical gardens

Casa del Patio in Cordoba: Vertical & Container Gardening Ideas

August 10, 2015 Globetrotting Gardener Leave a comment

Nothing distinguishes the Casa del Patio from any of the other houses tucked away in a quiet side street of this old Cordoba neighborhood. It is only when stepping inside that one is transported to this unexpected green oasis. The building itself is only a series of meandering little cottages, quite modest on their own, but the residents, many of them artists and craftsmen have transformed them into a wild and lush haven of greenery.

Cordoba is famed for, and prides itself in, its patios and courtyards. It hold a Fiesta de los Patios once a year in May, during which prizes are awarded for the best patios, and many private buildings open their doors for visits once a year on that occasion. Case del Patio is one such venue, and never fails to garner top rankings in the Festival.

The residents rival in ingenuity to create the most creative visual displays in container gardening and vertical gardening, with mass groupings of containers hanging from every wall and filling every patio with bougainvilleas and other climber, perennials, flowering plants, cacti, succulents and even palms.

In this second post on the Casa del Patio, I am featuring more great vertical and container ideas.