A talk by Marilyn Medina Ribeira

Marilyn Medina Ribeiro has degrees in Graphic Design and Landscape Management and has worked in nurseries, parks and private gardens. In 2008, she moved to the Algarve, managing hotel gardens and later founding her own company to promote sustainable land management. Waterwise Gardens works throughout the Algarve, undertaking projects of all shapes and sizes, from new builds and landscape management planning to tweaks and renovations of existing gardens, always with an eye for the most appropriate plants to create gardens that are beautiful, economical and sustainable. In her presentation, Marilyn will explain her philosophy in greater depth and how this applies in particular to gardening in the Mediterranean climate. By choosing from the vast range of Mediterranean-climate native plants (more than 70,000 species in all), there are almost limitless possibilities for creating gardens with little or no supplementary irrigation, all of them a far cry from the “brown and spiky” image that many people still harbour. Marilyn will take us on a visual journey through some ravishing gardens and landscapes, showcasing just what is possible when we choose the right plants for the right place.