Mediterranean Malvern

Mediterranean street scene at Malvern Spring show

Malvern spring show always has a few surprises up its sleeve, but I never expected to be transported back to my time in Mallorca. This street scene put together so expertly by Villagio Verde may be rooted in Andalucia and particularly the wonderful patios of Cordoba, but I was transported back to a street in Puerto Pollensa instead.

My final job of each stint out there was to find the local ceramic shop to buy a present for Margalida, the most temperamental of cooks with the biggest of hearts. Our team's woeful performance in washing lettuce properly and the preparation of the potatoes for the lunchtime tortilla would all be forgotten instantly on the production of a jug or bowl of the local design.

Here the ceramics are characteristic of Granada and were imported specially for this magical show garden. Other terracotta pots were painted and colour co-ordinated around each door in the street. This is a proud neighbourhood, with each owner keen to show off their pots overflowing with pelargoniums, lavender and other Mediterranean plants.

Senor Gonzalez's greengrocer's shop at Malvern Spring Show
The exception is Señor Gonzalez, the owner of the Fruteria y Verduleria aka greengrocers. He is the grumpy neighbour who doesn't join in, but at least his array of fruit and vegetables is colourful and tempts passers by into his shop.

My thanks to Jason from the Villagio Verde show team for the tour and telling me the story of the imaginary characters who 'live' in this muy autentico show garden. It may seem strange for a Mediterranean garden to be found in Malvern in May, but when your company specialises in olive trees, then it makes perfect sense. And on last Thursday's blustery day, this shot of Spanish sunshine made the world seem much warmer.

Almost all of the Spanish street scene from Malvern Spring Show 2015
Here the village fountain has a minimal drip, representing the state of the groundwater feeding it in summer
Have a look at my Meet at Malvern blog for another award winning show garden, plus a round-up of this year's posts.

Comments

  1. CJ11 May 2015 at 09:22

    What a gorgeous garden, very beautifully done, I love it. My olive tree is looking a bit beleaguered in the wild winds at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP11 May 2015 at 09:54

      My olive tree is suffering too, CJ! I grew mine from a very small plant and it's now tall enough to wave at us through the kitchen window. I had a magnificent crop of 2 tiny olives last year.

      Delete
  2. Flighty11 May 2015 at 15:45

    I like the first picture! Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP11 May 2015 at 15:57

      Thanks Flighty - I took loads as a gradually walked up the 'street'!

      Delete
  3. Juliet11 May 2015 at 23:18

    What a glorious garden! It was briefly on Gardeners World, but it's lovely to have a more detailed tour from you, thank you.

    I will now nip over to Meet at Malvern - will be nice to see some more of it, the TV coverage is always so minimal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP14 May 2015 at 09:41

      Thanks Juliet - I've found a nice crop of articles about this year's show :)

      Delete
  4. Caro12 May 2015 at 21:57

    I can see why you like that street but I look at all those pots and think of hours of watering! Really love the garden you've shown on the Malvern blog - amazing that the designer is still training, good future ahead for her I think!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP14 May 2015 at 09:43

      There are 7 residents in the 'street', so at least all that watering is shared Caro! This style is so common in southern Spain, yet they need to conserve water. I wonder if they have some water conservation tricks wrth sharing with us. or perhaps pelargoniums etc withstand drought much better than we think?

      Delete
    2. Caro16 May 2015 at 17:14

      The pelargoniums in the gardens here are into their third year of flowering and have to cope with drought as I only water the veg when needed. I deadhead regularly to keep them going as well. Perhaps the Spanish are very good at recycling grey water for their pots!

      Delete
  5. Anna13 May 2015 at 08:31

    Oh that looks quite magical VP and it has captured a sense of place many miles from Malvern. I wasn't able to get there this year but enjoyed GW on Friday where Monty et al finished up in that spot at the end of the programme. I will nip over to 'Meet at Malvern' later for a fix :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP14 May 2015 at 09:44

      Shame you couldn't get to the show this year Anna. Will you be going in the autumn instead?

      Delete

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