 In 1869, Thomas Hanbury began work on his botanical gardens at Mortola and engaged Winter as a botanist.He devoted himself to this garden for five years, importing a wide variety of plants from Australia, New Zealand and California and acclimatising them to Liguria.When the work at Mortola was complete in 1874, Winter moved to Bordighera from where he designed and collaborated on many gardens, parks and nurseries on the Ligurian Riviera and the Costa Azzurra, as well as introducing and breeding roses, acacias and other flowers.