Ceratonia Gardens

Ceratonia Gardens is a herbal centre for healing and education in São Bartolomeu de Messines, Algarve. It was founded by Daisy Mae, a medical herbalist who qualified in 2004 and has worked ever since as a full-time clinician and facilitator of learning. With her partner, Corey, she has grown it into a space for reconnecting with the natural world. The land is full of wild flowers and bushes, with mature olive, carob and almond trees. Among them sit several designed medicinal areas: Calendula's Garden (arranged around the Chakra system), the Enchanted Garden, the Medicine Wheel honouring the Seven Directions and the newly created Apothecary Baths. The idea is to grow plants that nourish and regenerate both the earth and its people, protecting the ecosystem while enhancing the natural beauty of the land. Classes and events run throughout the year. They range from guided garden walks to full-day herbal workshops and a five-day residential immersion for herbal students and practitioners. The teaching draws on over 20 years of clinical herbal practice and a lifelong passion for plants, bringing together botanical, horticultural, medicinal and spiritual knowledge. Everyone from beginners to experienced plant enthusiasts is welcome to learn plant identification and medicinal uses, and about the deeper spiritual connection to nature that underpins the project's philosophy.