Saturday morning saw eager plant buyers queueing for the opportunity to see the wonderful range of plants from over 20 nurseries attending from Lisbon and the Alentejo as well as local specialist growers. For the first time we had three growers with a good range of native plants, and native seeds were also available at the event.

Alongside the plant nurseries were good quality craft stands including stained glass for the garden, garden tools and skilled botanic artists with original works as well as cards and notelets. Also available were herbs and spices, organic soaps and cosmetics, plant stands, jewellery and clothing - all inspired by gardens and the natural world.

For the first time exhibitors it was a leap into the unknown, but they were all thrilled by the response of visitors to their plants and products. The new water plant nursery, Aguaflora, new succulent growers and new nurseries with tough drought resistant plants were all very happy to take part and will be returning for future events.

Finally, it was possible to celebrate the start of another gardening year by meeting up with friends, doing some serious plant shopping and enjoying a grand day out. We are very grateful indeed to our generous sponsors for this event, including The Resident, Sementes de Portugal and the Junta de Freguesia for Conceição and Estoi.

The event is held to highlight the wonderful work done by our local specialist nurseries and to raise funds for the work of MGAP in promoting sustainable and beautiful gardens and landscapes. The free information leaflets in four languages were popular and we hope to see many more gardens using native and climate appropriate plants. Your gardening queries are always welcome to the email address below. If you missed the event but would like details of those attending, you can access the full list via the front page of our web site. If you were there, and took some photos, we would love to see them – we were all too busy to take photos !

We are already planning a Spring Garden Fair in 2022 and will keep everyone up to date via our web site and newsletters. If you wish to join our distribution list, please send a message to mgapsec@gmail.com

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all who attended, and see you next time !

Rosie Peddle – mgapsec@gmail.com

www.mgaportugal.org