Take inspiration from tulip joyful colourways onto gardens and squares all across the city

The city of Porto is bursting with colour, an announcement that spring is on the way. Gardens, squares and flowerbeds scattered all across town deliver a masterclass in magicked backdrop to one of the most resilient cities ever: the Invicta.

93 thousand tulips spray the city with good vibes and all the feels are at awe with this colour pallet. While we await for confinement to be over, why not engage in a “sight for sore eyes” kind of mood, with the tulips planted in the garden of São Lázaro, in the Émile David garden, in the Palácio de Cristal, and in the Jardim do Passeio Alegre. These are some of the spots in Porto to be sure to get you a smile, just by glancing at the flowers that were so carefully cultivated by the municipal plant caretakers.

The brightly coloured tulips that arrived from Holland, were cared for in the municipal plant nursery and are, now, off into the city’s gardens and squares to enliven moods. This is a tradition, this time of year, when the city prepares to welcome the new season of the year.

Horticulturists Jorge Loureiro and Bernardina Ferreira make sure that tulips are growing properly, once they are transferred to other sites. In order to do that, Jorge explains that “the bulb is peeled because when it sprouts, the shell disrupts the development of the tulip”. The bulbs are then manually placed in pots and laid out in the greenhouse to germinate and the seed will start to develop. However, one must pay attention to the watering of the plants, as “this time of year and because it rains a lot, there is no need to water plants that mush”, warns Jorge.

In turn, Bernardina Ferreira, who planted 11 varieties of tulips and was in charge of peeling the bulbs during potting, lists some of the flower shades in the plant nursery: “we have red, yellow, pink, purple, beige and white”.

It’s been 40 years now that both municipal horticultures have been tendering to plants and flowers and they are not shy to recognise that “it is a gratifying job and the city is quite embellished”, says Jorge, “although the flower’s longevity is not long; it can hold for about three weeks, tops”. Long enough to boost our best moods, we say.

Flowers are planted in the Jardim Marques de Oliveira (aka Jardim de São Lázaro), in the flowerbeds in the Émile David garden, located in the Palácio de Cristal), in the Jardim do Passeio Alegre, nearby the Douro riverfront and in the flower boxes at Praça da Trindade.