By Ben Felsenburg
Think of Seville and – particularly if you love fine marmalade – you think of oranges: what could be more Spanish? Yet in Monty Don’s Paradise Gardens (Friday, BBC2, 9pm) we learn that the fruit had its origins far from Europe, brought across from India via Arabia by the Muslims who, for centuries, ruled Spain. That’s just one of the fascinating revelations as Don makes an epic tour of the former and present Muslim world to explore the rich legacy of the extraordinarily and exquisitely beautiful gardens that created a paradise to be enjoyed on Earth.
The doughtily dependable Don has long been an inspiration for the home gardener, but even the most courageous soul may blanch before wielding the trusty spade and trowel in an attempt to recreate the magnificent spectacles served up in this two-part series. The gardens of the Alhambra palace are a breathtaking display of elegance on a vast scale, while in Morocco there’s the staggering sight of an oasis of lush beauty created amid the sands of the desert a millennium ago. And in Iran, Don finds a love of roses to equal that of the British, while we learn that, in the ancient form of Persian, walled gardens were known as ‘paradaiza’ – from which we derive the English word, paradise. Be sure to tune in next week, too, when Don looks at how the Islamic tradition is to be found in the royal gardens in Britain.
