Urban ecology is a relatively new discipline (Sukopp 1998; 2002) but is the subject of growing interest due to the increasing size of cities and the ever more blurred boundaries between rural and urban areas. In recent years, there have numerous studies on the plant communities that appear spontaneously in different urban habitats. The diversity and abundance of these communities has been frequently associated with land use and urbanisation gradients (McDonell and Pickett 1990; Blair 1996; Kent et al. 1999; Luck and Wu 2002; Hope et al. 2003), as well as with historical components and building types (Starfinger and Sukopp 1994; Kent et al. 1999; Dana et al. 2002; Zerbe et al. 2003). Some attempts have been made to highlight the importance and contribution to biodiversity of urban gardens, especially in the UK (Owen and Owen 1975; Owen 1991, Thompson et al. 2003). Other authors describe urban gardens as “the last great system to be studied by urban ecologists” (Gilbert 1989), or as systems in which humans create new and very directed plant communities (Whitney and Adams 1980). Beck et al. (2001) analysed sample gardens from an energetic point of view, highlighting their strong dependence on external inputs. In terms of landscape ecology, urban gardens are important in terms of the connection between urban green areas and quality of life (Rudd et al. 2002). Unfortunately, very little attention has been paid to these systems despite the fact that in many growing cities the area they occupy and the biodiversity they harbour are greater than those of other urban areas (Thompson et al. 2003). Studies have been made, however, of indigenous patios with tropical home gardens characteristics equivalent to multistratified agroforestry systems widely found in rural areas and even in some cities (Christanty 1990; WinklerPrins 2003). Although urban agricultural production in tropical cities constitutes a substantial element in food provision, despite many general observations (Altieri et al. 1999; Madaleno 2000; Boncodin et al. 2001), it has been the focus of very little scientific research.