TEXANS SING IN THE RAIN

Another garden tour. Another day of getting wet. This must be the wettest spring we have encountered in the great Spanish city of Granada. It poured down today but the 19 Texan horticulture students we guided around gardens in the city were not too upset about getting wet.

After all, at home, they have seen almost no rain since last October. Incredible!

As they paddled around Spain, it was 86 degrees fahrenheit at home in Texas. But did they complain? No! They did not. What a lovely group of people.

We only wish we could have spent more time with them and in better weather.

The party was made up of keen gardeners from Lubbock and those from New Mexico. Many of them are studying horticulture at Texas Tech University.

After leaving our first garden which they described as "delightful" we walked through the Albaicin in Granada, but we all got soaked as the heavens opened.

But they marched on and broke into song. A chorus of "We're Singing in the Rain" lifted the spirits.

Walking through puddles in torrential rain are not the best conditions in which to walk around the gardens, but it does mean that the they are particularly lush at the moment. The plants are enjoying all this water.

Before we know it, we shall be walking around the gardens of Granada in 40 degree heat.

But, whatever the weather, we are here to make sure you have a fun, informed, relaxed and personal guide to the best green spaces in the city of Granada.

E-mail greenspain@live.com if you want to enjoy the gardens with us.

TOURING GRANADA GARDENS - COME RAIN OR SHINE

Harry and Michael from New York were our latest guests on a tour of some of the best gardens in Granada. They were a little under the weather when we met them at their hotel in the morning and the weather itself was dreadful. The rain fell heavily in the morning but we all bravely made our way up to the Albaicin to begin our tour of the gardens in this fine city.

Saturday may not be the best day to do this as some great gardens are closed at the weekend.

Nevertheless, the guys from New York thoroughly enjoyed the 8 hours of walking Granada saying that they found their hosts to be "knowledgeable, fun and very sympathetic to the fact that they were not feeling particularly well. We've had a wonderful day and seen more of the city of Granada and its gardens than we ever could have seen on our own."

As we tour Granada we always keep our eye out for other sites that may interest our clients. Especially when the rain is pouring. In Spain one can never tell which museums and other places of interest will actually be open when they claim to be. So it was that Harry & Michael got to see the site of the ancient Roman baths and the Casa de los Tiros museum.

As part of our garden tours we also stop off for refreshments at a couple of the best tapas bars in the city. These breaks were much appreciated by all. It allowed us to dry off and have a nice beer, a glass of wine and some free tapas.

The boys enjoyed seeing three of the better gardens that are open at weekends and to compare what grows in this part of Andalucia with what they are used to in their own garden near Albany, upstate New York.

For our part we love meeting keen gardeners from all over the world and having a relaxing and enjoyable day with them in the great city of Granada.

Next up are 18 horticulture students from Texas and a mother and daughter who love gardening at home in South Africa.

We limit our touring parties to no more than 20 as we find more personalised tours to be that much more informative and pleasurable for one and all. We like to talk with, and not shout at, our guests about plants, gardens and Granada.

The good news is that the rain has stopped, sunshine and blue skies have returned and temperatures are now in the late 20's celsius.