The Hambury Botanic Gardens

The Hambury Botanic Gardens were created in 1867 when sir Thomas Hambury, holidaying on the Costa Azzurra, was stuck by the beauty of Capo Martola, near Ventimiglia, and began to purchase, piece by piece, part of the land which later amounted to eighteen hectares. A pastureland zone was invilved, bounded on three sides, by mountains which protected it from the wind and, to the south east, washed by a flawless sea.

Sir Thomas, who was very rich, had travelled particularly in the Far East and thought of transforming this small area into a complex to receive exotic plants from different countries, helped by this brother Daniel, a pharmacologist who came from England for this purpose. In a short space of time everything was transformed: villa Orengo, also purchased together with the land, was restored, country buildings were built or re-adapted, the land was worked to receive plants and seeds.

Within a brief spell of time, near the small town of La Martola sprang up a small group of gardeners who worked in the gardens with the inhabitants of the zone. Skilful botanists were called from Germany, exchanging were organized.

At the death of sir Thomas, preceded by that of Daniel, the gardens were known throughout the world for their wealth of tropical and subtropical plants, as well as for the great varity of specimens of Mediterranean maquis. Cecil, the son of Thomas, placed the gardens in the hands of his wife, Lady Dorothy, who stimulated the landscaping of the gardens which thus was endowed with panoramic views, walks, pathways and drives, fountains, even an italian garden zone.

The second World War caused the abandonment on the part of Lady Dorothy, the flight of the inhabitants of the small botanic centre and, therefore, of the gardeners, the passage of the troops moving out towards France and, in the end, the bombings and shellings especially from the sea, which destroyed houses, stairways, shrines, plants; in short, a good part of all that which rendered the garden a rarity , both botanic and from a landscape viewpoint.

In 1960, Lady Dorothy was compelled to sell the complex to the italian Government which entrusted its administration to the International Institute of Ligurian Studies which, in every way, sought to heal the deep wounds the garden had received. Not even the Institute, however, had sufficient founds to continue to look after so demanding and so degraded property:after just a little more than twenty years it left it and its administration was assigned to the University of Genoa which commenced work there in 1987.

The Environmental and Architectonic Wealth Agency had begun in 1980 to restore the water installations, various structures, some of the country-building type, to conclude, later, with the villa. The Agency's work continues still, in the respect of the original projects and with the techniques made available by progress.

Trees and shrubs existing according to the 1912 Catalogue were, for the main part, dead, great stumps impeded the working of the ground, almost all the zones of the garden appeared invaded by weeds.

The Hambury had assigned special zones to groups of plants gathered together for their phytogeographic or ecologic or aestetic peculiarities. From this point of vieuw rose the Japanese garden, the Australian forest, the collection of roses, that of succulent plants, the garden of Perfumes and many other special areas.

The Australian Forest, rich with eucalypti with Casimiroa with Melaleuca, has vast parts covered by acanthus and many zones without vegetation.

The Japanese Garden, destroyed in part by the war, is in need of everything, even though it revelas its origin in the spring blooms of the Prunus or in the red leaves of the maple tree in the autumn.

Certainly one of the greatest attractions of the complex is the Garden of Perfumes, just restored: it is rich with labiate plants, with sweet smelling pelargoniums and perfumed essences, whilst plants of lavender, agaves, and other small plants blooming in different seasons in the gorges, confer o special grace even to the walls which mark the garden bourdaries.

Among the numerous Italian and foreign gardens which may be visited today, the Hambury botanic Gardens occupy quite a special place. Involved in fact is an exceptional acclimatization area where exotic plants arriving from all regions of the world, live together in the open air even though out of their natural environment. Frequently, just in respect of what happens in the spontaneous state, the dry leaves of the previous year are left on the plant and appear as they do in the forest or desert from which they come from.

The allure of the Hambury Botanic Gardens lies in this wonderful cohabitation: in fact, during the various season, colours and forms alternate here which only nature is able to offer to our view.