The maintenance of the Gulbenkian Garden in autumn

On this tour, we will talk to the gardener responsible for the challenge of maintaining the Garden as a paradise for all. During the 1960s, the Gulbenkian Garden was the forerunner of a completely innovative approach to garden design in Portugal. In the centre of the city, a garden partially built on concrete slabs and operating according to the rules of landscape and life, required specific maintenance strategies: working in harmony with nature itself, integrating the spontaneous emergence of vegetation and the cycles of growth and death of plants; incorporating strategies for the capture and recirculation of rainwater for irrigation and installing biodiverse meadows, more resistant to drought and diseases; accepting the natural shape of the vegetation, without subjecting it to pruning for purely aesthetic reasons, respecting the natural logic of distribution of the vegetation in the landscape dictated by geographic and microclimatic conditions. The visit takes place in the garden, regardless of weather conditions. Participants should wear appropriate clothing and footwear. The activity will only be canceled in the event of extreme weather conditions.