Gerald Luckhurst

Landscape Architect and Horticulturist

Gerald Luckhurst trained as a horticulturist at the University of Reading, UK and holds a
master's degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts, USA and a PhD
from the University of Bristol in Anthropology and Archaeology. He is a chartered member of the
British Landscape Institute and the Institute of Horticulture. One of Portugal's best known
garden designers, he is also a member of the Portuguese Association of Landscape Architects.
In 2013 his project for the restoration of the gardens of the Palace of Monserrate, Sintra, was
awarded the European Garden Award as the best redevelopment of a Historic Park.
Since the 1980's his practice has been based in Portugal, work includes the preservation and
conservation of historic landscapes, detailed design for hotels and tourism, planning and
development for commercial and residential projects in Portugal and overseas, consultancy to
municipal and national government agencies, large private estates and voluntary work for
charitable organisations.
He is currently consultant landscape architect to the Parques de Sintra, Monte da Lua, S.A. a
public equity company responsible for the management of a large part of the UNESCO classified
World Heritage Cultural Landscape of Sintra in Portugal.
His company, Jardim Formoso Lda. employs more than thirty people including designers,
landscape managers and specialized landscape construction personnel and gardeners.

Presentation

Resort Hotels
Vila Porto Mar
Madeira Island, Portugal
Large hotel garden constructed on a
series of terraces and roof gardens
integrated with the building design
on four different levels.
Features a wide variety of sub-tropical
vegetation including a collection of more
than sixty species of palms.

Resort Hotels
Miramar Hotel
Madeira Island, Portugal
The density of building development is
successfully concealed by exuberant
tropical vegetation in a garden
composed of intimate spaces ,
including stairwells and corridors,
narrow borders and courtyards.
A careful selection of planting has
enabled even the most difficult of these
spaces to present a rich palette of
colour and leaf textures.

Resort Hotels
Village Hotel
Madeira Island, Portugal
This garden resort, the first of its kind
on the island, has won many awards
for the quality of its display. It was also
distinguished as the garden with the
greatest biodiversity in the city of
Funchal no mean achievement in this
island of botanical superlatives.

Resort Hotels
Choupana Hills Spa
Madeira Island, Portugal
High above the city of Funchal, this
mountain resort is composed of 60
bungalow units grouped around central
spa and restaurant buildings. All amidst
11 hectares of gardens.
The planting is planned on an
grand scale. As the client put it, in
musical terms : this is Beethoven, not
Mozart.

Resort Hotels
Reids Palace Hotel
Madeira Islands Portugal
Famous old hotel with luxurious historic
gardens revamped by the Orient
Express Hotel group.
The gardens were restored to include
modern irrigation and lighting schemes
and the plant collection considerably
augmented so as to return them to their
former glory.
The photographs here are taken from
the book The Gardens of Madeira
written by Gerald Luckhurst.

Resort Hotels
Pestana Grand Hotel
Madeira Islands Portugal
A modern building by the architect
David Sinclair sited at the southernmost
point of the island. The gardens are
exposed to extreme weather conditions.
An important consideration in the
planting design was the preservation of
magnificent sea views over the cliff-tops.
The garden features a superb sunken
rock garden planted with more than 300
species of succulent plants: dragon trees
aloes, agaves, and giant cactus.

Resort Hotels
So Tom
Equatorial Africa
A tropical island resort with limited water
resources. Sheltered areas within the
buildings were planted with large and
colourful-leaved plants produced in
collaboration with local gardeners.
Other areas, exposed to occasional
violent storms, were designed with lawns
and stately royal palms, with beachfront
plantings to stabilise the artificial sand
lagoon.

Resort Hotels
Porto Santo Hotel
Madeira Islands Portugal
Desert Island gardens created under
extreme climatic and soil conditions,
they are watered from a desalination
plant and include large areas of locally
adapted plants and native vegetation
that require minimal watering.
The garden also has areas devoted to
organic agriculture producing local
varieties of vegetables, orchards and
vineyards.

Resort Hotels
Promenade Hotel & Spa
Madeira Island Portugal
A recently established garden, the
photographs were taken after a year of
growth. Large masses of tropical foliage
create intimate spaces for relaxing
around the large swimming pool.
The spa garden has an abstract style
of planting that recalls oriental themes
that may be contemplated from the
individual treatment rooms and interior
pools.