Gardens of Marrakech
Anima Garden feels like a living artwork: bold planting woven through sculpture and indigenous African art, with surprise around every corner. You leave with fresh ideas about colour, texture and how a garden can tell a story, not just grow plants.
About this tour
Marrakech has a wonderful habit of surprising you. You can be in the lively swirl of the Medina one moment, then step through an unassuming doorway into a world of shade, birdsong and the soft, cooling sound of water. That contrast is exactly why this tour is such a treat for gardeners. I am not just looking forward to showing you beautiful places, but to sharing the design thinking behind them: how Moroccan gardens use structure, scent and water to create calm, even in the heat.
The joy begins before we reach the great historic gardens. Our base is in the quiet Hivernage district of Marrakech, at the Kenzi Rose Garden Hotel. This palm-lined oasis sits a short distance outside the walls of the old city, and convenient for all our exploring.
Garden highlights
- Jardin Majorelle - a painter's garden held together by its famous cobalt blue
- Bahia Palace - orange blossom, cypress and private green courtyards
- Menara Garden - a 12th-century orchard around an iconic reflecting pool
- Anima Garden - a playful contemporary garden of planting, sculpture and art
- Ourika Valley - saffron fields and aromatic gardens in the Atlas foothills
- The Hidden Garden - calm oasis in the heart of the Medina with luxurious planting
Destination highlights
- Courtyards, and how shade and water are engineered into them
- Majorelle Blue and a painter's confident use of colour
- Dry and cactus gardening in a semi-arid climate
- The link between Moroccan gardens and scent
- Herbs and the aromatic gardens of the Ourika Valley
- The medina and souk between garden visits
Booking details
Next departure: 3 May 2027
Operator: HF Holidays
Book with HF HolidaysWhat you'll learn
Marrakech is a masterclass in gardens that change how you feel. You will look at how shade is engineered through trees, walls, pergolas and layered planting, how water is used in channels and fountains to cool the air and add a calming soundtrack, and how strong geometry lets the planting be exuberant without becoming messy. There is plenty to learn here about formality and repetition in design, structure and scent, and on dry gardening that proves lush need not mean thirsty, with ideas you can scale down to a patio or a sheltered corner at home.
Gardens you'll visit
Jardin Majorelle
vibrant botanical oasis featuring striking cobalt blue architecture. Created by Jacques Majorelle and restored by Yves Saint Laurent, it beautifully blends exotic plants with Moroccan charm
Anima Garden
magical, multi-sensory botanical wonderland designed by André Heller. It seamlessly masterminds lush, exotic paths with striking, surreal contemporary art sculptures, offering a captivating escape
Dar El Bacha Palace
spectacular palace boasting an exquisite, symmetrical courtyard. Surrounded by intricate zellij tilework, carved cedarwood, and lush orange trees, it encapsulates traditional Moroccan splendor and serene beauty
Thiemann Cactus Garden
Africa's largest succulent farm. Founded by Hans Thiemann, its expansive open-air landscape replaces traditional enclosed courtyards with majestic, towering rows of over 150 unique cacti species
The Secret Garden
elegant, restored 19th-century palace complex. It is uniquely celebrated for its rare Islamic paradise garden, which uses a traditional, historic irrigation system to create a peaceful oasis
Nectarome
organic bio-aromatic garden, combining Atlas Mountains microclimates with traditional Berber wisdom to cultivate fifty therapeutic, medicinal plant species
Beyond the gardens
Marrakech is as much about atmosphere as horticulture. Between gardens there is the swirl of the medina and the souk, the craftsmanship of the city, and the shift out to the greener Ourika Valley in the Atlas foothills. It is a trip for the senses as much as the eye, with scent, sound and shade woven through every day.
By the end of the tour you will return home with more than photographs: a sharper eye for structure, a deeper appreciation of scent and shade, and a pocketful of ideas, whether that is a water bowl on a patio, repeated pots to create a sense of rhythm, or a small sheltered corner that feels like your own private courtyard.
Previous departures
A few moments from garden tours in Marrakech
