Many prairie folk escape to "the lake" to avoid the heat of summer. But in Spain, there are gardens built 600 years and many miles apart that provide the same kind of relief plus offer a balm for the soul.
In Granada, in the south of Spain, you'll find the Alhambra and Generalife Gardens from the 1300s, built for the Moorish sultans. In these two, water holds pride of place. Water had both practical and ornamental value. For the Moors of the North African desert, water in an oasis could mean the difference between life and death. When incorporated into a garden, it was used sparingly, often in shallow pools or narrow canals, and in fountains to enhance the ambience and to give the illusion of more when there was less.
Shelter for protection from the relentless desert winds and enclosure to ensure privacy were equal and important elements of these gardens. Thus arose the patio or inner courtyard garden, open to the air above but removed from the street and bustle of the surrounding city.
Within these gardens is a sense of geometry and repetition in the tiles, ornamentation and the planting. The plants (prominent are roses, oranges and myrtles) included not only those brought by the Moors from North Africa but also the exotic beauty from the New World introduced by Spanish explorers.
The Alhambra is a large palace and fortress complex with many buildings each with its own courtyard. The impact of the Patio de los Arrayanes (Courtyard of the Myrtles) is in the almost stark simplicity of the pool and plantings. The Patio de los Leones (Courtyard of the Lions) exemplifies the concept of the Persian garden: an enclosed space divided into four quadrants (representing earth, air, water and fire) by water channels, symbolizing the Koranic holy rivers of paradise. At the centre, twelve lions spill water from their mouths.
The nearby Generalife or "Architect's Garden" was the summer palace and country estate of Muhammad III. In the inner courtyard is the Patio de la Acequia (Courtyard of the Canal), famous for its long narrow canal edged with potted plants with jets of water that arch over it on each side. Nearby, the Patio de los Cipreses (Courtyard of the Cypresses) contains islands of oleander floating in its water channels. Not to be missed is the water staircase or Escalera del Aqua. The Paseo de los Cipreses (Promenade of the Cypresses) with pencil-thin Italian cypress trees provides both shade and architectural elements in a formal setting.
The more recent Park Güell in Barcelona (northern Spain) was designed by Antoni Gaudi in the 1890s. Gaudi began on a rocky slope with little vegetation, building grand entrances, unobtrusive roadways, and irrigation channels. His intent was to emphasize the intrinsic beauty of the site with his architectural design, colour and mosaic patterns. But where the gardens of Alhambra are all geometry, convention and symmetry, Park Güell is informal, imaginative and at times downright wacky with turrets, spires, dragons, benches and viaducts.
The plants choices are wide ranging: you'll find carob, oak as well as pine, olive, eucalyptus, acacia, pistachio, tamarisk, privet, and surprisingly, Acer negundo, our own Manitoba maple!
The Park was originally intended as a garden-like housing development for Barcelona's affluent. But the project eventually proved unsuccessful and was purchased by Barcelona in1922. Park Güell is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Sara, author of the recently published Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo: A Photographic History, will be leading a garden tour to Spain this fall that includes these sites and many more. For additional information, email Sara at [email protected] or call Ruth toll-free at 1-888-778-2378
Have a gardening question? Contact GardenLine, 306-966-5865 or [email protected]
This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (www.saskperennial.ca; [email protected]). Check out our Bulletin Board or Calendar for upcoming horticulture events (Labour&Learn at the Forestry Farm; garden tours; garden book launches).
