Historical background

The botanical park dates back to the end of the 19th century, when the Marquis de la Vega de Armijo y de Mos decided to transform the castle into a neo-Gothic palace that the family would enjoy as a summer residence. The marquises made a great effort to beautify the environment by opening paths, clearing the forest and laying out the gardens. Here, in the castle that they renovated, his beloved niece, María Vinyals, was born, and she would inherit the property in the future.

In 1935, the Ostos and Ayala family acquired the property, and they took a special interest in caring for the park and brought diversity to the gardens by introducing new species.

Rehabilitation

In 1982 the castle and the estate were acquired by the Regional Government of Pontevedra, who carried out a great rehabilitation and opened the garden to the public, so that all people could enjoy its botanical wealth and it is where they began to create a collection of camellias. At that time there were a total of 19 centenary camellias (of which 18 are preserved), which stand out for being the oldest in Galicia. Only a year later, new specimens arrived from New Zealand, California, England or France were added.