Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tour Of Our Garden

I've decided to give you all a little tour of my garden in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The name 'Riyadh' comes from the arabic word for garden or 'rawdah'. When I first came to Riyadh 23 years ago I didn't see the connection but then I realised that there is an oasis here and lots of date palm groves in and outside the city but (mainly outside the city).


This is a picture of the door to our house or 'villa' as everyone refers to houses here. Over the door there is an overhang and when we first moved in I planted some indian jasmine which grew over the top and hangs down the sides. Indian jasmine has a pink flower and it has the most beautiful fragrance especially when the weather cools off at night. Whenever I come home at night and I open the front gate I am greeted with its wonderful perfume. The yard around everyone's 'villa' is entirely enclosed by high walls which give complete privacy and security.

This colorful bush is bougainvillia. It grows like a weed here and usually it is used to climb up and over the outside walls. The arabic name for it is 'majnouneh' which means 'crazy' - I guess because it grows like 'crazy'!


Petunias in pots! This simple flower is one of my favorites - when they are grouped together they have the sweetest smell.


This is part of the backyard. You can see that we don't let the tree get too tall! It's better that way as I think they are a miniature variety. The wonderful thing about these trees is that they stay this magnificent green all year long!


The purple flower is a climbing vine that grows and covers the outside walls. It's one of DH's favorites - he saw it at a neighbor's house and decided that it would grow equally well here and he was right! I'm not sure, but I think it's a type of morningglory?


Hibiscus make me think of Hawaii but actually many different varieties and colors grow here.


Another little grouping of flowering plants. I let the gardener choose these - not bad, eh?


I leave you with a group of purple pansies...alors, pense à moi, d'accord!!?

4 comments:

CONNIE W said...

Oh what a lovely garden, full of beauty. I am curious about life in Saudi Arabia, it's a place I know little about. It certainly looks lush and inviting.

Nanette Merrill said...

Wow Denise its beautiful. I love it. I'm still battling piles of melting snow here. Your garden looks like you could take a book and go lay in the garden and soak up sun. What a nice thought on a cold day here!

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I am surprised to see some of the same flowers we have in the US. I love your hibiscus with that long stamen.

Mary Johnson said...

Lovely, a lot of the plants remind me of the years we lived in Florida.