The Hanbury Botanical Gardens, located in the locality of Mortola, in the province of Ventimiglia, tell the story of a transformation. Over a century and a half of family history has made them among the most famous in the world. A dynasty that over time has moulded this enchanting palace formerly belonging to the Orengo family into a lush paradise on earth. With heart and mind, between botanical eclecticism and family anecdotes, what do these gardens represent for you?
They mean a lot to me: even after 60 years of state ownership, a certain family spirit exists in the Garden and in the love that has been poured into it for over 100 years. When I first came to live in the gardens in 1995, I was quite intimidated by the enormity of the project and felt I was losing my identity. I was overwhelmed by the Hanbury history. Then my husband fell ill with cancer in 1996 and died in 1997; after that, I found it therapeutic to try to do everything he had dreamed of doing in our house and promote the gardens he loved so much, and I gladly took on the mantle of the Hanbury family, except that my husband was the gardener and I have no green thumb, which can be embarrassing when you have a famous name! I enjoy entertaining, telling the story of the family and meeting many different people.
Quakers believe that a garden should respect a divine order in which science, beauty and religion interact. I find that this is still the case today, and it is to the credit of the University that it has not turned it into a park or tried to make money out of it, but rather left it as close to nature as possible, so that it maintains a spirit of stillness and timelessness.
It makes me smile that Thomas, while being a wonderful father who loved his family, also being a shrewd businessman, once said that children are an uncertain investment compared to plants! He created a historic garden with a rich botanical collection and a strong horticultural tradition. He left a philanthropic spirit and brought prosperity to the area. This persists to this day.
The history of the Gardens began on 2 May 1867 when Thomas Hanbury bought the Palazzo and part of the garden from the Orengo and Grandis families for 50,000 francs. A man with an adventurous and successful life, he was the heir to a wealthy English family. Who was Thomas and what was his background?
No garden is complete without the story of the family that created it. Sir Thomas was born in 1832, the fourth of seven children, in Clapham, a small town near London. His family owned a pharmaceutical company called Allen & Hanbury. In 1853 his father lent him £6,000 for an investment in the new import company to start a trading business in Shanghai. Thomas learned the Mandarin language and was the first foreigner to be elected to the City Council, working to ensure that the Chinese who lived in the territories reserved for foreigners also had the right to be elected. His Quaker faith of charity, honesty and hard work made the Chinese trust him. They loved doing business with him in silk, cotton and real estate. He owned 1,500 properties when he left Shanghai at the age of 34 in 1867, no foreigner had ever owned so much in China. He was very rich. His asthma had worsened after his stay in China, and his brother Daniel, who ran the pharmaceutical company and was the one closest to his heart, convinced him to leave for the South of France. They arrived there from London by ship from Menton to Cape Mortola in March 1867. From the Orengo and Grandis families, they bought the palace and the 18-hectare garden, and with his brother Daniel, who was a very good botanist, they planned to plant exotic plants from all over the sub-tropical world.
At the beginning of the Gardens’ history, the contribution of agronomist and landscape architect Ludwig Winter was crucial. What was the microclimate of the area like at the beginning of this landscape adventure?
It was a typical Mediterranean climate, rather arid and rocky, with few terraces and little soil depth. When Ludwig Winter took control with Thomas and Daniel Hanbury in 1868, they had to solve the problem of soil leaching due to autumn rains with major soil modelling; they also had to set up irrigation systems to cope with the summer droughts. The interventions involved the reworking of paths, the renovation of Palazzo Orengo and the other buildings on the estate, and the architectural ornamentation of the gardens. The first rose plants were brought in in the autumn of 1867 and came from his father’s garden at Clapham Common. At the same time, they were bought from the Huber nurseries in Hyeres, Nabonnand in Golfe-Juan and the Thuret garden at Cap d’Antibes. In 1868, plants were brought in from Paris, Montpellier and Kew, also thanks to relationships with scientists, botanical garden directors and plant traders. Already in the early years, the collections of South African, Australian and American plants attracted the attention of the scientific world on an international level. The plants in the gardens were not only considered in their nursery and exotic aspect, but were also the subject of pharmacological research and studied for their economic importance. The property presented an enormous wealth of microclimates derived from different exposures to light and wind, different steepness and humidity conditions. The two brothers and their valuable collaborator knew how to make the most of them, recognising the most favourable conditions for the growth of the plants they wished to cultivate. Thus, between the sea and the old Roman road, in addition to the old olive grove, they placed the citrus grove, vegetable garden and rose garden, sheltered from the saltiness by a renovated boundary wall. The Australian forest was placed on the gentle slope above the Roman road, while citrus fruits were still cultivated below the villa. Higher up, the olive grove was maintained, while to the west and east, Mediterranean shrub species were cultivated. Along the Sorba stream, wetland species were placed. Winter then organised the maintenance of the nurseries, the collection of seeds and the training of local staff to work in the gardens.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the renowned German botanists Gustav Cronemayer, Kurt Dinter and Alwin Berger were called to Villa Hanbury. What imprint did they make on the further evolution of the Gardens?
Gustave Cronemayer, curator of La Mortola from 1889 to 1897, strengthened the scientific aspect of the garden, took care of correspondence with other botanical gardens, and started to compile the first alphabetical catalogue of plants grown in the open air, which is still constantly updated today. He ordered new species and gave a more professional touch to the gardens, which became increasingly important. Together with Thomas Hanbury he started the Hortus Mortolensis, a catalogue of all plants that grew outdoors in the garden. This catalogue is still published today. They tried to cultivate coffee, lychee and sugar, but unfortunately, they were tropical plants.
Kurt Dinter continued the catalogue with the ever-growing list of plants. Alwin Berger, a true botanist from the Dresden Botanical Garden, took care of the herbarium and library and was an expert on aloes. Among other things, he published the Florula Mortolensis, which listed the native species of the area. At the turn of the 19th and 20th century, the garden was tended by 40 gardeners.
Seeds came from all over the world, on New Year’s Eve there were 233 flowering species and 5,000 species in the garden and 400 people were invited to celebrate the counting of the flowering plants, and every year the ‘Times’ and the ‘Garden Chronicle’ published extensive and enthusiastic reports about it.
After the First World War, Cecil Hanbury and his wife Dorothy were responsible for restoring, reorganising, and fitting out the Gardens’ heritage from the nursery, scientific, historical and artistic points of view. What was their contribution to the modern development of the park?
They doubled the number of plants growing here; they were horticulturists and not botanists. Dorothy had a great influence on the garden, she loved colours and was a keen landscape gardener; they did not contribute to the scientific aspect but added much to the aesthetic value and beauty.
It was Dorothy who wanted the scented garden and the small gardens, in memory of the locals who fell during the First World War. Dorothy wrote in 1919 that the garden lacked colour —- so she moved all the palm trees to the main avenue. Dorothy had 400 pots in the garden because she loved colour and believed ‘When in doubt plant stout’. I would say that the garden between 1922 and 1938 was truly beautiful, a popular destination for royalty and aristocracy from all over Europe. I think that between the wars life here in the gardens must have been like a sumptuous film set, the intense social life, the parties, the abundance of beauty. There were 38 gardeners, one of whom was responsible for picking flowers for the house every day! Dorothy loved to dance and entertain and held ‘Te’ Dansent’ afternoons.
Daniel Hanbury owned the very first Rolls Royce Silver Cloud in which he travelled to La Mortola and Alassio with another Rolls Royce in tow for luggage! It was such a romantic and exciting time. After the Second World War, she was determined to restore the gardens, which had been severely damaged by the conflict. She had the garden cleared and received plants from the Botanisher Garten in Berlin. Unfortunately, she could not bring the English capital to Italy, so she had to sell a considerable property between Mortola and Ventimiglia to restore the garden, which was reopened to the public in October 1947. In 1953, in its renewed splendour the Hanbury Gardens hosted Prince Philip of England and Winston Churchill.
In 1960 Dorothy realised that she could no longer continue to manage the garden and that the sale to the state – which took place in 1961 through the mediation of Giulio Andreotti – would be the best solution. Finally in 1986 the University of Genoa took over the management of the garden. Dorothy died in 1972. She wrote: ‘I would like Mortola to be known as an intimate and loving friend, full of flowers. Not just a list of plants’.
From the end of the 18th century, in the culture of an English gentleman, travelling to Italy was a fundamental stage of his education, and for many it became a residence of choice. What did they bring of their ideal model of the Anglo-Saxon landscape, and how did this conform to the climate and tradition of the Italian territory?
I think they acquired a more open horticultural aspect to gardening, introducing new plants and landscape ideas; they loved plants and experimenting in the Mediterranean climate. The secret of English gardening lies in composition through the colours, shapes and structure of plants, horticultural management as distinct from botanical studies, and an innate aesthetic taste in combining the whole composition project with harmony and variety. Those who visited the Riviera in winter continually remarked on the abundance and variety of wild and cultivated flowers.
In the Gardens, Thomas Hanbury’s collecting taste and study of exotic plants coexisted with the aesthetic pleasure of Cecil and Dorothy’s ownership of native species. Walking in the park, which paths do you like best?
My favourite route is the descent to the Tempietto, where Dorothy is buried: I like the view from there of the agaves, cypresses and olive trees that frame the Palace; there is such a variety of greenery that makes you realise the importance of that colour in a garden.