Credit Athena Films
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The new 5 series ‘Great Gardens of Europe’, produced by Athena Films Ltd, launches Saturday, August 23rd at 18:20, with new episodes airing every Saturday and thereafter on catch up. This four-part series takes viewers on a journey through Europe’s most exquisite gardens, providing an immersive exploration of breathtaking landscapes across Europe, paired with gardens in the UK.
‘Packed with practical gardening tips, historical insights and striking visuals, we hope ‘Great Gardens of Europe’ will appeal not just to gardening enthusiasts - of which there are a staggering 27 million in the UK - but to anyone who appreciates nature’s beauty and wants to learn more about the world’s diverse flora and fauna and how much of it - from roses to wisteria - has become the staple of the English garden’ -
Claudia Riccio - Executive Producer
The series launches with an exploration of the Dutch garden, Hortus Botanicas, one of the first botanical gardens in the world, before visiting the dreamlike Parque de Monserrate, an English Landscape Garden in Portugal (Episode 2). Next, the series explores the world-famous Dahlia Gardens located on the tiny German island of Mainau (Episode 3) bursting with 12,000 dazzling dahlia varieties. Finally, we discover the exquisite 500-year-old gardens of Trsteno, near the medieval city of Dubrovnik, one of the locations for hit TV series Game of Thrones (Episode 4).
Episode Breakdowns
Episode 1: Hortus Botanicas in Leiden
Episode 1 explores the Hortus Botanicas in Leiden, south of Amsterdam. The gardens are a living display of plant diversity with ancient trees and lush tropical greenhouses brimming with exotic species. The episode delves into the legacy of the garden’s first Director Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius, who made
tulips popular across the Netherlands, sparking a worldwide floral revolution. We learn that in 1636 a single tulip bulb went for ten thousand gilders and that’s now calculated with inflation at 2.1 million euros. However, Tulip mania didn't last and in 1637, the bubble burst, prices plummeted, and investors were ruined. It is around this period that Hortus Botanicas began to play a vital role in the study and use of medicinal plants throughout the world, inspiring The Chelsea Psychic Garden on the banks of the River Thames to cultivate plants for London's apothecaries.
In the 1800s, Hortus Botanicas introduced rare plants from the Far East that reshaped gardens in the UK and Europe. Today typically 65 percent of garden plants - including roses, wisteria and hydrangeas - often considered as quintessentially English - come from Japan and China. There is also a weird and wonderful side to this botanical paradise: from the miniature world of carnivorous plants, best illustrated by the venus fly trap, to the rare and endangered flora, including the elusive 'penis' plant that blooms only once every decade for a fleeting 48 hours.
Episode 2: Monserrate
Tucked away in the breathtaking emerald hills, west of Lisbon in Portugal, in the town of Sintra, is the Parque de Monserrate's Palace and Gardens. Spanning 80 acres, these award-winning gardens are a testament to the Victorian era’s adventurous spirit of plant collecting, when explorers travelled the globe in search of rare flora.
Parque de Monserrate's is also the site of Portugal’s first English Landscape Garden created in 1790, complete with the country's very first sweeping lawns. Today, much of this remarkably diverse garden is all down to one man, Sir Francis Cook, a wealthy English industrialist who, in the 19th century made Monserrate his summer retreat. He was an avid plant collector and created a place where eager botanists from all over Europe would come and marvel at nature's wonders. Gerald Luckhurst is a landscape architect who spent 30 years researching Monserrate, helping to restore it back to its former glory. He explains how Francis Cook’s exotic pineapple tree (cycad), grown outside, would have been the equivalent of having a Ferrari parked on your front lawn. The grounds also include a sun-soaked Mexican garden, with towering cacti and vibrant blooms, and the mystical Fern Valley, a cool, shaded paradise alive with lush tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand, and a whimsical Folly, a popular feature of the English Landscape Garden, built not for purpose, but rather to be admired for their aesthetic qualities. Viewers are also treated to a visit to Painshill in Surrey, a lavish landscape that has twelve fantastic follies, including a Turkish Tent and Gothic Tower and a stunning palace, where history and artistry converge.
Episode 3: Mainau – Episode 3
In the far southwest of Germany, along the shores of Lake Constance, where the borders of Switzerland and Austria meet, lies a small piece of paradise, Mainau, known as the Flower Island. This island is home to the world-famous Dahlia Gardens with its collection of 12,000 dahlias blooming across 280 dazzling varieties. Surrounding a stunning baroque castle, this 45-hectare paradise celebrates the beauty of nature and has drawn visitors from around the world to its colourful landscapes for over 70 years. Each year, one
of the 280 dahlia varieties is crowned with the coveted title of Dahlia Queen, voted by visitors. Viewers are also introduced to the Chrysanthemum Festival, showcasing a celebration of colour, and efforts to rescue a magnificent 40-metre Sequoia tree, one of the first of its kind in Europe.
There are also jaw-dropping 3D floral installations, including a giant peacock, a 1,700 square metre rooftop garden, teeming with over 16,000 plants representing more than 300 species. Closer to home we discover a green oasis amongst London’s concrete jungle, The rooftop garden at 120 Fenchurch Street, known as The Garden at 120 is 65 metres above street level teeming with plantlife.
Episode 4: Trsteno – Episode 4
The last episode features the enchanting gardens of Trsteno, where six locations were chosen as backdrops for the iconic television series Game of Thrones. Located on a limestone cliff, just 20 kilometres from the medieval city of Dubrovnik, this garden boasts a rich history that spans over 500 years. The gardens tell a captivating story through time, discovering the dramatic beauty of the 18th-century baroque gardens, where a fountain and grotto take centre stage, before moving on to the 19th and 20th centuries that brought exciting new plantings from around the world, including the striking Sago palm. This episode will uncover the garden’s opulent Renaissance roots, with ancient stone columns, sprawling ornamental trees, sun-drenched citrus groves, and intricately designed maze-like shrubs.
Amidst this garden’s glory, also lies a poignant history of heartache and resilience, from devastating earthquakes to devastating fires. Yet, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this lush oasis embodies an indomitable spirit, a true testament to nature's power and beauty.
Over two and a half thousand kilometres away on the Isles of Scilly is the similar and stunning Tresco Abbey Gardens, where an impressive array of Mediterranean and subtropical species thrive in the island's mild climate. Both gardens not only offer breathtaking sea views, but they also share a profound dedication to botanical diversity.
