Sintra Hillside Retreat
Sintra · 2024
A hillside plot below a Sintra villa was slipping and unusable. The owners wanted level ground to sit on and a garden that belonged to the damp, wooded setting rather than fighting it.
The challenge
The gradient was severe and the soil moved in winter rain. Any terracing had to hold the bank and drain cleanly without looking engineered.
Our approach
We cut three terraces held by dry-stacked granite, threaded a stepped path between them, and planted a woodland-edge palette that thrives in dappled shade and holds the soil with deep roots.
The outcome
A stable, walkable hillside with three distinct places to sit — and planting that reads as if it had always grown there.
How we built it
Four phases, priced up front.
Every phase was scoped in the estimate before we broke ground, so the owner always knew what came next and what it cost.
- 1
Site assessment
Slope survey, soil and drainage study, and a written estimate.
- Gradient and stability survey
- Soil and winter-drainage assessment
- Itemised estimate with retaining scope
- 2
Design
Terrace levels, path routing, and the woodland palette set to plan.
- Three terrace levels drawn to the gradient
- Stepped path and seating positions fixed
- Shade-tolerant palette selected
- 3
Build
Dry-stacked granite retaining and granite step runs.
- Dry-stone granite terraces built
- Granite steps set between levels
- Land drains laid behind the walls
- 4
Planting & handover
Woodland-edge planting and a seasonal care calendar.
- Native oak understorey and ferns planted
- Groundcover run to bind the banks
- Seasonal care calendar handed over
Planting palette
Chosen for the site's light, soil, and exposure — built to hold its form on minimal water.
- Quercus faginea (Portuguese oak, understorey)
- Dryopteris (wood ferns)
- Helleborus argutifolius
- Luzula nivea (snowy woodrush)
- Vinca minor (lesser periwinkle)
Materials & structure
The hard landscape that carries the planting and the years of use ahead.
- Dry-stacked granite retaining
- Riven granite steps
- Perforated land drainage
- Bark-mulched borders
- 210
- m² transformed
- 3
- garden terraces
- 14
- weeks on site
Want a garden like Sintra's?
Book a site visit and we'll price your property the same way — a fixed, itemised estimate before any design work begins.
Site visits across Lisbon and the coast. Written estimate within five working days.