Associação de Plantas e Jardins em Climas Mediterrânico
Mediterranean Gardening Association Portugal
Divulgar plantas e jardins mediterrânicos através da educação, cultivo, conservação e reconhecimento a sua importância comunitária, ambiental e económica nas nossas vidas quotidianas."
To promote Mediterranean plants and gardens, through education, cultivation, conservation and recognition of their communal, environmental and economic importance in our everyday lives.
Secretary -Rosie Peddle mgapsec@gmail.com -Rosie is a Founding Member of MGAP and has lived in Portugal since 2004. She gardens “as little as possible” on four acres of old farmland in the Eastern Algarve which is regularly open to visitors. She is keenly interested in the conservation of plants and their habitats, having worked as a volunteer with the UK charity, Plant Heritage which is responsible for the National Plant Collection Scheme.
Rosie is a Fellow of The Linnean Society of London and was awarded a Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society in their 2020 People Awards. The Medal is awarded annually to persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the science and practice of horticulture.
President -David Marionmgappres@gmail.com - David joined the Board in February 2021
David was a career diplomat in the Canadian Foreign Service and came to Portugal in 2013 directly from a four year posting in Turkey. After five years as Counsellor (Management) & Consul in Lisbon he decided to "retire" to Portugal and relocated to Loulé. In Canada he served three terms as a Reeve (Mayor) of a municipality and was active on a wide range of local, regional and provincial boards.
David also operated a landscaping business for 15 years and thoroughly enjoyed his outdoor work amongst all the plants.
Treasurer -Rob Peddle mgaptreasurer@gmail.com Rob is a Founding Member of MGAP and a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with many years of senior management experience across a number of industry sectors and companies. He is also a professional Project Manager.
Whilst not an expert plantsman, he has a passion for sustainable gardening and the use of appropriate plants and practices for mediterranean environments. This is particularly relevant in the Algarve, where we need to think and act appropriately, both in the short and long term, whilst enjoying the diversity that is around us already.
Burford Hurry, (President 2014 to 2019)
Burford was born and grew up in South Africa and then went to Gweru, Zimbabwe where he was a lecturer at a teacher’s college. During that time he was gardening in the highveld of Gauteng and in the Midlands of Zimbabwe. He left that country in 1986 and has lived in Portugal since. His African background where heat, drought and cold are not uncommon factors in gardening has been a great help.
He has always loved gardening and also enjoys designing gardens, trying to use as many indigenous plants as possible and some of the more suitable plants that come from his home country. Burford has been gardening in the Algarve for many years and his garden is open for visits.
Michelle is a project manager, working in the IT sector, based here in Tavira. She has recently moved permanently to Portugal after 20 years of visits including 5 years of house building challenges. Living in Ireland for the last 25 years, she ran the junior section of the local sailing club with a group of able volunteers and instructors, whose aim was to make sailing affordable for local children.
She is a learner gardener, married to an avid vegetable and fruit gardener, who now owns and manages a small orange and lemon orchard, with lots of other exotic fruit trees in preparation.
Fairs Coordinator, Currently Vacant-mgapfairs@gmail.com(email monitored by Secretary)
Jessica was first acquainted with MGAP's work at a gardening colloquium in 2017, and has since then been both learning more about mediterranean gardening as well as participating in the association's activities. After assuming the role of representative & consultant of the association for the region of Lisbon, she formally joined in January 2020.
Jessica was born in South Africa, with Portuguese ancestry, and has been working as a Landscape Architect in Portugal since 2014. Her interests are deeply moved by the more naturalistic approaches in planting design and gardening, and to be able to connect and be connected with like-minded gardeners comes as both a privilege and joy.
The other Founding members were Richard Hickman, Marilyn Kahn, Gerhard Zabel, Rosie Peddle and Rob Peddle.
Following a very successful career in senior Corporate and Social Responsibility roles, her knowledge and expertise is a valuable addition to the development of our educational activities.
