Portugal
Portugal, with a fairytale palace
Portugal, a country that excels in diversity. For example, Portugal is known as the country with the most beautiful beaches in the world. In addition, you will find true cultural treasures in its major cities. Of course, you will eat their fantastic food! Mondo Verde placed in its World Garden Portugal the Palacio dos Marquises da Fronteira, to put Portugal in a beautiful cultural light.
Palacio dos Marquises da Fronteira
In the Portuguese Garden in Mondo Verde, you will find a part of the Palacio dos Marquises da Fronteira. The real palace stands in Benifica, at the foot of the hills surrounding Lisbon. The excellent condition of this monument makes it one of the most important monuments in Portugal.
In the 14th century, people constructed the gallery building of the Palacio dos Marquises da Fronteira. It received multiple purposes, from a monastery to a court of justice and from a hunting castle to a burial chamber for numerous prominent historical figures. You admire this building in the Portuguese Garden of Mondo Verde.
Azulejo's
Mondo Verde richly decorated the gallery building with Azulejos, the most distinctive Portuguese art form. The beautiful baked and hand-painted clay tiles adorn numerous historic buildings and palaces, including the gallery building of the Palacio dos Marquises da Fronteira. This Portuguese art form dates to the 15th century. That’s when the Portuguese King Manuel I visited Zaragozza, Toledo and Andalusia. There, he became charmed by the beautiful tiles. He decided not to use the tiles as floor coverings, but to decorate the walls. This increased the importance of the subjects and painting.
At the pond near the Palacio dos Marquises da Fronteira in Mondo Verde, you can see several tableaus with Azulejos. These tableaus tell the legend of Camões, the greatest writer in Portuguese history. He wrote an epic about Vasco da Gama’s journey to India, starring in Os Luciadas. Each tableau on the pond refers to a chant from this masterpiece by Camões. The above tableaus of the gallery are based on old everyday scenes from the Netherlands.
Portugal, a diversity of flora
Chinese rose
Originally, the Chinese ros (Hibiscus rosa sinensis) comes from Southeast Asia and China. It is from the Mallows family. People plant this plant widely. Because this plant grows to about 4 meters, many people use the Chinese rose as a hedge.
The flowers are solitary in leaf axils and have different sizes. The largest flowers are 20 centimeters in diameter. The wild species has crimson flowers. Nurseries also developed cultivars with white, yellow, salmon, lilac, dark red and mixed-colored flowers.
Because Mondo Verde annually prunes the roses back to a height of 5 centimeters, the flowers now also grow at the bottom of the stem. The Portuguese Garden has a huge rose display spread over 4 beds for visitors to admire.
Rose of Sharon
The Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is native to a big part of Asia. This plant is descended from the Mallows family. It is also called the Korean rose. In western Europe, this plant grows as a deciduous shrub. It grows approximately to a size of 2 to 3 meters. The shrub has fresh green and oval leaves.
Starting in July, visitors admire the many exotic flowers of the Rose of Sharon. These flowers grow solitary in the leaf axils of the upper leaves on the young shoots. The flowers reach a diameter of 5 to 10 centimeters. The flower colors vary from white, blue, pink, red to purple depending on the type of plant of course.
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