Hortulus Theme Gardens

The Hortulus Theme Gardens in Dobrzyca, in the municipality of Będzino, are a complex of show gardens founded in 1992 and still being extended. On about 5 hectares, 28 gardens of different styles are combined, created between 1992 and 2009.

Gardens of different character

Some of the gardens refer to cultures and eras: there is a Japanese, French, Mediterranean and English garden, as well as a garden in the style of Antoni Gaudí. Others imitate the natural landscape, such as the water, rock and forest gardens. A separate group is formed by the sensory gardens, arranged around three themes: colour, light and shadow (the white, lilac-pink, blue-yellow, purple and fire gardens, the shade garden), scent and aroma (the scent garden, herb gardens, the rosarium) and sound, rustle and silence (the grass garden).

For younger visitors there are fairy-tale gardens, among them the Troll Mountain and Baba Yaga's garden, and the Bird Grove. By the gardens there is a café, a garden market and a playground.

The plant collection

The Wikipedia entry states that about 6 thousand species and varieties grow in the gardens. The location in hardiness zone 7B has made it possible to gather plants rarely found in Poland, including the Japanese umbrella pine, the giant sequoia, the dawn redwood, the swamp cypress, the ginkgo and the tulip tree.

The hornbeam maze and the second garden

Dobrzyca also has a larger complex, in which the hornbeam maze stands. According to the Wikipedia entry it is the largest hornbeam maze in the world: its paths total 3250 metres, and the planting took 10 years. By the maze stands a 20-metre viewing tower with two independent staircases of 102 steps each, shaped to refer to a strand of DNA. From the tower you can see the interior of the maze, and in clear weather also the sea, about 8 km away, and Chełmska Hill in Koszalin. This second complex is the Hortulus Spectabilis Gardens. The gardens' website suggests visiting both in one day.

Education and events

The gardens run educational classes for children and young people and demonstrations in the utility gardens, the vegetable and herb gardens, and every year they also take on pupils and students for placements. Events follow a fixed rhythm of the season. The Wikipedia entry lists the Kupala Night in June, the Culinary Festival of Edible Flowers in July, a masquerade in the maze in August and the Pumpkin Garden Party in September. The current programme is given on the gardens' website.

Practical information

• Address: Dobrzyca 76, 76-038 Dobrzyca (Będzino municipality, Koszalin County).
• Opening hours depend on the time of year. According to the gardens' website, from Monday to Saturday the gardens open at 9.30 and on Sunday at 10.00; closing falls between 16.00 and 19.00, in winter they are open only on weekdays, and on some public holidays they are closed. Before your visit check the current schedule at hortulus.com.pl.
• Admission is ticketed; tickets and the rules are on the gardens' website. The gardens can be visited independently or with a guide.
• In Dobrzyca, 0.7 km from the gardens, stands the Church of the Holy Trinity.

It is about 8 km from here to the coast, and in that direction lies the Gąski Lighthouse.