Tangier Gardens: ...out of the classroom into real life...via plant portals (The Landscape Architect)

I write autofiction in the literary fiction category.

The Landscape Architect series explores landscape and culture from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Bosphorus, from North Africa to the Middle East.

The protagonist is an American landscape architect who never wanted to leave home; but life had other plans for him—over 30 years an expatriate in the sands —the Sahara, the Empty Quarter, everywhere in between and around all the edges. He had his hands full and his future… read for yourself.Sometimes life takes us down roads to places we never wanted to be.

It all starts here. Culture and landscape make a stew for our protagonist, Christopher Janus.

In the summer of 2000, a young American college student struggles with deep cultural roots, casual intoxication and physical injuries as he tries to complete his term abroad design study. Will he overcome these challenges? Can his will power, his family or his girlfriend give him strength? Or will his new-found, arcane botanical friends at the Hibiscus House save him?

This is a landscape story. What makes a landscape story? It is a ride that will magically take you from portals of inspirational beauty to the esoteric pleasures of the paranormal, the metaphysical.

They are told by a student striving to become a professional landscape architect, CJ. He is unexpectedly overwhelmed by deep cultural roots--landscape legends. He wasn't looking for legends—they found him.

Legends—from the Moors, from West Africa, from the Sahara.

Paranormal? Metaphysical? Myths? Allegories? Fables? Legends? All are found in the landscape—where an ever-vibrant blend of human life and culture thrives—one step beyond. If you haven't been there… you have no idea. CJ went there. You should too. Get started with Tangier Gardens.

Educated in Brussels, Midwest America and London, Edward Flaherty interned for two years at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University to earn his horticulture bonafides. His undergraduate and graduate degrees have been in Landscape Architecture and Geographic Information Science.
 
An international award winner and frequently invited conference speaker, Edward Flaherty practiced landscape architecture over the past 5 decades on very large projects where he has lived as an expatriate in Africa, Europe and Asia. In Morocco, he has made his home in both Meknes and Tangier.