Photographs by Mark Bentley

It was not by chance nor by a trick of fate that Javier Mariategui dedicated himself to gardening. He grew up among gardens. Both his grandmothers were gardening enthusiasts, one of them, the Marchioness of Casa Valdes, wrote the book Spanish Gardens, which describes the history of Spanish gardening from Roman times to the present day. This book continues to be a reference for all lovers of this particular field of history and art. This enthusiasm was passed on to him by his parents. From his earliest years he was making his own gardens, by reusing those plants discarded by his father. Mariategui studied landscape gardening and design at the Escuela de Paisajismo y Jardineria Castillo de Batres in Madrid. Subsequently he worked in England as a gardener. Back in Spain, he established the Jardines de Espana nursery, which looks after and employs handicapped children, with whom he first started making gardens. For the past thirty years, he has created numerous gardens across Spain and in several other European countries.