- Tiered Box hedging in the lower garden
My recent trip to Lisbon, Portugal, was very much a ‘Garden Fest’ (even though it was really about seeing our Daughter and Son-in-law who live there). I seem to have found several more superb gardens and parks to add to those old favourites covered in earlier articles in the category ‘Portuguese Gardens’. The Jardim Botânico d’Ajuda (Ajuda Botanical Garden) was the first we visited, after an interesting tour of the nearby Royal Palace of Ajuda – richly decorated and with some ‘garden’ interest of its own- (more on that in a later article!).
History
The Ajuda Botanical Garden was a real find. The first and oldest botanical garden in Portugal, it is also without doubt one of the most beautiful I’ve visited in Lisbon. It was created in the 18th century for the Portuguese royal family.When the earthquake of 1755 hit Lisbon, the royal family was living in the palace of Belém (just down the hill next to the River Tagus), and which sustained relatively little damage. However, fearing more tremors, they camped in tents outside the palace for some time, and later, as the king refused to live in a brick building, the Marquis of Pombal (a powerful statesman who led the reconstruction efforts after the earthquake), had a wooden residence built for the royal family furtehr up the valley side. However (and how unlucky must the King have felt), a fire destroyed this building in 1791. So it was later replaced with the Palace of Ajuda.
In 1765, the King ordered naturalist Domingos Vandelli to create a botanical garden near the, then wooden, residence of the royal family. The king wanted to create a garden for his grandchildren, where they could play and learn about horticulture. Vandelli constructed the garden over the course of the following three years with the help of Júlio Mattiazi, who was master gardener of Europe’s oldest botanical garden in Padua, Italy.
About 25 years later Domingos Vandelli was appointed director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and in this position he collected some 5.000 different plant seeds from all over the world. During the 18th until the late 20th century, the garden was maintained by a number of different institutions, and more often than not it was neglected. In 1993, with the support of funds from the EU and the Lisbon Tourist Association, a reconstruction effort started, and the garden regained its earlier glory in 1997.
Entrance to the Garden
The Baroque staircase beyond formal Box hedging
closer…
and close
Fruit!
The Ajuda Palace beyond the garden
Views from the upper garden..
The April 25th Bridge in the distance over the River Tagus
The Design
The garden is designed in Baroque style with a strict geometric layout and decorated with monuments. Occupying some 3.5 hectares on the side of the river valley, the garden is divided into two terraces connected with each other by a monumental Baroque staircase, the Escadaria Central.
The lower, bottom terrace, has an Italianesque layout with a geometric pattern of paths and long hedges of boxwood arranged around flower beds. Plenty of tall trees provide some welcome shade. At the center of the lower level stands a monumental fountain, the Fonte das Quarenta Bicas (Fountain of the Forty Spouts). The 18th century fountain actually has 41 water spouts, disguised as serpents, fish, sea horses. Other statues of frogs, shells and ducks decorate the fountain that is placed at the center of a large basin with water plants.
That Fountain…
At the western end of the lower level there are some exotic plants as well as a small rock garden, but the most interesting exotic plants are housed on the upper level where there are some remarkable specimens, most notably a 400 year old dragon tree and an equally large Schotia Afra. There is also a fair number of smaller plants such as the colorful Tecoma Capensis and the Japanese Camellia.
The Dragon Tree…
A study in support!
Beds for exotic specimen plants
The huge Schotia afra
How does this tree survive?
Cactus
Roots!
Kalenchoe beharensis ‘Drake’
Scilla maderensis
As a bonus, there are not just plants in the botanical gardens; plenty of peacocks strut around the gardens, doing their best to ignore the visitors!
I also had a pleasant time chatting to one of the gardeners, who was setting out leaf cuttings in one of the large glasshouses, this one devoted to a wide ranging collection of succulents, many beautifully arranged in naturalistic table top settings. This gardener was hugely complimentary of Kew Gardens, where she had worked and was, she said, trying to recreate something of that wonderful exotic collection here. She was doing a grand job, and I told her so.
In the glasshouse…
Beautiful succulents skillfully arranged
Leaf cuttings being prepared
Look out for the next instalment in this latest ‘Gardens Tour of Lisbon’!
Related articles:
Oranges and Azulejos: Portuguese Heritage Gardens
PicPost: Great Garden @ Pena Palace Park
PicPost: Great Garden @ Praça do Império Garden, Belem, Portugal
PicPost: Great Garden @ Buddha Eden, Portugal
Portuguese Gardens: Tropical Botanical Gardens, Belem
Portuguese Gardens: Braga
Portuguese Gardens: Estrela Garden, Lisbon
Old School Gardener
This last ‘garden’ from our recent trip to Portugal, is a bit of a cheat. The main attraction is the gothic splendour of the monastery and associated cathedral, but there are some wonderful outdoor spaces too, so I think its worth sharing.
Our recent visit to Portugal included a longer trip 1 hour north from Lisbon to a fascinating park (it is too big to be called a garden)- in fact it is billed as the biggest oriental park in Europe, stretching to around 35 hectares.
Our October visit to Portugal concluded with a day packed with garden visits to the west of Lisbon and in the regal suburb of Sintra to the north- home to many a splendid palace and garden.
Old School Garden 