Artificial grass is the sign of a modern backyard. It is there to help you maintain a perfect looking lawn that is low maintenance at the same time. Let’s face it; people don’t have enough time to take proper care of every plant that they have, growing in their small gardens, especially when they are exposed to heat all the time. So, the artificial lawn is an excellent alternative to natural grass, as it also helps with reducing water waste.

Find out all about forthcoming Gardening Events in the Algarve, and of course the eagerly awaited Mediterranean Garden Fair 2019 coming up in October. You can read the Summer Newsletter HERE.

W: www.mediterraneangardeningportugal.org

The Tenth Anniversary event for the annual autumn garden fair took place on Saturday October 27 in Sao Bras and celebrated the start of the gardening year. We were fortunate to have a dry sunny day following the first few rainy days of the autumn, encouraging everyone to get busy in the garden again.

Despite the run up to this years Spring Garden Fair being dogged by much needed heavy rain, not so welcome howling winds and even a mini tornado across the Algarve, the event went ahead as planned. On the day the rain held off until early afternoon, giving the 350 or so visitors the chance to buy from small nurseries and growers offering a wide variety of plants, shrubs and trees for sale. Some visitors, we learned, had travelled long distances to take advantage of the unique opportunity to buy from the specialist nurseries gathered together for the day.

Renowned landscape gardener Steve Townson, of Green Fingers’ fame, has launched a bespoke garden consultancy based on over 30 years’ experience designing, landscaping and maintaining some of the most prestigious gardens in the Algarve.

Working hand-in-hand with a keen, new landscaping and garden maintenance company, Steve offers everything from on-site consultancy to project management. Whether you are creating a new garden, or wanting to inject fresh life into an established one, Steve’s extensive knowledge and advice will ultimately save you time and money.

The Mediterranean Garden Fair held in São Bras de Alportel on Saturday October 28 was the most successful yet and attracted 1800 visitors, a record breaking attendance for the event in its eighth year. This is a wonderful response and we would like to thank everyone who supported our exhibitors and speakers.

The weather was perfect and the excellent help given by São Bras Camara, the Bombeiros and the Amigos do Museu all combined to make the day run smoothly. The organisers work with a wonderful group of volunteers who make the event very special by giving their time on the day to help visitors. When the gates opened to the public at 11.00 am the plant nurseries and other activities were all in place for the rush of enthusiastic gardeners.

Spring is a great time of year to see plants looking their best and temptations aplenty were on offer at the Spring Garden Fair on Saturday 4 March at Quinta da Figueirinha. The garden fairs, organised by the Mediterranean Garden Association for Portugal (MGAP), are popular fixtures in the gardening calendar and the hard working volunteers involved in the planning and organising really excelled themselves this time.
We were very pleased to have the support of Silves Camara and some great helpers from the local school (ESPAMOL), they are now all experts at organising a car park !

The largest collection of fruit trees in Portugal is in the Algarve, and the largest collection in the Algarve is at the Agricultural Experiment Centre in Tavira where 120 varieties of almond trees, 280 varieties of vine and 227 varieties of citrus are growing happily among many other unique varieties of trees that many thought extinct.

Agricultural engineers from the Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Algarve (DRAPALG) have been collecting trees and vines from across the region, replanting and carefully studying specimens that form “the genetic heritage of the Mediterranean’s fruit trees.”