Malta, the ancient Roman “Melita”, which was founded much earlier by the Phoenicians as “Malat” (safe harbour), is an island in the central Mediterranean famous for its history, fortifications and stately buildings.
With the second gardening course, we wanted to learn about Mediterranean plants and about how the Knights of the Order of Malta designed gardens for the city and its fortresses.
It was interesting to see how a place of small dimensions—the island is 36 km long and 14 km wide—combines tourism with nature conservation. As an island, it has several interesting endemic species. One of them is the Maltese centaurea, which is the national flower of the country.
We visited gardens in Valletta (Hastings, Upper and Lower Barrakka, the cloister of Misterium Fidei, the Argotti Botanical Gardens…), as well as the gardens of Floriana, in the outermost sector of the capital’s Renaissance defensive line. Another surprising space is the Chinese Garden of Serenity, a gift from the Chinese government to the Maltese people. Fort Saint Elmo, a fortress-museum, explains the island’s military history.
We also visited sports-related facilities such as the Royal Malta Golf Club.
We could not fail to include walks through the natural area of Buskett (one of the two remaining woodlands on the island) and along the impressive Dingli cliffs, with the spectacular area known as the “Blue Grotto”.
We also reviewed some history by visiting the city of Mdina, the former capital of the Knights and the setting for some episodes of the series “Game of Thrones”. We climbed its thick walls and were able to admire the Howard Gardens and the ditch gardens.
To end the trip, we did our introductory scuba dive in the town of Mellieha. We saw and did so many things! And all on foot and by public transport, just like any other Maltese!
As you can see, it was a whole trip of coexistence, camaraderie and group spirit, in which we shared professional and cultural aspects of Malta.
