Quinta de Curvos

Garden Overview

Quinta de Curvos dates to 16^th Century or even earlier. The Ferros Ponce de Leao, an aristocratic family, owned the estate for five generations. In 1916, it was purchased by Antonio Rodrigues Alves de Faria, who restored the house and reshaped the garden with a romantic pond and several grottos. After his death in 1949, the garden was neglected, but resurrected with the arrival of Leslie Regal, a famous Camellia collector and expert, who was also Director for ICS South Africa till 2000. Quinta de Curvos is now owned and managed by the Fonseca family; it includes a residence surrounded by formal gardens and farming area, mainly dedicated to vineyards.

Our Camellias

The majority of the camellias were planted 40 to 50 years ago by Leslie Riggall, who collected species and cultivars from all over the world. Other specimens date back to the time of António Faria. Some, as is the case of a C. japonica 'Palagi', are over a century old. The current owners are adding new cultivars.  

Camellias find a perfect habitat under a cover of native trees - like Quercus suber, Fagus sylvatica, Platanus x hispanica- and exotic species, like oaks (Quercus coccinea, Q. palustris), Liriodendron tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua, eucalyptus, Cedrus atlantica and C. deodara, Thuja plicata, Sciadopitys verticillata and Araucaria heterophylla. The mild weather of Portugal encourages both the growth of camellia trees and widens the flower period, so that early japonica japonicas can flower with mild autumns and sasanquas offer a spectacular show.

Quinta de Curvos features one of the largest camellia collections in Europe, with over 400 labelled cultivars, mainly Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua; 21 cultivars are riginated in Portugal. The camellia collection includes also 27 wild species and 45 hybrids.

Camellia japonica “Augusto Leal de Gouveja Pinto”, a typical Portuguese
cultivar, first described in Real Companhia Horticolo‑Agricolo
Portuense Catalogue, No.33, 1899, p.23

Contact Details

QUINTA DE CURVOS - SOCIEDADE AGRÍCOLA, S.A.
Lugar de Cerqueiral
4740-435 Forjães, Esposende
Portugal
T: +351 253 871 555
Tm: +351 964 770 08
Email: geral@quintadecurvos.pt