David Robinson writes about tropical islands in a warm turquoise sea
© Muriel Robinson 2008
It is all too easy to call a place a plant paradise. But, from a gardener’s
viewpoint, there can be few more enchanting places than
Caribbean
islands. Stretching in an arc from the tip of
Florida
to the northern coast of
South America
, the
Caribbean
archipelago is a series of delightfully varied, plant covered islands.
Practically all lie within the tropics and are blessed with warm weather
throughout the year. Average annual temperature is around 25°C, sunshine hours
are high and most islands have at least adequate rainfall. Coupled with deep
fertile volcanic soil on many islands, conditions for plant growth are superb.
While the beauty of many temperate plants can evoke wonder and admiration,
tropical plants are even more inspiring. Their speed of growth, unlimited beauty
and rich variety of colour and form put them in a class of their own. Most Irish
gardeners are already familiar with tropical plants as many are grown in homes
and conservatories. But the struggling pot-grown specimens of Codiaeum,
Bougainvillea, Canna and palms in Irish living rooms, porches and lobbies of
public buildings are very different from the same plants with their roots
free-growing in warm moist soil and with their head in tropical sunshine.
Many aspects of
Caribbean
plants are impressive. Above all there is the exceptional vigour of growth
throughout the year and the marked difference in flora between islands.
Dominica
is almost completely covered with lush rain forest including gigantic tree
ferns while near-by Antiqua is much more open with wild areas of Agave, Yucca and the Turk’s Cap cactus, Melocactus intortus. The difference is due primarily to topography
and its influence on annual rainfall. Mountainous
Dominica
has an average of over 3,000 mm whereas low lying
Antigua
is drier, with an average rainfall of only 1,000 mm. During the wet season,
moisture-laden winds drop most of their rain on the mountains leaving very
little for the low lying islands. Even on one small island, the landscape may
change dramatically within small areas as mangrove swamp gives way to banana
plantation and coconuts replace brightly coloured tropical scrub.
There are also interesting differences between the fertile acid soils of many
volcanic islands, such as
St Lucia
,
St Vincent
and St Kitts and the limy soil of
Barbados
and islands formed from coral. On coral islands, many plants including Hibiscus
and citrus are more difficult to grow because the high levels of calcium in the
soil restrict the uptake of essential minor elements such as iron and copper.
Despite this, magnificent gardens can be made on coral and the gardens of
Barbados
are among the best in the
Caribbean
.
Enhancing the rich diversity of plants and landscape, many different types of
gardens can be found all over the islands reflecting the region’s turbulent
history. In contrast to
Australia
,
New Zealand
and many other
New World
countries where the cultivation of plants is a relatively recent development,
the Caribbean Indians have been gardening for centuries. On his first visit to
the
Caribbean
in 1492,
Columbus
recorded that the Carib Indians grew maize and beans in tiny gardens around
their homes. Even earlier the Arawaks, the first known settlers in the region,
lived well on a diet that included fruits, nuts and vegetables, such as
pineapples, guave, cashew, maize, cassava and sweet potato. Small, highly
productive gardens can still be seen on many islands particularly around certain
villages such as Giraudel, known as the Flower Basket of Dominica.
During the centuries following
Columbus
, other European explorers added further economic and ornamental plants to the
rich
Caribbean
flora, the most notable introduction being sugar cane from the
Far East
. The wealth created by the export of sugar to
Europe
in the 17th and 18th centuries led to the development of luxurious plantation
houses. Because of the drastic decline in the sugar industry, new uses had to be
found for these magnificent homes with their lavish gardens and many are now
open to the public.
From the early days of the ocean voyages of discovery, Europeans recognised
the potential value of tropical plants such as coffee, cinnamon and nutmeg. Many
of these plants have their origins in different countries but were brought to
the
Caribbean
by Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, British and other voyagers. In the 18th
and 19th centuries the general view in
Europe
was that nature and the colonies were there to be exploited. Colonies were
regarded mainly as production farms for the mother country for crops that would
not grow in
Europe
. This accounts for the haste to set up botanical gardens as test areas for
plants that might be economically useful.
The oldest Botanical garden was established in
Kingstown
,
St Vincent
in 1763 and many others followed. Today, with their work only partly done, many
of these gardens are only shells of their former glory. The once famous gardens
in Grenada are now closed and little new planting has been done in the Gardens
in Antigua to replace the numerous trees and shrubs destroyed by occasional
hurricanes that can sweep the islands between late August and October.
Fortunately excellent botanical gardens still remain such as
Hope
Gardens
,
Kingston
,
Jamaica
; the Jardin de Balata,
Martinique
and those at
Kingstown
,
St Vincent
and
Roseau
,
Dominica
.
Further twists to the story of gardening in the
Caribbean
came in the 20th century. During this period, many wealthy people
from
Europe
and the
United States
settled in the region on account of its healthy winter climate. Some were keen
gardeners and they added a whole new layer of garden styles to the existing
attractions. The latest developments are the many new gardens designed
specifically to cater for the burgeoning tourist trade. Recent gardens include
the Orchid World of Barbados which opened in January 1999, the stunningly
beautiful
Mamiku Gardens
,
St Lucia
and the spectacular
Montreal
Gardens
,
St Vincent
which is being developed in the fertile crater of an extinct volcano. All are
outstanding examples of gardens made with the needs of demanding tourists in
mind. Apart from a wealth of astonishing plants they also include coffee shop,
toilets and are wheelchair friendly.
St Lucia
This is arguably the most scenically spectacular of all the islands with lush
mountain scenery and awesome peaks such as the twin Pitons that rise
spectacularly from the sea. This island has also some of the most magnificent
gardens in the whole region including Mamiku. In contrast to many of the old
botanical gardens where there has been little new planting for decades, Mamiku
was started only in 1997 after years of careful planning. The young age of the
garden gives it a fresh and verdant appearance. Not only does the garden display
a wide range of tropical natives but it is also home to temperate plants such as
roses and hydrangeas. Among many noteworthy tropical plants are the red flowered
banana, the Chalice vine, Solandri nitida,
Red Flag, Mussaenda erythrophylla, the
Orchid tree or Napoleon’s Hat, Bauhinia galpinii and numerous palm trees.
Another popular attraction on
St Lucia
is the
Diamond
Botanical Garden
noted for its plants, sulphur springs and colourful waterfall. The sulphur
springs arise from a weak spot in the earth’s crust and feed mineral baths.
These were built originally in 1784 for the troops of King Louis XVI of
France
, so that his soldiers could benefit from the healing waters. Close to the
baths there is a spectacular waterfall whose mineral-rich water changes colour
– yellow, black, grey or green, several times a day – according to the
minerals it contains.
The grounds are now lavishly planted with a wide range of tropical plants so
that in places visitors feel that they are in a dense rain forest, albeit with
the luxury of good pathways. In places the different vegetative layers of a
forest are well represented with tall trees such as coconut towering over citrus
and nutmeg. Many contrasting features in the gardens provide variety and
interest, such as attractive lawns around an open gazebo, rock garden, shady
walks and wetland dell.
Barbados
This is the most easterly of the
Caribbean
islands. Unlike many others, it boasts no spectacular volcanic peaks but
instead has a gently undulating landscape with extensive sugar cane fields
dotted with picturesque villages. The island is blessed with many first class
gardens and, possibly because of the island’s close links with
Britain
, more of these are open to the public than on most
Caribbean
islands.
Flower
Forest
is situated on a picturesque elevated site, near the western edge of the
Scotland District. The garden has been made in the grounds of an old sugar
plantation and the large sugar boiling vats near the entrance provide an
historic link with the past. The gardens cover six acres and are planted with
many colourful species, such as the Copperleaf, Acalypha
wilkesiana, and the Crepe Ginger, Costus
speciosus. But the whole garden comes together well as a luxuriant flower
forest with winding main and side paths snaking through the luxuriant plantings.
Orchid World of Barbados is a new 6.5 acre garden with tens of thousands of
orchids in a beautifully landscaped setting. Each species is grown under the
conditions that suit it best. This may be the open, either shaded or sunny, or
in shade houses or under full protection so that the potential magnificence of
each plant can be fully expressed. For example, many species of Phalaenopsis, Cattleya and Oncidium
do not like rain and are grown under cover while hardier Vanda
is grown in the open.
New Francia is an elegant plantation house situated on fertile sloping land
overlooking the picturesque St George Valley. The terraced lawns are spacious
and show off many tropical plants to good advantage. The gardens contain a fine
row of the Blue Trumpet Vine, Thunbergii
grandiflora and a beautiful white flowered specimen of Queen’s Wreath, Petrea
volubilis.
Andromeda Botanic Gardens were started in 1954 by the late Iris Bannochie.
Today they are managed by the Barbados National Trust and consist of a
beautifully landscaped four acre garden that tumbles down a steep hillside among
coral boulders. Small outdoor garden rooms, carved into the hillside, house
collections of rare bromeliads, orchids, Heliconia
and other colourful plants.
The most impressive plant in Andromeda is the Jade Vine, Strongylodon macrobotrys, supported by a high pergola. One of the
most spectacular of all green-flowered plants, it is festooned with long racemes
of lobster claw like flowers during the dry season from February through to May.
Also impressive is a hundred-year-old Bearded Fig, Ficus
citrifolia, the tree that gave the island its name.
A small water garden is well planted with water lilies and the sacred Lotus,
Nelumbo nucifera, whose seed heads are beloved by flower arrangers.
Grenada
In contrast to
Barbados
,
Grenada
is a volcanic island, renowned for its lush green mountains and its production
of spices including cloves, nutmeg. ginger, cinnamon and mace. Dawn Fletcher’s
garden is noted for its Bougainvillea
and Croton collections but many other colourful plants are also grown including Nerium
oleander, Alamanda carthartica and Vanda
orchids. The garden also contains an attractive Crape Myrtle tree, Lagerstroemia
indica, easily recognized by its stiff, rod like branches that are directed
upwards and its dense panicles of purplish pink flowers at the ends of the
branches.
St Vincent
Like
Grenada
,
St Vincent
is a volcanic island with rugged mountain terrain, steep narrow roadways, lush
forests and small houses, many with beautifully planted surroundings.
Montreal
Gardens
, now under new ownership, are being developed for visitors on a grand scale
with many novel features being integrated with the best of the original
amenities. The gardens are superbly sited – inside the fertile crater of an
old volcano, whose rim provides an attractive backdrop to the gardens. In
addition to the display of all the most popular tropical plants,
Montreal
Gardens
are noteworthy for the skilful way ground cover plants are grouped according to
their flower and leaf colour.
St Kitts
Christened by
Columbus
as St Christopher (St Kitts for short) in 1493, this fertile island is volcanic
in origin and has rich, fertile, lava-type soils. St Kitts does not have the
same large areas of lush rainforest as
Dominica
but it has the distinction of being one of the few areas in the world where
rainforest is expanding at present.
Romney
Manor
Gardens
were badly hit by Hurricane Georges in late September1998 but renovation
started immediately the wind had dropped. Helped by the tropical climate and
volcanic soil, recovery was rapid. The remarkable recuperative powers of
tropical plants is well illustrated by the avenue of Royal Palms, Roystonea
caribbea, which was almost leafless in October 1999 but had virtually made a
full recovery by April 1999.
Initially tourism in the
Caribbean
was based on the splendid scenery, sandy beeches and benign climate for most of
the year. Forty years ago, only the wealthy could afford a
Caribbean
holiday, mainly island hopping by yacht. But travel costs have come down and
tourist operators are now offering holidays that appeal to garden and plant
lovers. Not all islands with superb gardens are good holiday destinations. The
magnificent
island
of
St Maarten
, with its beautiful green, concave slopes, sandy, tortuous coastline and tax
free bargains is home to many fine houses and gardens. But many residents,
including Harry Bellefonte, have gone to St Maarten for privacy, their gardens
are protected by high walls and are not open to the public.
For gardeners interested in tropical plants, the
Caribbean
has many advantages. Health risks are much lower than in most other tropical
regions and the practice of opening gardens to the public is well established.
The gift of pineapple fruits from Indians on the
island
of
Guadaloupe
to
Columbus
on his second voyage in 1493 indicates the region’s long tradition for the
exchange of plants and information – a tradition that looks set to continue.
This page was last updated on 24-Feb-2008 .
