Top 5 Gardens of Andalusia

Andalusia’s best kept secret garden is hidden near a noisy motorway to the north of Malaga city. Once inside however, it is surprisingly peaceful. A 230,000 km2 oasis of calm created in the 1850s by Amalia Heredia Livermore and her husband Jorge Loring Oyarzabal, an outstanding businessmen of his time. With over a thousand species of plants, hundred-year-old trees, as well as native and exotic flowers, it is also home to the tallest tree in the province; a 45 metre monkey puzzle tree. 4,20 €. (Camino Jardín Botánico, 3, 952250745, laconcepcion.malaga.eu).

Declared a UNESCO Heritage site in 1984, the Generalife is one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens. Built during the reign of Muhmmad III in the early 1300s, the name is said to stem from the Arabic Jannat al-’Arif‎, meaning Architect’s Garden. It was conceived as a resting place for Muslim royalty. The walkways are paved in traditional Granadian pebble mosaics: the white ones from the Darro River, black ones from the Genil. 6 €. (C/ Real de la Alhambra, s/n, 902441221, alhambra-patronato.es).

In the garden of a 15th century palace that combines late-medieval Gothic and Mudejar style with the innovations of the Renaissance, you’ll find the Jardín Grande (Big Garden). First a palace orchard, with the arrival of the Renaissance it was converted into an archaeological garden with eleven symmetrical flowerbeds surrounding a central fountain and shaded by blind arches and columns. Highlights include the unusual Madagascar Jasmine, an ancient Magnolia and a pergola covered in climbing roses. 8 €. (Plaza de Pilatos, 1, 954225298, fundacionmedinaceli.org).

A Carmen is a walled garden with Moorish origins. Also the name given to a typical house found in the old quarters of Granada, the word comes from the Arabic word Karm for garden and the walled in garden is said to have originated in Persia. Essentially private green zones, the town hall of Granada bought the Carmen de los Mártires and opened it to the public. Located next to the forests of the Alhambra, it is beautiful 19th century palace surrounded by a garden filled with aromatic plants, a canal and even a lake. Free entry.(Paseo de los Mártires, s/n, 958227953).

More Roman than Arabic in style, a patio is a walled, open, inner courtyard. Every spring Cordoba celebrates its famous Patio Competition in which owners open their patios to the public. At 5 Parra Street, Isabel Navajas has won the competition several times. Plants and flowers hang off her balconies and fill the courtyard in a spectacular show of aromas and colours. Private garden. Open once a year. (C/ Parra, 5, patiosdecordoba.es).