La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
This Patio of May was a nice surprise. I had passed the house, 43 Agustín Moreno Street, on my way to 9 Calle Tinte (yesterday’s post). A large group of people in wheel chairs were exiting at that moment. The entrance and patio are all on when level and accessible. A tour group was standing outside with their guide.
After Calle Tinte, I passed this way again and was surprised to find no line outside. It was clearly my lucky day. I only had to wait for about a dozen people in wheelchairs to exit before I could enter. Then I was alone for about 10 minutes before I had to share the space with at most five other people.
The house was built in the 19th century on the site of former palace stables. (I’ll tell you about the palace next door another time). By the mid-1960s the small place was home to a number of families, one family to a room. One of those families, Francisco y Amparo Ruano Tello, eventually bought the house and began renovation in the 1980s.
The current owner is their son Paco who moved there with his parents in 1964 when he was two years old. He and his parents ran a small grocery store on the property and did the renovations themselves beginning in the 1980s. They rescued bricks from a spoil heap in the quarry next to the nearby river. Tile was found and reused. His mother created the central fountain. There are even two enormous ivy plants from a cutting his mother took in the 1980s from the Alhambra in Granada (which she would get in trouble for taking these days). He’s proud to explain that his mother was the one who developed the patio gardens and first entered the annual competition. Another blissful experience for me.
We just returned from coffee and second breakfast. Merchi is still here cleaning. I have some errands to run this afternoon and San Geraldo and I have a trip to plan.
Our friends from Madrid, Alfonso and Cristina (parents of María), will be married in Segovia in mid-June, which is where Cristina is originally from in the region of Castille and Leon. We are so excited for them, and for us. We’ll spend probably a couple of days in Segovia, north of Madrid, and then one nearby historic city for a couple of days more. Something to look forward to and to share.
Este Patio de Mayo fue una grata sorpresa. Había pasado por la casa, en la calle Agustín Moreno 43, de camino a la calle Tinte 9 (del post de ayer). Un grupo numeroso de personas en sillas de ruedas salía en ese momento. La entrada y el patio están a nivel y son accesibles. Un grupo turístico estaba afuera con su guía.
Después de la calle Tinte, volví a pasar por allí y me sorprendió no encontrar cola. Sin duda, fue mi día de suerte. Solo tuve que esperar a que salieran una docena de personas en silla de ruedas antes de poder entrar. Luego estuve solo unos 10 minutos antes de tener que compartir el espacio con, como mucho, otras cinco personas.
La casa fue construida en el siglo XIX sobre el terreno de las antiguas caballerizas del palacio. (Ya les hablaré del palacio de al lado en otra ocasión). A mediados de la década de 1960, la pequeña casa albergaba a varias familias, una por habitación. Una de ellas, Francisco y Amparo Ruano Tello, finalmente compró la casa y comenzó su renovación en la década de 1980.
El actual propietario es su hijo Paco, quien se mudó allí con sus padres en 1964, cuando tenía dos años. Él y sus padres regentaban una pequeña tienda de comestibles en la propiedad y comenzaron las reformas ellos mismos en la década de 1980. Rescataron ladrillos de un montón de escombros en la cantera junto al río cercano. Encontraron azulejos y los reutilizaron. Su madre creó la fuente central. Incluso hay dos enormes plantas de hiedra, fruto de un esqueje que su madre tomó en la década de 1980 de la Alhambra de Granada (por lo que hoy en día se metería en problemas). Él explica con orgullo que fue su madre quien diseñó los jardines del patio y quien participó por primera vez en el concurso anual. Otra experiencia maravillosa para mí.
Acabamos de regresar del café y del segundo desayuno. Merchi sigue aquí limpiando. Tengo que hacer algunos recados esta tarde y San Geraldo y yo tenemos que planear una excursión.
Nuestros amigos madrileños, Alfonso y Cristina (padres de María), se casarán en Segovia a mediados de junio, ciudad originaria de Cristina, en la comarca de Castillo y León. Estamos muy emocionados por ellos y por nosotros. Probablemente pasaremos un par de días en Segovia, al norte de Madrid, y luego otros dos días en una ciudad histórica cercana. ¡Algo que esperamos con ilusión y que compartiremos!
• Cubierta de hiedra que fue recortada hace varias décadas de la Alhambra de Granada.
• Me enamoré de estos azulejos.
• A este hombre le dijeron que no podía entrar con su merienda y su lata de Coca-Cola abierta. No creo que se haya quejado.
• Calle Agustín Moreno 43. El palacio (casa) del marqués de Benamejí aún se conserva al lado. Más información próximamente.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
That’s quite the explosion of color and plants in that patio. I could sit there all day just enjoying it. My favorite so far.
Bob:
So could I!
Simply remarkable! SO many ideas are flying through my mind right now.
Jim:
I can imagine you in these gardens.
What a riot of colour! And I love the story of Paco and his parents!
Debra:
I’m enjoying reading the stories behind the places I visit. I should read them first. I’m guessing it was Paco I saw sitting on the patio while I visited. I simply said hello.
That was incredibly beautiful Mitchell, thanks for sharing this.
Robin:
The work they do for this event is inspiring and just being there changes my mood.
That family is wonderful, up cycling beautiful materials to create one of the best patios we’ve seen. It’s like another world, being shown these places. My impression of Spain as a hot dusty place has been replaced by your images from Cordoba. Boud
Boud:
I thought you’d like what Paco and his parents did… even “stealing” the ivy!
I can’t even imagine the work it takes to maintain all that. Well, I can. Do these houses have full time gardeners? And how do they water all those pots hanging high on the walls and keep the walls clean from the water running off? You can see my mind running toward ‘how do they do that?’. It is a lovely patio. Pink/red and white seems to be the preferred colors in both patios. Another thing I noticed is that 90% of it seems to be in pots instead of directly in the ground.
ellen abbott:
The abundance in these patios is only for this event (hence so many pots). They’re much more manageable the rest of the year.
I there still a small grocery store on the property? Maybe that’s where that guy got his sandwich and Coke.
Kirk:
No more grocery store. And come to think of it, there wasn’t one in the immediate vicinity.
The flowers are absolutely stunning! I would have a hard time not taking a million photos of the place!
Michael:
Amazingly, I kept to less than 75 photos.
I’m ignoring my random thoughts of assassin spiders hiding out ready to pounce on unsuspecting victims. I’m going to just enjoy the view from a distance.
Deedles:
Leave it to you! I don’t think we even have assassination spiders here.
Oh,wow! That’s another absolute stunner of a display… I can almost feel the warmth, and smell those petunias! Gorgeous. Jx
Jon:
I’m tempted to go back to this one. There was something freeing about the space and I think that was Paco sitting in the shade. I’d love to talk with him.
Beautiful, especially those tiles.
Kelly:
I often see tiles here that I want to have for myself.
This my favourite patio of those you’ve featured so far: more space to move around in! Those tiles are stunning too.
Tundra Bunny:
I did love this one, and hadn’t even planned to visit. The patios are filled to the brim with flowers for this event. There’s a lot more room to move the rest of the year.
Now talk about utilizing every square inch as a green space. That’s spectacular looking. I sure hope they have a lot of house boys to do all the watering. And I agree about that tile work, it’s absolutely stunning. I swear one day I’m going to incorporate tile of this likeness into my house one day.
Mistress Borghese:
Watering during the Patios of May is a huge undertaking. The patios are thinned out the rest of the year, so they only need one (OK, maybe two) houseboys. I would LOVE to add this kind of traditional tile.
That patio is so beautiful with its cascades of flowers. It’s my favorite so far. How exciting to prepare for a wedding. That will be great fun.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
This patio wasn’t even on my list and it may be my favorite, too. I love the family story. Just a month until the wedding. I’d better get my act together. I need pants and shoes. I think I’m set for a jacket, shirt, and tie.
It is amazing what can be done with what others cast aside. So much beauty, and an upcoming adventure for you and SG.
David Godfrey:
Yes, it was fun to learn what Paco and his family had rescued for their work.
Beautiful!
Rade:
And I got to see four more today!
All right. This one is my favorite too. Perhaps partly due to the story behind its creation. There is just something about knowing that things are having a second life (or more!) that adds a whole other layer of interest along with a curiosity of where it all began. You’re right- those tiles are perfection. And the ivy? I struggle so with taking cuttings of plants I see and long for and generally don’t because as silly as it is, it seems like theft. Okay, perhaps micro-theft. In this case, however, I am SO glad Paco’s mama took what she did and made it such a glorious part of the family’s creation.
You know what? This patio makes me jealous. In a good way.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
Imagine a Patios of Lloyd trend! (Imagine the shitload of work they do for this event.) My mother and aunt used to always have small clippers in their bags so they could take cuttings of forsythia and the like. I was mortified.
We’re too lazy in Lloyd to do anything like that. Trust me.
I do carry a very nice, sharp pocketknife in my purse. My grandfather said that everyone should have a pocketknife on them at all times. And that all pants should have hip pockets. He said a lot of other stuff I don’t necessarily agree with but in those two things, I believe heartily. So I could be just cutting cuttings all over the place.
Ms. Moon:
My grandfather gifted me pocked knives… three times. Each time, I cut my hand open. The last was when I was 8 and he was never allowed to give me one again. I still have the scars on my palm and thumb.
Abundant is the right word, lush is another one that come to mind.
larrymuffin:
Lush, exactly.