Quinta da Boa Vista (Madeira)

Quinta da Boa Vista
LocationRua Lombo da Boa Vista 19A
9060-173 Funchal, Madeira
Coordinates32°39′11″N 16°53′47″W / 32.653073°N 16.896291°W / 32.653073; -16.896291
Elevation112 m
Built19th century
OwnerThe Garton Family
Quinta da Boa Vista (Madeira) is located in Madeira
Quinta da Boa Vista (Madeira)
Location of Quinta da Boa Vista in Madeira

The Quinta da Boa Vista is a historic quinta ('estate') and orchid garden in the Santa Maria Maior parish of Funchal on the island of Madeira, overlooking the central and western parts of Funchal. It contains one of the last remaining walled stair terrace gardens of Funchal and continues to draw its water from the levada irrigation system.[1] It was built some time during the late 18th and early 19th century, appearing on Trigo's 1910 Planta Roteiro Cidade do Funchal 1910 map for the first time.

Quinta da Boa Vista Orchid Garden

After having been converted to a market garden and then a flower farm, the quinta was eventually acquired by the Garton family in the 1860s, and in the 1960s,[2] after his retirement from the Royal Air Force Group Captain Cecil Garton OBE converted it into a site for growing and breeding orchids together with his wife Elizabeth Hera 'Betty' Garton,[3] daughter of a pioneer of orchid breeding, Sir William Cooke.[1][2][4] When Betty inherited her father's orchid collection, she brought part of the collection to Madeira (the site in Hampstead Norreys later become an orchid centre called Wyld Court Orchids which in turn became the Living Rainforest) and continued growing and breeding orchids, increasingly also for conservation purposes. Today her son Patrick, who graduated from Oxford University with a degree in botany, continues to run the quinta[1] and the Quinta da Boa Vista Orchid Garden has become a popular tourist attraction and one of Madeira's most important orchid collections.[5][6]

Orchids and other plants at the Quinta da Boa Vista
  • Dendrobium 'New Guinea' (Dendrobium atroviolaceum x macrophyllum)
    Dendrobium 'New Guinea' (Dendrobium atroviolaceum x macrophyllum)
  • Green dendrobium
    Green dendrobium
  • Orchid
    Orchid
  • Jade vine
    Jade vine

2016 Fires

Aftermath of the fire on the slopes above the quinta, near the Botanical Garden

The Quinta da Boa Vista survived the 2016 Portugal wildfires unscathed; other orchid gardens, such as the Jardim Orquídea were almost completely destroyed.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Purvis, Andrew (6 October 2016). "The spectacular country houses that offer a window on Madeira's past". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b Schwendener, Heinz (July 2007). "Madeira - Garden in the Atlantic Ocean" (PDF). Journal of the Bromeliad Society. 75 (4). Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  3. ^ Emanuel Silva (22 August 2019). "Morreu a mulher que deu o nome de uma orquídea a Snu Abecassis". Funchal Noticias. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. ^ Dictionary Of British And Irish Botanists And Horticulturalists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers 1994 Taylor & Francis, London ISBN 9780850668438
  5. ^ "Quinta da Boa Vista". Madeira Tourist. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  6. ^ Hancock, Matthew The Mini Rough Guide to Madeira (2001) Rough Guides Ltd ISBN 1-85828-727-8
  7. ^ Costa, Pedro Filipe (23 August 2016). "Incêndios destruíram o Jardim Orquídea Pregetter". RTP. Retrieved 23 February 2020.