Paths and Maps
General Plan
The Botanical Garden of the University of Porto is an eclectic space,
ordered and designed with high ecological, aesthetic and referential
interest. It is a place rich in plants, stories, and memories, where the
interventions carried out in late 19th century and the second half of
the 20th century, are distinctly marked.
It is currently organized in three tiers with distinct features. The
first tier includes the formal gardens, separated by high hedges of
centenary camellias. The formal gardens are divided into several spaces:
the bosquets, the Shale Garden, the Fish Garden, the Rose Garden and
the "J’s” Garden. On the second tier lays the outdoor Cactus Garden and
the greenhouses. The third level — the lowest one — comprises the
arboretum, the fernery, the reservoir and the large pond.
Recommended Path
The Bosquets (3, 4 e 5 in the map) are small ordered woods with a
naturalistic composition, casting an ambiance of shade and faint light.
The Rose Garden (10 in the map) and the "J’s” Garden (9 in the map)
are formal gardens delimited by high hedges of ancient camellia
cultivars with a symmetrical tracing of the late 19th century. The first
garden unfolds like a large carpet, just south of the Hall of
Biodiversity (2 in the map), and the second one has beds designed by low
J-shaped boxwood hedges – the initials of João and Joana Andresen,
former owners of the Campo Alegre estate.
The Cactus Garden (18 in the map) is a xerophytic garden, created in
the late 1950s, and housing an interesting collection of cactus and
succulents, limited at south by desert and tropical greenhouses.
In the Arboretum (14 in the map), located south, at lower levels and
occupying approximately half of the Garden, woody plants of various
bioclimatic regions of the world coexist.
The Shale Garden (13 in the map) was built in the 1950s with a modern
geometric layout softened by the rustic irregularity of the stones
present therein. Marked by small lakes used for the cultivation of water
lilies and other aquatic plants, it also evokes the warm Douro
landscapes through the vines, shrubs and herbaceous species from this
Portuguese region.
The Fish Garden (12 in the map) is a space enclosed by high hedges of
camellia, made of grass beds bordered by low boxwood hedges ("parterre a l’anglaise"). Created in the 1950’s, the garden owes its name to the shape of the central flowerbed.
A selection of 50 Trees
Both the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean and a granite substrate create
favourable conditions for the cultivation of a diverse, vigorous and
multi-layered plant community. The Garden integrates species of several
bioclimatic regions of the world. The botanical collection contains
plants of 514 genus and more than 1100 species. Among these, there are
some examples of remarkable trees, of rare, exotic and indigenous
species, such as cedars (Cedrus spp.), araucaria pines (Araucaria spp. Juss.), sweetgums (Liquidambar styraciflua L.), oaks (Quercus spp. L.), lindens (Tilia spp.), tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), camellias (Camellia spp. L.), rododendrons (Rhododendron spp.), California red-woods (Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl), beechs (Fagus spp. L.), bishopwoods (Bischofia spp. Blume) and Bottle trees (Brachychiton spp. (Schott & Endl.).
A Selection of 50 Native Specimens
In the last few years, the Botanical Garden has been investing in the
enrichment of its native species collection. These species, which
naturally exist in Portugal, are rarely used as ornamental plants.
However, they are very interesting because they are adapted to our
environmental conditions and can promote biodiversity.
The presence of native species is noticeable throughout the Garden.
Of the many species cultivated, some do stand out: remarkable trees,
like the big cork oak of the Arboretum and the oak-trees of the
Liquidambar’s Bosquet and Shale Garden; the mixed border that surrounds
the Hall of Biodiversity, composed of sets of trees, shrubs and
herbaceous species typical of Portuguese landscapes; the Shale Garden,
which represents the warm Douro landscapes, with its shale walls and
sidewalks, vineyards, strawberry trees, and lavender; and the collection
of native oaks, which we begun to build in the Dwarves’ Garden and
Arboretum.
Portuguese Camellias
Camellias are ever-present throughout the Garden, embellishing it in the
colder months with their flowers. This collection bares 25 species of
the genus Camellia, some of which known for their uses in the production of tea, and about 690 specimens of Japanese camellias (Camellia japonica L.), of which 99 are of Portuguese origin. Much of this collection was
planted in the 19th century, and the specimens/cultivars were arranged
in an unusual way – in carved hedges –, and left to grow freely in the
Arboretum. In 2020, the Botanical Garden of the University of Porto was
distinguished with the status of International Camellia Garden of
Excellence by the International Camellia Society.