Conference: Dry Mediterranean Gardening

The Mediterranean Garden Society-Portugal is holding its third International Spring Conference under the theme ‘Dry Mediterranean Gardening’. The event will be held from March 28 to 30 at the Pine Cliffs Resort Hotel in Albufeira, with keynote speaker Roy Lancaster OBE VMH focusing on succulents from Mexico and South Africa and drought-tolerant woody plants.
The aim of this year’s conference is to highlight those plants which can be grown with little or no irrigation and provide long-term impact with low maintenance. The emphasis is firmly on talks and visits which explore a diverse range of appropriate plants for such gardens.
Roy Lancaster is a renowned plantsman, plant hunter and author, who will be presenting a selection of woody plants from the interesting and often overlooked Siskiyou Mountains of California and Oregon, and other woody plants suitable for Mediterranean gardens.
Another speaker, Derek Tribble, has been growing cacti and succulents as an amateur since teenage years. His passion now is growing and studying South African leaf succulents, after 15 visits to photograph these plants in nature. Derek will share with attendees his enthusiasm for the succulent plants of South Africa and for this beautiful country.
Paul Spracklin enjoys growing exotic and architectural plants while also making the whole thing rather more sustainable in a dry garden. This led to him making several field trips to Mexico and his main area of interest now is all the members of the Agave plant family.
Other topics include ‘A Beginners Guide to Succulents’, ‘The Geology of the Algarve’ and a focus on Agaves and on Aloes.
Specialist plant nurseries and plant sales area will be open over the weekend and there will be an opportunity to purchase Algarve natural history books, including the newly-published ‘Kew Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Algarve’.
Full programme and booking forms from Rosie Peddle rosie@thebtf.net. More information at www.gardeninginportugal.com or on Facebook, Mediterranean Gardeners – Portugal
Photo: Plant enthusiast Roy Lancaster