This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

Located in the centre of Palermo, Vivai Lo Porto is specialized in the production of ornamental, tropical and subtropical plants, and also offers design and construction services for parks, gardens and terraces.

The company, founded in 1960 by Antonino Giovanni Lo Porto (the head gardener of the Agricultural Consortium of the Sicilian Provinces), is currently run by his son Vincenzo and his niece Anna, both agronomists. The nursery can be found in a very particular place: the XIX century Giardino di Acclimatizzazione (“Garden of Acclimatization”), which is part of the estate and the XVIII century villa built by Monsignor Salvatore Ventimiglia di Belmonte, the last inquisitor of Sicily.
It’s a very popular place among botany enthusiasts, scholars and researchers.

Many historical specimens grow in the nursery, such as a Dracaena draco, a three-hundred-year-old horse chestnut, and a beautiful Sterculia , which is over one hundred and fifty years old – one of the most important trees of Palermo.

Vincenzo Lo Porto has also added many palm trees (he is really in love with them!), expanding the greenhouses and the gardens, while in 2004, Anna introduced a collection of roses from England, showcased and marketed every year.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)