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THE ECO GARDENS

The gardens

JC

Guests staying on the Eco Estate are welcome to join us for a tour around the gardens. We will share with you our plans for the grounds and show you the highlights and some special plants that we have growing here.

farm fruits

Strawberries from The Solar Branco Eco Estate

On the grounds of the estate we grow fruits year round. From strawberries and figs, to heritage varieties of oranges and lemons. We are also growing Japanese plumbs, 3 types of avocados, finger limes, yuzu lemons, guava, rhubarb and bananas.

oranges

Oranges Azores

We are replanting the orange groves with a heritage variety of oranges that would have been grown on the estate in the 1800s. This shows guests what the fruits would have been like in the days of the citrus trade with the United Kingdom, and the riches that they created.

The Botanical House

botanical house @ the solar branco eco estate

The Eco Estate highlights local produce grown both here and on the estate. Our botanical house is the start point for many of the plants growing here. Join us to see some of the native as well as more exotic species that we have.

free range chickens

The chickens of cluckingham palace

Our chickens are all free range and live naturally and very happily in our orange grove. The help to keep bugs under control around the trees and their poop is natural fertiliser for our vibrant oranges. We just love chickens!

Hedgehog Rescue

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We are afraid to say our spikey guests are a little shy and prefer their privacy so are rarely seen on the grounds during the daylight hours. Found a Hedgehog on Sao Miguel by the side of the road? PLEASE CALL: +351 919 076 779

Wildlife ponds

Frog in our nature pond

The estate boasts 3 wildlife ponds. Each designed to support and help the local wildlife thrive. The ponds support flies, bees, dragon flies, frogs, birds, hedgehogs, bats and birds.

saving our bees

Bees Azores

There are 18 species of bees in the Azores. These pollinators are an indispensable natural resource in agriculture and for a healthy ecosystem. In short, we need bees and we need a lot of them. The grounds of the estate were unloved or simple cattle grazing land.

Azores Gardeners

Bananas Azores at The Solar Branco Eco Estate

With over 100,00 square meters of land, there is plenty of gardening to do. With this in mind, and plenty of successes and failures, we created the Azores Gardening group on Facebook.