By Clodagh and Dick Handscombe Practical gardeners and authors.

April to early July are good times to visit other gardens and perhaps combine this with visiting some very special Andalusia towns. Your own garden is probably now tidy and planted up for Easter late spring and summer, and the temperatures are still enjoyable and gardens are in full flower before being, to varying extents, burnt up by the hot suns of late July and August.

Inevitably gardens come to their best in sequence from the south to north of Spain and from the coastal strip to inland situations. On this basis we suggest the following Seville Cordoba Granada trail this Spring and early Summer.  If you like touring it is possible to fit all in this year or see them more leisurely one per year for three years.

SEVILLE

Seville has some great spring gardens before temperatures up to 50 degrees centigrade burn them up during July and August. Our favourites are the gardens of the Reales Alcazar and the Casa de Pilates. The Photo of Dick dwarfed by a centuries old bougainvillea on page 273 of ‘Your Garden in Spain – From planning to planting and maintenance’ was taken in the latter garden.

CORDOBA

One of the main spring attractions is the Patio Festival which runs from 4 to 15 May this year. Visit a selection of the 60 patios open to the public, the Viana Palace and Alhambra for an insight into the similarities and differences between Costa Blanca and Andalusia gardening.

GRANADA

Granada is an amazing place to visit and for those interested in gardens there are some hidden gems. Naturally the 14^th century Alhambra and Generalife Gardens are top of the list. Beyond this there is however much to see. For behind the high walls of villas within the old city  exist many interesting gardens termed carmens  not well known and in some cases never open to the general public. Some we have never visited so Dick was therefore delighted to be invited to join Nicholas Borjesson, the official Granada Guide who guided Michele Obama on her visit to Granada last year, in supporting a three day tour ‘Gardens of Granada’ which visits seven gardens organised by Go Granada. The 2011 dates are 5-8 July and after the hot summer 6-9 September. Full details can be obtained from www.gogranada.co.uk, hello@gogranada.co.uk or by calling Lucy on 0044 7944 882690.

If you have already seen the gardens of these cities a list of other interesting gardens that we published in rtn two years ago can be retrieved from the April 2009 archives of our blog  www.gardeninginspain.com.

CLODAGH AND DICK’S BOOKS

Which ever gardens you visit the section illustrating and describing the 350 most practical plants for Spanish gardens including English, Spanish and Botanical names in ‘Your Garden in Spain’ will help you identify and understand the plantings taking account of the local summer and winter climatic conditions.

If you decide to not travel the same lists are an invaluable guide to what you might best plant at home and likewise the plant lists in ‘Apartment Gardening Mediterranean Style’ if you live in an apartment. The fruit and veggie books have been for some years the recognised bibles for being successful in growing ecological fruit and vegetables.

© Clodagh and Dick Handscombe www.gardeninginspain.com April 2011