Trsteno Green Oasis – the Most Notable Botanical Garden

The Gardening Culture in Dubrovnik

When visiting Dubrovnik the locals will eagerly show you their impressive gardens, or even ‘pitars’, oftentimes in front of doorsteps. The walk on the walls will reveal patches of green oasis where Dubrovnik people grow a vast hodgepodge of wildflowers, herbs, vegetables, pomegranate, fig, and orange trees. Even those without a proper yard grow flowers or vegetables outside their windows on a ledge.

HIDDEN MAZE OF DUBROVNIK’S GARDENS

Oranges, as well as laurels, were grown in the Middle Ages in the monastery gardens of the Friars Minor in Dubrovnik. Seville orange trees (sour oranges) are still traditionally grown in Dubrovnik gardens. Their color and fragrance and the abundance of white, fragrant blossoms in the springtime are also attractive. As far as orange plantations in Dubrovnik are concerned, it has already been shown that oranges were sold in the marketplace in Dubrovnik as early as the 13th century. This leads to the conclusion that oranges were known in Dubrovnik at least two centuries before the Renaissance or, in other words, that oranges were common in Dubrovnik up to a century after their cultivation commenced on the soil of southern Europe.

Trsteno Arboretum – King Landing’s gardens

You don’t have to choose between bustling city life and serene nature. Next time you need a botanic pick-me-up visit Dubrovnik’s most notable botanical garden in Trsteno.

The high culture of living in old Dubrovnik is best represented by the numerous summer homes of Dubrovnik’s nobility, built outside of the city. Gučetić’s estate served both as a summer home and as a  farm. Only arboretum Trsteno had running water that could be freely used for the gardens. In 1736, the largest Baroque fountain in Dubrovnik was built there, with fountains, a cave/grotto, frescoes, and a pool, and it was supplied with creek water through an aqueduct with 14 arches.

Our predecessors had made sure that these notable gardens resisted time and turmoil, historical and natural changes, ruin and obscurity. Numerous members of the Gučetić family played a distinctive role in the economic and cultural life of the Republic of Ragusa. Among them were diplomats, bishops, writers, artists, seafarers, and lovers of gardening. The members of the Gučetić family brought seeds from their journeys throughout the Mediterranean carrying with them the horticultural skills of the time and, in doing so, helping to advance the culture of gardens and parks.

Gučetić’s country estate shows an incredible succession of owners. In 518 years it had 14. The botanical garden lies across 28 hectares of land between the road and the sea. The majority of the species are Mediterranean plants (31%).

The notable botanical garden in Trsteno recently shot to fame as a result of making frequent appearances in Seasons 3 and 4 of Game of Thrones as King’s Landing gardens. If you want to indulge in some Game of Thrones fun choose A-Team to show you the hidden areas of this maze!

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