Once upon a time, in a real kingdom far, far away, there was a blogging girl named Maryam who was fond of plants. Indeed, so enchanted was she by the silvery branches of olive trees, that she bought a small olive grove in Marrakech. Imagine that.
For a time, it seemed like Maryam and her olive trees might live happily ever after. But, like all fairy tales, it soon became evident that things were not as they should be. Because although the trees had the family's love, as well sun and water, they had few other plants with which to share their leafy feelings. Lonely and depressed, olives began dropping from their branches for no reason at all.
Now Maryam wanted her trees to be happy. So she timidly bought cypres, agave, bougainvillea, and roses......but they felt lost in the vast expanse of 8.5 acres of land. It soon became evident that the family required help of the expert variety. A fairy god landscaper was needed. Maryam tried numerous tricks to evoke a fairy god landscaper. She rubbed random lanterns with genie potential in the Marrakech souks. But......nothing happened. She clicked her heels and tried spells purchased from magicians on the Jemaa el-Fna square. But....the spells appeared to be broken. In sheer desperation, she even sent a polite email to the fancy American landscaper who had done the plan for the American School of Marrakech. But he didn't bother to reply to her - it appeared she wasn't important enough to even merit politeness. Sigh, where were she and she and she when Maryam needed them most?
All seemed lost.....It was then that a Moroccan landscaper showed up on the land, unannounced. He drove a pumpkin coach, err, a pickup truck and called plants by their Latin names. Impressed, Maryam invited him to walk the property. And - as in all fairy tales - she also told him her three wishes: 1) an Andalusian garden with drought-loving plants; 2) clipped rosemary hedges with their heady scent; and 3) an organic vegetable patch with seeds carefully sourced. Much to her surprise, the landscaper told her that she could have more than just three wishes (Oh my!). Maryam hired him on the spot, of course. He asked for an advance (even fairy god landscapers get paid these days) and she said......... yes.
The months passed, and the would-be fairy god landscaper was behind schedule, waaaaaay behind schedule. Maryam began to grow worried. She knocked on his office door and called him on the phone, first weekly, then daily, seemingly to no avail. Finally, when her fingernails had been bitten down to the quick, she received a message that the landscaping plan was done. She crossed herself, made a namaste, and did a left sided and a right sided cartwheel. She alerted the Peacock Pavilion olive trees, who alerted the sparrows, who alerted the ladybugs. And everyone felt, well, happy, in the sparkliest way possible.
However..... it appeared their happiness was premature...... The landscaping plan turned out to be a measly set of stapled-together pages of nothing at all. And after fruitless discussions to try to rectify the situation, the architect husband -- normally so kind -- threw the "landscaping plan" straight into the trash..........
Oh dear. They had been swindled.
This fairytale does not have a happy ending.......but perhaps.... it is still a tale-in-the-making. For the time being, however, sad Maryam and her sad olive trees are scanning the horizon, hoping that someone will show up soon to apply for the vacant fairy god landscaping position at Peacock Pavilions. Oh please, let it be this week or next.
(Warning to all charlatan landscapers: the dungeons at Peacock Pavilion are rumored to be a very scary place, indeed, absent of all light and populated only by man-eating cacti. Don't make me take you there....)
To be continued......
PS Take a peek at this pretty, pretty vintage Moroccan wedding blanket I sent darling Jeanine at one of my fave blogs, AphroChic. This lovely blanket has dark embroidered strips among the fringe and the sequins. Yowza! I have new stock of vintage Moroccan wedding blankets - so please let me know if you would like one (maryam at mtds.com) . I also have some delectable vintage Moroccan Beni Ourain and other carpets - I will be posting on those soon.
