faded flowers

The last garden flowers of the year, which are already faded but still pretty.

This field bouquet with nigella damascene, corn flowers and coriander flowers, I picked last week from the Villa Augustus garden. And hey, 2018 has been a lush floral year! I can not remember a year, the flowers in the garden bloomed so abundantly and flowering lasted until mid-November.

From now on we get the flowers from the auction.

I'm not only fond of flowers, I also love vases, as you may have noticed.

The painted vintage flower vase is also from Villa Augustus. I bought it in the market shop where I work 3 days a week. It's always hard to resist special items like these. I've set myself a rule, that I can never buy something impulsively. I have to wait at least one week, until I proceed to a purchase. Simply because you don't have to buy everything you like right?... And often the need is much less after a week, I know from experience. It is a great rule if you work in a nice shop like the Villa Augustus market shop, where almost daily beautiful new stuff comes in.

This unique vintage vase stared at me, and even now I kept to the 'wait a week' rule...

Well I cheated a little bit, because I put a 'reserved' sticker on it.

So the painted vase has found it's place in my new studio (under construction) and I love it, even without flowers in it, still beautiful.

modern marrakech

After a slow Sunday in the desert, we took a taxi ride in an old yellow Mercedes to Guéliz on Monday morning and started with an espresso on a bamboo sofa at the popular Grand café de la Poste.

We walked back to the Medina through the Cyber Park. You might not associate 'cyber park' with a park from the mid eighteenth century. The park is a fascinating experiment in mixing old and new and re-opened in 2005 as a public park. The name Cyber Park is only about the deal that Maroc Telecom would pay for the refurbishment and upkeep of the park, in exchange for the commercial right to exploit part of the site as a multi-media and cyber-space exhibition area and theatre. It's one of the many urban gardens in Marrakech and part of the Green Gardens workshop.

Once we returned within the ancient walls of the medina, we had lunch at the enchanting Hotel El Fenn. (which deserves its own blog post, shortly...)

working on my green drawing skills

This weekend I've been working on my green drawing skills.
It's so fun to do, although my sketches can still use some improvement at this point.
I've been working on the workshop-program* and all green trips are worked out in detail. Can't wait to get started with the new green adventures in and around Marrakech.
*GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP

Six days in Marrakech! Green is the theme. Price € 675,00 per person.
The price is based on a shared twin bedroom and excluding flight ticket. It's not possible to book a single room.
It's always possible to book extra nights, before or after the workshop (info@chambresdamis.com)
INCLUDED:
- transfer from airport Marrakech to Riad Chambres d'amis (v.v.)
- shared twin bedroom (5 nights) including breakfast in Chambres d'Amis. (no single rooms available)
- 3 dinners & 4 lunches (drinks not included)
- veggie cooking workshop
- collecting green memories in a herbarium
- all excursions in and around Marrakech

PROGRAMME:
During the workshop we will visit and explore all kinds of gardens in and around Marrakech; An Arabic garden, a rose garden, botanical gardens, secret city gardens, city parks, hidden courtyards, an art garden, museum gardens and vegetable- and herb gardens.

You will be surprised how green the Red City actually is. Urban jungle adventures with guided tours and delicious moroccan food, make this green travel-workshop unforgettable!

SPRING GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP arrival: Thursday 11th of May - leaving: Tuesday 16th of May
AUTUMN GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP arrival: Thursday 12th of October - leaving: Tuesday 17th of October

We still have a twin bedroom available for the Green Garden workshop in May!

If you would like to join one of the workshops, please send an e-mail info@woodwoolstool.com for an application form.

green gardens marrakech - may & october 2017

NEW travel workshops in Marrakech next year!

Besides the Cool Crochet Marrakech workshops, we will organize Green Gardens workshops in May and October 2017.

In the last few years I've visited quite some stunning gardens and oases in the medina and fell in love with the amazing green gardens of Marrakech. For those out there, who can't or rather don't want to crochet, we will arrange an opportunity to discover Marrakech in an alternative way next year.

PROGRAMME:
During the workshop we will visit and explore all kinds of gardens in and around Marrakech; An Arabic garden, a rose garden, botanical gardens, secret city gardens, city parks, hidden courtyards, an art garden, museum gardens and vegetable- and herb gardens.

To make the green theme complete, we will also organize a veggie cooking workshop (including vegetables & herbes shopping in de souk). All the participants will get an herbarium notebook, in which they can make daily sketches and collect green memories, such as leaves and seeds.

You will be surprised how green the Red City actually is. Urban jungle adventures with guided tours and delicious moroccan food, make this green travel-workshop unforgettable!

GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP
Six days in Marrakech! Green is the theme. Price € 675,00 per person.
The price is based on a shared twin bedroom and excluding flight ticket. It's not possible to book a single room.
It's always possible to book extra nights, before or after the workshop (info@chambresdamis.com)
INCLUDED:
- transfer from airport Marrakech to Riad Chambres d'amis (v.v.)
- shared twin bedroom (5 nights) including breakfast in Chambres d'Amis. (no single rooms available)
- 3 dinners & 4 lunches (drinks not included)
- veggie cooking workshop
- collecting green memories in a herbarium
- all excursions in and around Marrakech

SPRING GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP arrival: Thursday 11th of May - leaving: Tuesday 16th of May
AUTUMN GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP arrival: Thursday 12th of October - leaving: Tuesday 17th of October

If you would like to join one of the workshops, please send an e-mail info@woodwoolstool.com for an application form.

Both workshops are a collaboration with my friend Ank van der Pluijm, owner of CHAMBRES D'AMIS, oasis in the Medina of Marrakech and our 'basecamp' during the workshops.

cuisine & comestibles