10 Minutes with Marilyn Ribeiro
Marilyn Medina Ribeiro moved to the Algarve from the UK in 2008 to work as the head gardener at the Romantik Vivenda Miranda Hotel in Lagos. She is now the brains behind Waterwise Gardens, a new sustainable approach to gardening in the Algarve, creating beautiful gardens without the water bill. We catch up with her for our regular feature.
What led you into a career in gardening?
Growing up I had two grandmothers who had green fingers and were enthusiastic gardeners, so I developed an interest in horticulture early on. In my teens, I decided gardening wasn't all that "cool" so I qualified as a graphic designer and lived and worked in London for a short time, but quickly realised something was missing.
It was only after I moved to the Ashdown Forest and re-connected with nature that I remembered my childhood passion for plants. I realised in this area there were lots of nurseries and gardens offering work and within a couple of weeks, I was fully employed between gardening rounds and part time work in a couple of nurseries.
Did you need any training?
I took a BSc in Landscape Management at the local horticultural college at Hadlow. The course not only covered design and construction but also plant and soil science and managing landscapes on a larger scale such as nature reserves. I obtained the RHS Level 2 certificate in Horticulture via evening classes at the same time. I continued to work for private clients and nurseries during the first two years of my course and in the 3rd year obtained a work placement with an environmental consultancy.
What brought you to Portugal?
When my degree came to an end, I saw an advert for the Head Gardener position at the Romantik Hotel Vivenda Miranda in Lagos, so I applied and got the job. I didn't speak Portuguese and had actually never been to the Algarve before my interview! I spent 18 months learning about managing a garden in this climate, which I found hugely exciting, not to mention the challenges of managing a team in a foreign language.
Then the opportunity arose to work as Garden Manager at the 11-hectare Hapimag resort near Albufeira. I was supervising a project designed by landscape architect and biologist Claudia and Udo Shwarzer which would transform large parts of the lawns and conventional gardens into a landscape of native plants. This was a dream project for me, going right to my landscape manager principles of choosing the right plant for the right place.
What motivated you to start your own company?
By the time my contract at Hapimag had concluded, I realised there was a big gap in the market here for more appropriate landscaping for the climate and I felt the time was right to start out on my own.
I wanted to provide an alternative to the typical lawn, palm trees, subtropical shrubs design, which you see everywhere and demands a huge amount of water and maintenance to look good. So I set out to build gardens which are more seasonal and locally relevant, using plants that would require a minimum of water and maintenance.
In the beginning, I did literally everything - designs, planting, path laying, pond building, you name it! I still love to be hands on but as the company has grown I have made links with trustworthy gardeners to help on the ground, and I have three landscape architects in the office to assist. Now that I am expecting my second child I am definitely trying to delegate more!
What is the ethos behind your business?
I want to create gardens which emulate the balance in nature rather than imposing artificial conditions. Daily watering though the summer is the total antithesis of the natural instincts of the plants at this time of the year. Just as gardens in England go into hibernation in the winter, in the Algarve summer there is no water, so the plants want to do what any of us feel like in the height of summer and have a siesta. They don’t want to be forced into growth with water and feeding.
I do understand that most 2nd homeowners use their properties more heavily in these months and want to have an attractive garden at this time of year, so I turn to nature for inspiration. There are actually many plants that continue to produce flowers despite the heat, but beyond this, I emphasise the value of foliage. You can achieve beautiful colours without flowers, deep greens, silvers, grey-blues, even purples and use structural seed heads and grasses.
The other wonderful quality of a garden of Mediterranean-climate plants is that it feels so much more "of its place". The lawn-and-palm tree look could be anywhere; Dubai, China or California.
With aquifers running out, reservoirs getting low, boreholes drying up and rainfall trending towards less each year, we cannot justify the quantities of water traditionally spent on gardens, so we need to learn to appreciate the beauty and the massive diversity of a new range of plants.
If you are promoting the natural why employ a garden planner?
I am all for people designing their own patch of earth and the satisfaction to be had from this. In reality, however, not everyone has the time or knowledge to be able to see the project through without a few hiccups along the way. The steps are not complicated, but need to be followed correctly - something as simple as watering, for example, can make or break your project. A lot of people (myself included, in the beginning) think "oh the poor plants, it's so hot, they must need water!" and end up watering every day through the summer, but this will encourage rot and lead to a lot of plants dying. Ultimately, you will save money if you use an expert who can guide you.
Choosing plants which naturally thrive here is also so much better for our backs and our wallets! It will also mean that your garden has a coherence and sense of unity which is difficult to achieve if you don't have experience in this area. It doesn't have to be expensive, either; I offer as little or as much support as the client needs.
Why does the Algarve hold a special place in your heart?
I had never even been here before my interview for the job at the Romantik Hotel, but I quickly fell in love with the place. Whenever I had been abroad and returned to the Algarve, I would have the weirdest feeling of coming home. Plus, I had only been here nine months when I met my now husband, Pedro, in the least probable way possible: on a midsummer night out in Lagos! We had our wedding not quite two years later at Hapimag, in the gardens I had helped create. It was incredibly romantic! We now have a 2-year-old daughter Sofia and we are expecting a little boy in March.
What do you most enjoy about living in the Algarve?
Naturally, the landscapes just thrill me. The incredible diversity from west to east and from coast to interior, seeing all the amazing plant species that grow and flourish here. I absolutely adore Portuguese food and wine, the fresh fish in the Algarve is outstanding; and getting to know the Portuguese people, their history and culture has been a joy.
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