The army brought him from Mealhada to the Azores, and by São Miguel, he decided to stay.
António Gaudêncio, born in 1968, has had a thousand and one different ventures. A true entrepreneur, he has worked in hairdressing, aluminium, and more—until his passion for plants finally took centre stage. Behind his house, he cultivates a garden and grows seedlings, which he then sells to both locals and tourists at Mercado da Graça.
Gaudêncio walks through his garden, speaking about the plants as though they were old friends. Alongside the endemic Azorean species, around one hundred varieties, everything grows here with lushness and vigor. The mild climate and humidity nourish the greenery, contrasting beautifully with the blue of the sea just on the horizon.
You’ll find coffee plants, palms, ferns, camellias of all colors and shapes, banana trees, Araucarias, Galician lemon trees, and even ora-pro-nobis growing in Gaudêncio’s garden. And if we listen to his advice, who knows—they might even bear fruit in our own pots or flowerbeds.
