MADEIRA GARDENS | FEATURE
Madeira, literally the island of wood or timber, was covered by a vast primeval forest when it was discovered by Zarco, the Portuguese navigator, in 1419. So impressed were the early settlers at the abundance of this paradise that the first children born on the islands, twins, were named Adam and Eve. Madeira today remains a garden of Eden with plants brought from the four corners of the earth. There is perhaps no where else on the planet where such a huge variety of garden plants can be found growing together.
The original vegetation of the island still covers large areas of the mountainous interior. This is the forest of the laurisilva, which in 1999 was declared a World Heritage Site, thus guaranteeing the survival of this tremendous wildlife resource. Plants from the forest are now found in the gardens of Funchal, the island’ s capital, especially Echium candicans, known as the Pride of Madeira, a dramatic bush with tall blue candelabra flowers and the Madeira Geranium, Geranium maderense, which makes an impressive mound of lilac coloured flowers supported on stilts formed by backward-turned leaves.
But it is for the plants brought to Madeira by travellers of the globe that have made these gardens famous. You can find the flora of six continents in the Public Garden, Funchal’ s historic park right in the centre of town. There are tall Asian bamboos, Cedars from North America, Jacarandas from Brazil, African Cycads looking as prehistoric as dinosaurs, Australian tree ferns as tall as palm trees and most surprising of all cottage garden Hollyhocks from Europe.
Visitors to the island make a bee-line for the Botanic gardens. This is based at the Quinta de Bom Sucesso, once the country house of William Reid founder of the famous hotel that still bears his name. A good place to start since the bewildering number of plants in the collection are well-labelled and the magnificent view over the bay gives a good orientation for further exploration of the island. From here there is a cable car to Monte, up higher into the mountains, where the extravagant Monte Palace Gardens can be visited. As well as plants these gardens boast a host of sculptures, Portuguese azulejo tiles, and a grotto full of precious minerals. There is an amazing Cycad garden, several Japanese Gardens with Koi carp ponds, and woodlands full of flowers and abundant cascades of water.
Really keen gardeners should not miss the orchids at the Quinta da Boa Vista. This is a nursery and display run by Betty Garton and her son Patrick. The orchids were originally amassed by Sir William Cooke, beginning in the nineteenth century, but the collection has been developed and improved by his family ever since. As well as orchids there are spectacular bromeliads and climbing plants.
Madeira Magic, which I designed, is a garden that celebrates the global origins of all these plants. It is laid out with distinct areas each containing large displays of flowers designated by their respective continents. It is amusing to see the astonishment of visiting school children who refuse to believe that familiar Madeira garden flowers have in fact come from the other side of the world. A good example is the Strelitzia, bird of paradise flower, which although it has been used as a symbol of Madeira by the Tourism Board is in fact native to South Africa. One plant that the children can claim as their own is, however, the famous dragon tree, which used to grow in large numbers along the sea cliffs and is now planted in abundance in this garden.
Travellers to the island interested in plants can choose to stay in a number of hotels with interesting gardens. For many years the Town Hall ran an annual gardens competition between them. The most frequent winner was the Pestana Village Hotel which has a huge variety of flowering plants that overwhelms the buildings, bougainvilleas, beaumontias and roses clamber over the walls and up into the palm trees, the garden is planned around small relaxing areas of lawn surrounded by deep flowerbeds filled with sub-tropical plants: tall bananas underplanted with begonias and fuchsias, geraniums and many other things that most people would recognise only as greenhouse or conservatory plants. There are similar gardens at Reid’ s Palace and the PortoMare resort. Up high in the mountains there are the extensive gardens of the Choupana Hills Resort. Gardens with a more contemporary feel, yet still full of plants can be found at the Pestana Grand and the brand new Pestana Promenade, both have colourful patterns of plants laid out in lawns beneath tall palms.
The Gardens of Madeira, by Gerald Luckhurst, is published by Frances Lincoln. For our Readers Offer, see page 42.
| www. madeira-life. net | Summer 2012 | 31