The San Josê Country Estate was built by Manuel Agustîn Heredia and his wife Isabel Livermore y Salas in the 19th century, and became the country residence of the Heredia family.

The gardens of San Josê are beautifully landscaped in a romantic style and include a huge variety of plants that were probably planted around the middle of the 19th century. This plurality was no doubt aided by the fact that the Heredia family owned an important shipping fleet that probably brought back many of the species we can admire today.

In 1846 the Heredia family had 18 vessels that sailed to and from the Caribbean, America and South America, the Philippines, China and other ports in the Pacific. San Josê was joined to the La Concepción Country Estate, hence the botanical similarity with this property as well as with Malaga's park, which was built later. Apparently, in 1923 the estate passed out of the hands of the Heredia family and became a rest home of the mentally handicapped, run by the Brothers of Order of San Juan de Dios.

The gardens, despite being highly considered, have been somewhat overshadowed by the renown obtained by the gardens at La Concepción. Nevertheless, they contain some important examples of Malaga's ornamental flora, some of them very rare or unique. Botanical experts will no doubt recognise the magnificent Cook Pine (Araucaria Columnaris), the Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea Recurvata), the Wooly Cycad (Encephalartos Villosus), the Bush Boer-bean (Schotia Latifolia), the various examples of Victorian Box (Pittosporum Undulatum) and Heavenly bamboo (Nandina Domestica), as well as a majestic Kaffirboom Coral Tree (Erythrina Caffra) and numerous species of the palm family (Arecaceae).

Location

These gardens are located at the north exit of the city, on the right of the National 321 Road, direction Malaga-Madrid.