Mediterranean Gardens Are an All-Season Retreat
Mediterranean Gardens Are an All-Season Retreat
Outdoor living is the essence of Mediterranean life. Mild winters and long, sun-filled days support a remarkably rich plant palette that allows gardens to be enjoyed throughout the year, not just in summer.
This is why Alexander and Jennifer Warren-Gash of Mashamba live and design around a simple idea: life is better outdoors. “We’re in our garden every day,” they say. “Stepping outside for a coffee, barbecuing on a warm winter Sunday or simply taking a moment to enjoy the scent of orange blossom in the air.”
Each Mashamba garden is designed as an all-season retreat, to be lived in and enjoyed every day. A foundation of evergreen, in its many forms, shapes garden and terrace, creating spaces that feel inviting and settled whether it’s July or January.
OUR VERY OWN GARDEN
Mediterranean Casual Elegance
Mashamba’s gardens are shaped by the Mediterranean landscape and built on an evergreen structure of the island’s own plants. Lentiscus, rosemary, olive, citrus and cypress anchor each space, arranged so the planting feels relaxed, never stiff or formal. Best of all, you can count on them to grow more beautiful and generous with every year.
The style is defined by restraint, with seasonal interest offering moments of delight, like a drift of jasmine, airy gaura floating above the evergreens or a burst of bold colour. As Alexander says, “Elegance comes from balance. You want order, but you also want the excitement and romance that a little wildness brings.”
“Elegance comes from balance. You want order, but you also want the excitement and romance that a little wildness brings.”
— Alexander Warren-Gash
This balance also influences how the garden unfolds. Close to home, a generous abundance of evergreens supports outdoor living in every season. And further afield, structure gives way to the untamed. Grasses and seasonal blooms sway, softening the garden into the landscape, with evergreen threads holding it all together.
This is Mediterranean casual elegance: structured enough to feel refined, gentle enough to feel lived in and always shaped by the island’s own landscape.
EVERGREENS FOR THE GARDEN
Signature Cloud Gardens
Evergreen structure dissolves into softness in Mashamba’s signature cloud gardens. These forms hint at traditional topiary but aim for something different. “We aren’t chasing symmetry or perfection. It is about natural rhythm,” Alexander explains. The look is relaxed, designed to be lived in, not just admired.
Shaped into organic forms, lentiscus, rosemary and other drought-tolerant shrubs form low, flowing clouds. Gentle curves and subtle shifts in texture and tone create a calming effect. Pathways encourage unhurried exploration, and seating areas invite you to pause. Even in winter, cloud gardens invite you outdoors and support a slower, more present way of living.
Sculptural yet natural, these forms echo the lines of the surrounding hills where the same species grow wild. This connection is intentional. “We are refining what nature already does so well, shaping the forms just enough so they stay connected to the landscape around them,” Alexander says. That’s why a cloud garden feels settled in every season, it’s always at home in the wider landscape and in a daily life lived outdoors.
Bringing Nature to Your Doorstep
Terraces are the heart of outdoor living, especially in the cooler months. Jennifer approaches these spaces with the same care as interiors, designing them as true rooms. “Terraces need to be comfortable and practical first,” she says. “But they also need to feel abundant and alive. I design them as a bridge between home and garden. When nature feels close and generous, stepping outside feels easy and indoor and outdoor living flows.”
Evergreens play a central role in how Jennifer shapes these spaces. Placed with intention, they create depth and a sense of enclosure, so terraces feel inviting and intimate rather than exposed. Large-leafed strelitzia, glossy ficus and resilient agaves layer texture and warmth, softening the architecture at the threshold of the house and strengthening the connection to the garden beyond.
“I design terraces as a bridge between home and garden. When nature feels close and generous, stepping outside feels easy and indoor and outdoor living flows.”
— Jennifer Warren-Gash
For Jennifer, the pots themselves matter as much as the plants. She selects each one as a piece of art, chosen for proportion, texture and the way it anchors the space. Together, pots and planting frame the terrace and create atmosphere, even when seen from inside.
Mashamba terraces are designed to support everyday life, whatever the season. “It’s about creating spaces you naturally return to,” Jennifer says. “Terraces become an easy extension of the home when they are both comfortable and atmospheric.” A seat placed where the evening light lingers or a lunch table set in a winter sun trap, all enveloped in greenery, blurs the line between indoor and outdoor living.
EVERGREENS FOR THE TERRACE
A Garden That’s Never Out of Season
No matter when life brings you to Mallorca, your Mashamba garden is always ready, welcoming you with a vibrancy that never fades. Evergreen structure creates a garden you can count on and inviting terraces bring ease to outdoor living. They are places to enjoy Mallorca’s sunshine and outdoor life year-round, the kind of everyday luxury that never goes out of season.
Gardens by Alexander Warren-Gash and terraces by Jennifer Warren-Gash, Mashamba Design
Photography by Clive Nichols, Pernilla Danielsson and Alexander Warren-Gash
Get in touch to see how we can create an all-season retreat for you in Mallorca.