I stumbled onto this garden completely by accident. On my long walk-about-town today, I was exploring Marjan Hill again. I was coming down a trail on the Southern side, well past the area of the cliffs. I saw a gate at one end of a path, and it was unlocked! Inside, I discovered the resurrection of the Split Botanical Gardens.
Brief History
This garden was established in 1951 and flourished for about 30 years. In the 80’s it fell into disrepair and suffered greatly. Just recently, the local university Faculty of Science has taken it upon themselves to restore this space. And wow, have they done a great job!
The Bones
The restoration is taking shape beautifully. While there is not much in bloom this early in the season, I could clearly make out the structure of the gardens. A lot of effort and time has been put into re-establishing pathways, building benches and retaining walls and beautifying the bones of the garden.
A huge greenhouse area has been re-constructed and it is gorgeous. Clear garden beds have been shaped, and the structure and teeth of the garden are set. It looks really amazing.
Walking the full length of the gardens, one comes to a small stone building at the end. It is very picturesque with views out to the Adriatic Sea from above.
The Plants
Large trees remain in the space from earlier days. The Botanical Garden is part of the Marjan Forest Park so is surrounded by the natural forest of the grounds themselves.
Plants have been placed recently, most probably in the last couple of years. They still have their tags around the stems. Not many are in bloom, but that’s okay.
Wild flowers are everywhere that active work has not been taking place. They are so beautiful and it is lovely to see this natural gardens-cape inside what will become a structured place.
This is a garden to keep an eye on for sure. A month from now many of the plants I saw today will be in bloom. I paid no entry today, there was no one at the gate. In fact I only saw one other young couple inside the grounds the entire time I was there. When I return to Split in future years, the Mediterranean Botanical Gardens of Split will be on my radar for sure. I cannot wait to see how they develop into the amazing space they occupy.
