Cordoba is famous for its beautiful patios and courtyards, and even has a Patio Festival every year, where many private residences will open their doors to the public to show off their blooming patios. It is a source of pride to many of the people in Cordoba, and the door of many buildings are left open during the day so passerbys can admire the may courtyards dotting the historic old town. The patios of Cordoba and Andalusia in general, show the strong influence of the Moorish occupation that lasted in Spain until 1492, when Granada was the last city to fall back to the Catholic rulers F ..read more

This lovely garden just outside the small coastal town of Landevennec in northern Brittany  is absolutely full of surprises at every turn. I will show more of the garden structures in my next post, such as the bridge, gazebo, arbor, etc. In this post I will focus on the fantastic borders and plantings all throughout this garden. The hedges all around mix a variety of shrubs for texture, foliage and blooms, together with perennials for touches of colors. The fall blooms of the dahlia borders add magical color to the fall garden.  Hostas and other shade loving plants fill shadier corners. Mixed ..read more