
The gardens are typical of Madeiran quintas: a mixture of flower bed
intertwined with banana
trees, vine, and even a cabbage patch. Rose bushes
share the lovely sun-filled gardens with Bougainvillaea,
Rhododendrons, Hibiscus, Angel's
Tears, Chrysanthemums, African
Daisies, Blazing Stars, Plumbagoes, Gerbers,
Red Hibiscus, Begonias and the African Agapanthus
rolled out on a succession of terraced plotsmixed with the white
walled self-catering apartments and connected by a number of walkways
or small
flights of steps with the very best effect.
Place
of pride is the central swimming pool with a lovely canopy of
Angel's Tears covering a traditional
style bench built into a wall.
A keen sense of style and taste is found in the smallest of things:
a beautiful
hand painted wall tile, the line of ivy carefully tended
near a staircase, the careful restoration of an old wine scale next
to a traditional wine press (called a "lagar")