Buskett Gardens, Siġġiewi

The Buskett Gardens is one of the few woodland areas in Malta, located in the valley of Wied il-Luq in Siġġiewi. The small site, compromised of thirty hectars, has a number of fruit and coniferous trees. It is also were Verdala Palace, an official residence of the President of Malta, stands on the edge of the Gardens.

Many different trees and shrubs grow in the gardens, including fruit-bearing trees. The gardens are the designated venue for the Feast of Imnarja which is celebrated on 29 June. Imnarja commemorates two important Saints in Maltese religious lore, St. Peter and St. Paul. The word ‘Imnarja’ is derived from the Latin word ‘luminarel - to light up. People celebrate the feast by lighting bonfires and candles.

Perched on a hilltop, lies Verdala Palace built by Grand Master Hughes de Verdalle in 1588 as a summer residence. The palace is now the President’s summer residence and it is not open to the public. However it is a notable landmark visible clearly from many places in Malta, towering as it does over the Buskett woodland. A local ghost legend states that the palace is haunted by the White Lady, supposedly the ghost of a woman who committed suicide by jumping off the palace balcony as she was forced to marry a man she did not love. She is known as the White Lady, as she is said to be seen wearing her wedding gown. The gardens too had had incidents of occult activity and black masses were held in the woodland.