Buskett Gardens

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Buskett Gardens with Verdala Palace

Buskett, in Rabat, Malta is the only woodland area in Malta and is overlooked by Verdala Palace.

The Buskett Gardens are located in the fertile valley of Wied Il- Luq. They are located to the south of Rabat and just east of Dingli. The gardens are at their best in the spring but they offer shade from the harsh mid-summer sun and offer a quiet place for a walk in the winter months. Verdala Palace, an official residence of the President of Malta, is located on the edge of the Gardens.

Many different trees and shrubs grow in the gardens but there are also many fruit-bearing trees there as well. This is one of the greenest areas in Malta. Indigenous forests once covered Malta, but trees were cut down for shipbuilding in the era when galleons plied the Mediterranean waters and for agricultural purposes. Perhaps the Buskett Gardens offer a glimpse of what Malta looked like in those days. The gardens are very popular with Maltese people. People often visit the gardens to go for walks in the peaceful settings of the garden and to enjoy a picnic in the shade of the trees, or to work in woodland area. The gardens are also the site of the popular feast of Imnarja (the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul) which is celebrated on June 29. Hundreds of people flock to the gardens the night before the 29th to eat the traditional Maltese dish of Rabbit Stew cooked in wine and to listen to traditional folk music and singing and then in the morning there is the annual agricultural show.

Buskett Garden is Malta's only large area of woodland. It was planted by the Knights as a hunting ground. It lies next to Verdala Palace, in a valley, just inland from Dingli Cliffs. Buskett has vineyards, oranges, olive and lemon groves, and is heavily wooded with native, hardy species such as Mediterranean pines. You can stick to the pathways lined with ivy-clad stone walls or venture off into the woodland. From autumn to spring you are bound to find plenty of interest, from wild flowers, natural springs, and woodland creatures. The wood leads up hill to the more formal gardens of Verdala Palace.

Verdala

Panoplies of foliage spread their shade over the valley floor, providing a welcome respite against the heat of summer. There are orange and cypress trees, irregular cactuses, leguminous carobs, aromatic firs and the Judas tree, which foretells Easter with its pink blossom.

The Verdala Palace is perched on a hilltop overlooking Buskett Garden. It was built by Grand Master Hughes de Verdalle in 1588 as a summer residence. It is now used as a summer residence by the President. Following restoration, this elegant building now serves as the presidents summer residence. The palace is not open to the public, but it does offer a notable landmark visible clearly from Dingli Cliffs, towering as it does over Buskett woodland.