IN BRIEF
What Private garden with a naturalistic planting style.
Where Central Portugal.
Size 4,000 square metres.
Soil Alkaline clay.
Climate Mediterranean with cool, wet winters and hot dry summers.
Hardiness rating USDA Zone 9.
The Ribatejo region of Portugal is a landscape of gently rolling hills, fields, small farms, eucalyptus plantations and occasional patches of wilder landscape. High on a hilltop, some way from the nearest village, is the home of retired paediatrician Margarida Maia and her husband António, a cartoonist for the Portuguese daily newspaper Correio da Manhã. Here, Margarida has created a garden that is fast becoming something of a social-media sensation.
Margarida is very much an accidental gardener. With little gardening background, she
