Autumn Mediterranean Garden Fair, Silves – October 28 and 29
Celebrate the start of the new gardening year with a visit to this unique event in the garden calendar – the only event dedicated to Mediterranean gardening in Portugal.
The organisers are Mediterranean Gardening Association for Portugal, which is not for profit and run entirely by volunteers. This event could not take place without the amazing contribution of our members and friends, and we take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them involved.
All funds raised go towards supporting our aims by providing free, good quality information on making beautiful and sustainable gardens in this mediterranean climate zone. We are currently working with local authorities, schools, tourist resorts and local gardeners to future-proof their gardens.
The support of the Junta de Freguesia of Silves and Câmara of Silves is vital and much valued. For this event, they have made available even more floor space at the FISSUL exhibition hall in the Zona Ribeirinha (riverside). This means that we have been able to extend our range of stands to include more nurseries (20 in total). Many of them plan to have an increased range of plants for sale including many drought-resistant, tough mediterranean species.
There are also specialist succulent nurseries and small enthusiast growers with a wide choice for your garden and containers. Aromatic herbs, vegetable plugs and fruit trees will be available for your edible garden, with free advice on making a drought-resistant orchard.
New for this event will be Thai herb plants for your home cooking, young cycad plants and a wide range of orchids and house plants.
In addition to all the plant choices, there will be a range of organic products and fermented foods. A lovely range of colourful and robust square ceramic pots for orchids, succulents and house plants is a new addition.
Also coming back to this event will be medical herbalist Fernanda Botelho with her books, including the latest on medicinal plants around the world, and she will be with us all weekend and give a presentation on her work.
Native plants and seeds will be available – Sementes de Portugal will bring their range of seed bombs and seeds ready for the autumn planting season. Caminhos Sombreados will have a specially selected range of native plants in collaboration with the specialist nursery SIGMETUM as well as their ornamental plants and trees.
Free talks will take place on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to leave the morning free for your shopping. We are very pleased to have a presentation on Saturday afternoon on ‘Rewilding your Garden’ from local authorities Udo and Claudia Schwarzer, with plenty of time for discussion.
Also important is the talk on Sunday afternoon on ‘Starting from Scratch’, given by our horticultural adviser, landscape architect Jessica Gomes. This will focus on how to make your garden more climate compatible, sustainable, and beautiful. Let us help you get rid of your lawn and your irrigation systems!
Once again, there will be a range of refreshments available including vegetarian, BBQ, curry stand and bar. For a seasonal touch, there will be a roast chestnut stand!
As usual at our Autumn event, there will be the MGAP bookshop, and we will also have available a wide range of hard-to-find bulbs. The range this year is increased to 24 varieties, so newly-available will be saffron crocus, Allium bulgaricum, Gladiolus communis, and mixes of small botanical species narcissus and small botanical species of tulips.
You can make a pre-order to collect at the fair to guarantee your first choices by completing the bulb order form available on the link below and sending it to [email protected]
There is a full list of exhibitors on our website and more info plus updates on the Autumn Garden Fair. Also see our Facebook page.
And, finally, if you are planning to visit and would like to help out for an hour or so, we would love to hear from you. This will be our first Autumn Fair in Silves since 2019 and we plan for it to be bigger and better than ever, we are looking forward to celebrating the new gardening year.
By Rosie Peddle
|| [email protected]
289 791 869 | [email protected]
facebook.com/MedGardenersPortugal
www.mgaportugal.org
FREE TALKS in the Auditorium, FISSUL, Silves
Saturday, October 28
1pm-2pm: Water is Life, Don’t Waste it! General water-saving advice from Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente
2.30pm-3.30pm: Rewild your Garden and welcome nature into your life -Claudia and Udo Schwarzer (bilingual)
Sunday, October 29
1pm-2pm: Starting from Scratch, your first sustainable garden – Jessica Gomes/Rosie Peddle (Bilingual)
2pm-3pm: Fernanda Botelho – Plantas do Mundo, medicinal plants around the world (Bilingual)
Free demos available during the event on these stands:
- Bromeliads / Tillandsia – Jorge Freixial will share his deep knowledge of these special plants.
- FELCO tools for sale – with free maintenance and advice on caring for your tools.
- Solar cooking – Prof. Ruivo UALG invites you to bring your own solar oven for a cook-in.
- Orchard flavours – Miguel Cotton gives free advice on drought-resistant edible gardens.
