Welcome to our very first garden walk-though video with English horticulturists Simon and Lorna. In this video we are discovering the delights of Monte Palace tropical gardens in the Portuguese island of Madeira. The story of Monte Palace gardens began in the 18th century when the English Consul Charles Murray, bought what was then just farmland and transformed it into his private estate, then called ‘Quinta do Prazer which is Portuguese for ‘The Pleasure Estate’. In 1897, Alfredo Guilherme Rodrigues purchased Quinta do Prazer and, inspired by the palaces that he had seen in Germany, built a palace-like residence which was later converted into a Hotel known as the Monte Palace Hotel. In 1943, Alfredo Guilherme Rodrigues passed away, leading to the closing of the hotel which, in the meantime, was taken over by a financial institution. Later, in 1987, it was sold on to entrepreneur José Manuel Rodrigues Berardo. He re-established the grounds to how you see them today....