Bloomin' marvellous in Malaga: recognition for a garden as one of the best collections of trees and shrubs in Spain
A leading American botanical society awards its seal of excellence to the Rosary Garden, which has brought together over 5,000 plant species from around the world
In the Malaga town of Villanueva del Rosario, they are already accustomed to a certain kind of visitor. Every so often, specialists in botany and gardening from all over the world gather in this inland town, drawn by a real gem of nature that almost no one knows exists in Malaga. The gem in question is the Rosary Garden (Jardín del Rosario), so named by its creator, the veteran civil engineer from Malaga, José Alba.
Just a few days ago, another of these somewhat unusual visits took place, although this time the reason was more special than usual. The estate, one of the finest private gardens in Spain, and its creator have been officially recognised with the American Horticultural Society's seal of approval. A delegation of 28 members from this, the most influential gardening association in the United States, visited the estate to award it the 'Garden of Excellence' distinction.
This stamp of approval places this gardening project, to which the Malaga-born engineer has devoted a significant part of his life, on the map of Spain's botanical treasures. Although José Alba shies away from rankings and comparisons, the figures for his efforts speak for themselves. After 25 years of relentless work, collecting seeds and seedlings from across the globe, his Jardín del Rosario has become one of Spain's leading plant collections and is among the largest personal collections in terms of species diversity.
José Alba has spent the last 25 years collecting seeds and seedlings from across the globe.
The estate stretches across nine hectares of land, home to 28,000 plants from 5,200 different species. "This is a social heritage of biodiversity created by a private individual, without public funding, but with a commitment to permanence; a botanical collection is the only legacy that cannot be moved elsewhere," muses this engineer-cum-gardener.
Species unique to Europe
The American expedition - the third organised by this society to cross the Atlantic to visit this site - highlights the elements that make this collection unique, such as its 220 species of oaks and holm oaks, as well as nearly 100 varieties of pine trees. It is also home to "climatic singularities" such as some of the southernmost beech trees in Europe. In addition to these, there are numerous varieties of birch, ash and maple, together with a wide diversity of shrubs and other plants within this unique ecosystem.
This entire catalogue is fully digitised. Furthermore, its creator, a member of some of the world's leading gardening associations, maintains a specialised library on the estate with 2,000 volumes on the subject of horticulture.
Not all visitors (or accolades, for that matter) come from so far away. The garden has also welcomed groups from Malaga and the Costa del Sol, Seville, Madrid and Barcelona. Furthermore, in 2018, it received an award from the provincial authority (Diputación de Malaga) and, in 2023, the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid awarded it its national prize.
The Alba family's "green diplomacy" work will continue this April, when the garden is scheduled to host another 30 experts from the International Dendrology Society, the global association for tree enthusiasts. Indeed, in a context of climate crisis and biodiversity loss worldwide, the Rosary Garden plays a crucial role in the preservation of species outside their original habitats.
