medina gardens

The 4th Green Gardens workshop in Marrakech was even better and greener than we could have hoped for. In Morocco the past summer had quite some rainy days, so for October-standards everything was incredibly fresh and green!

We had a welcome dinner on the roof terrace at Chambres d'Amis on the eve of our first medina gardens tour. The welcome dinner was partly a reunion with friends, for no less than 5 of the 10 participants joined us for the 2nd and even 3rd time! Such great fun to meet everyone again in Marrakech.

With our green-loving group we went into the medina for a visit to the most diverse gardens imaginable early in the morning. We visited Palais Bahia and El Badi and a local (flower) market.

During our first morning 'gardens' tour we all collected leaves and seeds and some got started with their herbarium-dairy right away. There were quite some very creative and original herbarium makers among these gardenistas.

We had lunch in the courtyard of La Famille and after coffee and dessert we continued our walk to a beautiful traditional riad with an insane green courtyard garden and a public park within the medina walls. Late afternoon we ended on the roof at Nomad for drinks with a view on Place des Epices.

Wonderful day, exhausting though, but great and GREEN!

blooming pomegranate trees and hidden courtyard gardens

Meanwhile I'm already two weeks back home, but I would like to share our green adventures from Marrakech. The 3rd edition of the Green Garden workshop was even better and greener than we could have imagined. Everyone was impressed by so much nature in the middle of the medina.

All gardens and parks in the medina were so fresh, green and full of bloom! Blooming trees, for example the pomegranate tree, of which we can taste the fruits in October...

During our first morning "GG" tour, we visited some private gardens from the riad in the neighborhood. We went to a palace garden and a ruin and mega courtyard garden, with beautifully green citrus trees.

After noon we continued our walk to the local flower market and bought a colorful bunch of marigolds for home. Time to lunch, so we continued our media walk to La Famille, a super green oasis garden restaurant in the medina. After lunch and some cake and herbarium-drawings, on to the next green surprise of the city, a perfectly maintained public park.

After all these green impressions on the first day we ended on the roof of restaurant Nomad for drinks with a view and finally we returned to our base camp, the green oasis Chambres d'Amis.


PS: the first photo I took somewhere en route between Essaouira and Marrakech, a pretty striking announcement of the Green Gardens workshop.