Spain 1
INSTITUTION NAME AND MAIN ADRESS
COUNTRY Spain
INSTITUTION “Asociación Cultural Villa María Jardín-Huerto”
ADRESS Calle Vicario nº8. Canjáyar. 04450. Almería (Spain).
DESCRIPTION:

Villa María Jardín-Huerto is a regional Andalusian Cultural Association that owns the garden-orchard and maintains it as part of Andalusia’s historical and botanical heritage. It combines conservation, research, and heritage dissemination with cultural management. The Association promotes knowledge of the Andalusian botanical tradition and of 19th-century gardens in the Alpujarra region of Almería.

Villa María is a 19th-century garden created between 1860 and 1880 on the site of a former Moorish orchard dating from 1691. It was pre-inventoried as a heritage site within the “Garden-Orchard” category by the Junta de Andalucía in 2003. It is the only preserved garden of this category in the Alpujarra of Almería, safeguarding both the historical and botanical heritage of the Andalusian legacy and the romantic 19th-century gardens of Almería.

This garden-orchard is a natural landscape located within a rural urban center and is conceived as a cultural and scientific resource. It integrates citizen science and cultural activities aimed at strengthening regional cultural identity, historical memory, and territorial cohesion at both county and provincial levels. Our goal is to conserve the plant biodiversity of the garden-orchard and to enhance, revitalize, and give visibility to this natural cultural heritage.

The Villa María Jardín-Huerto Cultural Association is chaired by a Cultural Manager and has as Vice-President a Professor from the Department of Botany and Plant Physiology at the Universidad de Málaga, an expert in flora and vegetation. The Association collaborates with the City Council of Canjáyar, the Provincial Council of Almería, the Universidad de Málaga, and the Universidad de Almería.
AREA 1400 m2
LATITUD 37º0’36”N
LONGITUD 2º44’21”O
ALTITUDE 602 m
PRECIPITATION
INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSTITUTION
STATUS Private
DATE FOUNDED 2025
TYPE OF INSTITUTION Cultural
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
  • Andalusian bicentenary trees and shrubs: Cupressus sempervirens, Laurus nobilis, Myrtus communis subsp. baetica, Jasminum officinale
  • Exotic 19th-century ornamental trees and shrubs: Magnolia grandiflora, Euonymus japonicus, Philadelphus coronarius, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Datura stramonium
  • Ornamental herbaceous plants: Bambusa vulgaris, Viola odorata, Canna indica, Monstera deliciosa, Ruscus hypophyllum, Polypodium sp.
TAXA 55 species. 17 Andalusian species from the Nasrid period and 38 historic ornamental species from the 19th-century Andalusian garden. All are perennial herbaceous or woody species.
PROGRAMMES
  • Botanical research programmes for plant biodiversity conservation and reintroduction of species from the Sierra Nevada
  • Educational programmes
  • Citizen science programmes
  • Tourist services programme
  • Cultural and artistic programmes
FEATURES AND FACILITY Original 19th-century architectural elements built upon the former Andalusian orchard layout, including the water reservoir (alberca), the irrigation channel (acequia) system, and the surrounding adobe wall enclosure
MAIN DEFICIENCIES
OTHER INFORMATION
SOURCES CONSULTED 1.www.villamariajardin-huerto.com
2.www.dipalme.org/Servicios/Anexos/Anexos.nsf/Vanexos/6447A4B886E76432C1258CAB002BFDB9/$file/Revista%20Real%2008%20-%20Arti%CC%81culo%2012%20-%20Gaona%20Villegas.pdf
3. www.revistas.uma.es/index.php/abm/article/view/15598
4. www.share.google/Cp5AR4KVwL0LQgGOM

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    Description

    Information About the Institution