How much will you miss outdoor gardening in the next few months?

Clearly no problems with shoplifters here!

 

No, @LawnAndOrder, just rough sleepers .

 

He was actually the owner of the shop. We had a chat the following day and he told us how comfortable he was sleeping on the floor, saving his energy between clients …We asked about his back: Jamais eu le moindre problème! A lesson for us all re: expensive matrasses!

 

I did think he was the owner, a very sensible way to spend time between customers! Your photos are a welcome relief from the gloomy days here .

 

Thank you. In fact, we are extending our stay a little; I was keen to return to the cold, grim London gloom, but Mrs Lao is greedy for the lassitude of the languid afternoons on offer here at some 24C. But don’t be fooled, temperatures tumble down to 2C at 8 am and, as they insist on serving breakfast outdoors on roof terraces, it was just as well that my planner in chief thought to bring pullovers and jackets.

The street atmospheres are delightful; there is an adorable chaotic lawlessness in the Souk’s narrow lanes which are generously shared by pedestrians, cars, donkeys, carts, mopeds, all performing with complete impunity perilous slaloms which, as long as we have been here, have been performed in the Medina without any harm whatsoever to humans, beasts, or fowls, which is just as well, because I have a feeling that there is not too much insurance cover in certain quarters. It is amazing to see the flouting of speed restrictions, if there are any; there are certainly no traffic signs, lights, yellow lines, or any kind of limitations to the enthusiasm of the drivers — especially the Docker mopeds — which brush past you, shaving the hairs of your arms and providing welcome ventilation.

One striking surprise was the newly acquired lack of hassling, accosting, or insistence to sell at all cost. No need to barter either over prices which, as it is, are usually a third of European ones. There will be political implications to this, but the overriding impression is one of content; the relations between Berbers and Arabs are currently peaceful and represent a shining example in sharp contrast to the raging devastation further East.

I am bearing in mind forum members with whom I would like to share photographs of exotic gardens, but it is not easy to find structures equivalent to those of Andalusia whose formal constructions were originally imported from North Africa and then bounced back across the Mediterranean, losing in the process some of its disciplined elegance. It has to be said, of course, that any kind of garden here is snatched from the jaws of relentless drought. In Ouarzazate, you can raise your palm and feel the hinted heat of the bordering desert.

To complete the series, here is another shop owner seemingly satisfied with his takings, and exhibiting no desire to add to the day’s profit:

 

"there is an adorable chaotic lawlessness in the Souk’s narrow lanes" ... @ 9 am: note the wearing of jackets and anoraks under the caerulean blue sky.

If you look closely at the end of the street, you will see that Indiana Jones has just disappeared around the corner!

 

"... I would like to share photographs of exotic gardens, but it is not easy ..." In fact, there is more emphasis on creating formal, flowering, fruitful patios:


"... any kind of garden here is snatched from the jaws of relentless drought ..." To give you an idea of how thirsty all living creatures are here:

 

To give an idea of the struggle against the elements: this attempt at a private garden south of Ouarzazate, where the water (constantly sprouting from within the rocks on the left) instantly evaporates before it has time to travel a couple of metres:


And here examples how the problem is solved in an official garden where a combination of shade and ‘trenching’ tackles the problem:



The speed at which the appearance of the sky can be transformed; no more than twenty minutes elapsed between the taking of these two pictures; by the time we reached the inside of the building, the sky was complètement nettoyé!





Heart-warming: in response to our smiling at a gardener who had just emerged from the sunken garden on the left, he went back down, picked six oranges, handed them over to us and immediately walked away, giving no hint of wishing for anything in return; a spontaneous act of welcome and generosity.

And here, a guide whose beautiful expression reflects similar qualities of spontaneous warmth, intelligence, and reciprocity:

 

Gving context to the arrid garden above:

 

Continuing in our search for outra-Mediterranean gardens, we came across these three stunners, with their rock formations lying on a bed of Moroccan poplars; the first mountain spreadeagling its wings, absorbing the heat (41C in the sun):



the second — so-called “Monkeys’ Fingers’ — offering remarkable contrast caught between the feathery and the ethereal:



and the third, presenting an unlikeliest (but surreally true) human profile with an uncanny resemblance to that of Mrs Lao (whom I must now refer to as my 'rock'!):

 

Returning south in search of photogenic and more structured gardens:







Even going to the “Secret Garden” in Marrakesh (one of the main ‘sights’), this is the best we could find:





but we did find some happy “guardeners” who were thrilled to be photographed:

 

Mrs Lao is worried about her daffodils!

She is wondering what is eating them. Apparently, this has been going on for a few years now. Sometimes the leaves and stems look like they've been attacked by slugs or snails, sometimes it's just the (budding) flower with no trace of slugs. Could it even be a bird?

Opinions and ideas much appreciated.

 

Could be birds, pigeons or sparrows can ruin spring bulbs certainly in my garden. Some years yellow crocuses are completely wrecked.

 

Hello Noisette! ... It was sealed like this (plumber's mate sealed in with special adhesive tape):



and this is the result (awaiting your excellent suggestions of aquatic plants):



and if we are not going to enjoy it, others will: