Since 2005 one of the garden's wetlands has been growing Fuirena pubescens, a sedge native to Palestine that arrived here as an adventive species; a little further on stands Aphyllanthes, which at Cogoleto reaches the eastern limit of a range otherwise confined to western Europe. The Villa Beuca botanical garden was created in 2002 by the municipality of Cogoleto with a contribution from the European Regional Development Fund, on a terrace some 100 metres above sea level, on the western slope of the Beuca hill above the hamlet of Mulinetto.
What to see
The fenced, visitable part is called Ambienti liguri and measures 19,000 square metres: it gathers about ten of the plant habitats most representative of the region, from sea level to the mountains, each with its own characteristic flora. You move from the sea-cliff section to two wetlands and on to a large cultivated zone with the traditional crops of the Ligurian countryside. Adding the Cornice didattica, which is a public park, and the Cornice spontanea, left to natural vegetation, the whole reaches 34,000 square metres.
Its scientific value lies in the rare species, restricted in Liguria or at risk of extinction, kept here alongside the common ones. There is a social purpose too: the garden is run by the Il Rastrello social cooperative, where green-space workers, gardeners and agronomy graduates work side by side with people living with mental and social difficulties, under the supervision of a scientific committee. The garden is networked with the other Ligurian botanical gardens and works with universities and research bodies.
Visiting
Ambienti liguri keeps seasonal hours and charges an admission fee; groups and school parties book ahead, usually for a Saturday, and can ask for a guided tour. The public park around it stays more freely walkable. You are on the edge of the Beigua regional nature park, so wear walking shoes: the ground slopes and the paths follow the terraces.
Our editors' tip
Phone ahead and ask for the guided visit: here the plants are explained by the same people who tend them, and it shows, especially on the wetlands, which look like two puddles and are in fact the most delicate part of the garden. If you have time, go on up towards Beigua: you see where the flora that has been put in order down here comes from.