A paradise for those who desire tranquility, beauty and diversity. The Botanical Garden of Porto is a place full of history and possibilities of contemplation. Old home of the Portuguese poet Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, the garden can also be known by its last name and has more than 4 hectares.
Centennial and rare trees, lakes, “catos”, gardens, animals and a breathtaking biodiversity is what we will find here.
Entering in the Garden, where Sophia once played, we find the Biodiversity Gallery building which is surrounded by other gardens known as historical ones, two on the side of the entrance which look like small coniferous forests. We also find Liquidambar Garden an imposing and centenary tree, the Garden of the Jotas, the Rose Garden, the Garden of the Fish, the Garden of the Shale and the Garden of the Bronze Boy. They are seen as historical because they carry the characteristics or at least some them of the gardens of the farm of the grandmothers of the Sophia. Let us now focus on these spaces that were the result of the love of Joan Andresen for botany and gardening.
The garden of Jotas inherits this name because it perpetuates the initials of its former owners, João and Joana. It will be preferred by those who are enchanted by vines, especially wisteria, or gladiolus, which range from very small to large spikes of flowers.
For those who prefer bigger and more imposing and well designed spaces, the Rose Garden is the perfect place! With the myth that it was planned following the drawing of the tapestry of the living room of the house of the Andresen, is delimited by a large wall of Camellias and their paths lead us to a small central fountain where you can see aquatic plants and small amphibians.
The fish garden is a simpler space. The paths create the shape of a fish, which, viewed from above, awakens the imagination and creates the desire to walk through its crossroads and admire the wide open field.
As you walk a little further as you round the building, you can find the Schist Garden. Before this space was a tennis court. Now is a charming space for aquatic fauna and flora, in a modernist and contemplative space. Here you can see amphibians hidden under the water lilies or rummage through the papyrus to see tiny insects.
It is inevitable to look at the green divisions that separate the gardens. These are hedges of camellias! About 600 plants are carved to create the designs and separations. Measures, reach 500 meters of hedge. This is a structuring feature of the spaces that surround the building.
With so many planned gardens it is hard to decide which garden is best to sit and relax! Already have your favorite? Of course the Botanical Garden impresses in several other aspects ... These we will make available later so that you stay more and more inside the fauna and flora of the city of Porto.
Written by: Matheus Rabelo
Photos and video by: Júlia Aguiar
Translated by: Luiza Macedo
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