THE GARDEN OF THE LILIES FLOWERS AGAINST THE ABANDONMENT

20/04/2018 - montgopark.com

THE GARDEN OF THE LILIES FLOWERS AGAINST THE ABANDONMENT

The Benissa estate where a British couple brought together the most important collection of these flowers in Spain, for sale The Marina Alta had a treasure. Christine Lomer and Nick Brown, a British couple of retirees, planted in 1997 on a farm of the departure of Marnes (Benissa), which is in the foothills of the Serra de Bèrnia, the first lilies. The garden was growing. And it came to house the most important collection of lilies (more than 500 varieties) in Spain. Roses also bloomed (300 varieties), tulips and daffodils.

The Garden of the Lilies attracted hundreds of visitors. Its owners created labyrinthine paths that covered the 20,000 square meters of an Eden of flowers. The dry stone walls and the carob trees, centenary olive trees and almond trees protected the delicate flowers. But two years ago the couple, already elderly and tired of fighting the persistent drought (the bloody climate change), packed up and left for France. Maintaining a garden with more than 40,000 plants was a Herculean work. He put on sale the farm. He donated the collection of lilies to the Botanical Garden of Torretes, in Ibi. And it is now, in spring, when the Garden of the Lilies of Marnes exploded in colors. First the tulips bloomed, then the lilies and, finally, the roses.

The abandonment has not prevented hundreds of flowers from starting to hatch. The rains of recent months have contributed to the spectacular flowering. The garden maintains a glimpse of its former splendor. The bushes begin to take over banks and iron gazebos. The ancient symmetry of the flowerbeds is barely felt. But the garden, which its owners put up for sale and has not yet found a buyer, shows a beautiful and luminous decadence. The British couple, who still make some nostalgic visit to this farm, dedicated almost 20 years to creating a paradise that has not yet been completely lost.

A neighbor of Marnes explained to Levante-EMV that the owners have already sold the stone house in which they lived during those two decades. But, at the moment, a buyer has not left for the lands of a garden that now reached all its opulence. It was the most important garden of lilies in Spain and perhaps in Europe. A botanical treasure that still shines.

Levante-EMV