|
Grenada – the Garden (Friendship) Isle
The first thing I did once I got settled into my seat on LIAT Airlines from
Trinidad to Grenada was pull the airline magazine out of the pocket. I get
inspiration reading the airline magazines and since I hadn’t been on LIAT
before was excited at the anticipation of the golden nuggets I would find
tucked inside.
What I first read really made me think. It was a quote from George
Washington. “True friendship is like a plant of slow growth and must undergo
and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the
appellation”.
How these words rang true. As I sat in my seat for the thirty minute flight
I thought of Grenada and the shocks it had withstood with not one but two
hurricanes. I was headed there to meet up with some garden journalists who
had been invited by Grenada Board of Tourism to visit, well gardens on this
wonderful island that is only 28 miles long and 14 miles wide.
It sounds a bit cliché when you hear over and over again how friendly the
people are here, but if you have the experience of visiting Grenada you will
know these words ring true.
 When
we visited Fay and John Miller of Hyde Park Garden, the greeting was
genuine. Not only were they happy to show us around but after the tour we
sat and chatted with them and were delighted by many stories. Their hearts
are in this garden, it holds many memories as this was the land that Fay
grew
up on. Each plant had a story. When Ivan hit, it changed things but not the
passion. They like the others just got up and at it and put their memories
back into the soil. She can tell you the name of just about all of the
plants and the year it arrived into her garden because this was her family
home.
They are all her friends. Of special note it is the Portlandia Grandiflora,
first discovered in Jamaica in 1795. She told us that many times she has
given cuttings away only to find that they do not live. They are most happy
here as they spill down the hill. She also tells us that she can tell when
the day is drawing to a close just by looking at the Flamboyant tree – this
is where all the birds come to sleep at night. The sunsets are pure
inspiration.
Living in a tropical country is a blessing as what was destroyed quickly
came back again and new plants showed up courtesy of the birds.
  Denis
Noel from Balthazar Estate showed us around his plantation and as we walked
through this tropical rain forest paradise it was ‘look up’ all the time.
Heleconia at 8 to 10 feet high surrounded us and when he cut the flowers to
show us what they looked like I can see why he has changed his focus on what
used to be nutmeg and bananas to tropical flowers. They were perfect and in
great demand because of it. Denis also supplies the flowers for the Chelsea
Flower Show each year. As we continue along he is cutting flowers and
telling us about them and at the end of the tour we see them all floating in
a big metal pot – they are having a good drink of water – and from there
they are given to us to enjoy while we are here, or if they were for
Chelsea, they would be lovingly packaged up to be shipped.
Anne Campbell, owner of Smithy’s Garden has another gem of a garden waiting
for you to discover. Her garden is a labour of love and it shows in the
layout and placement of her plant material. She has a very enviable
collection of Vanda orchids with their little faces welcoming you to your
visit. They are happy here. We discover that there is one orchid that will
not bloom until May and this special orchid sees the flowers headed to
Chelsea. Three acres to explore and with Anne taking you through, you
discover all sorts of plants and their stories. We are looking at a shrub
and she tells us that it is very naughty because it has not bloomed for her
since Hurricane Ivan. She tells us that to get gingers and bananas to bloom,
sprinkle some salt around the base of the plant. There is also the washing
machine hose that is hidden underground and runs directly down the hill to
the nutmeg tree because she is always thirsty. There is an old garden and a
new garden and an orchard dripping with fruit. After our visit we sat down
on her veranda for a glass of sorrel juice. Anne keeps a bag of the roselles
from the Hibiscus sabdariffa to make the juice and when needed boils them
up, strains and sweetens with sugar for the most incredible refreshing drink
served over ice. It is their Christmas drink and for the adults a wee bit of
rum is added. It would also make a wonderful palate cleanser during a multi
course meal served as a sorbet.
Anne is a floral designer as well and is kept quite busy with weddings.
  John
Criswick, who runs St. Rose Nursery & Garden is the consummate plantsman. He
grows plants because he loves everything about them. No visit would be
complete without a visit to a nursery but this is more than a nursery. Here
in the tropical forest you cannot tell where the nursery ends and the forest
begins. John has supplied just about everyone in Grenada too. I spotted a
rose that had the most exquisite fragrance, called Sweet Surrender, an All
America Selection. A must for any rose garden and the bougainvillea in
colours of tangerine to hot pink…to die for. This is also a nursery where
you will find the correct names for the plants because John is also a
supplier of material for the Grenada display at the Chelsea Flower Show as I
discovered five years ago when here with Suzanne Gaywood, the head designer.
I well remember her looking at some exquisite piece of bamboo with black
bands that John had cut to show her and her reaction was to make sure she
had some sent for the display. John has a heart of gold and I expect that
those who we met that are giving Suzanne their best treasures are one of the
reasons they have won Gold medals for so many years now. Suzanne was just
given an MBE for her ‘Services to Tourism and Horticulture’. I am proud to
have known her since 2005 and celebrate with her each year when I take my
tour groups to see the Grenada Display at the Chelsea Flower Show. Putting a
display like this together requires excellent plant material and dedicated
and talented volunteers. Grenada should be extremely proud of the many Gold
Medals they have won over the years. Those in the garden industry know that
Chelsea is the ‘must attend’ show of the year where quality is extremely
important.
  Another
garden that we visited left us all so happy inside…it was the garden of
Gemma Flemming. She is nothing short of a fireball. So excited and happy to
be in her garden showing us around and proud to tell us of what they have
accomplished in the community. We spent quality time with her before she
headed off to deliver an order of fresh produce to a local restaurant that
she grows in her vegetable garden. Grenada being an island needs more
growers like Gemma to insure top quality product. Wonderful to think that
the vegetables we are eating on the island have come from local growers. Her
tropical garden is around her home, surrounding her with what she loves –
her plants. From the moment you arrive you are thrown into plant heaven.
Orchids greet you and Gemma tells us there is a local flower show soon and
which plants will be the lucky ones to be shown. It’s held only every two
years so there is much excitement and of course we are heart broken that we
will not be there to see it. Around the corner of her home and down a grass
slope to the garden, but first a stop to see a stunning Allanmanda in a most
unusual color. Everyone was trying to figure out what color it might be.
Then past the nursery you head down a path that takes you further in to
Gemma’s world. A world of palms, ferns, around a pond and up through a
pathway leading to a whimsical little dollhouse that you can go into. I
think the grandchildren would love this as well as the swing that is nearby
on a platform where they swing in the garden or just sit and look at the
bright coleus underneath. Peace and solitude. Back up to the house to sit on
her veranda enjoying a cool glass of passionflower juice and munch on dried
pieces of starfruit, both made by her of course. Then she was off to make
that delivery.
 There is a special relationship that these gardeners have – they have
planted the seeds of friendship. Every garden lover who visits these gardens
and garden keepers goes away with a deeper understanding of the people of
Grenada and a fuller heart for knowing them.
This
was a very short trip, but as Simon Stiel, the new Tourism Director said to
us, ‘short trips just want to make you come back for more….” Oh how it does.
Grenada is a very special place to visit, come experience it for yourself
and not just the gardens, there is so much more!
Donna Dawson, Master Gardener
Director Region 7 Garden Writers Association (Canada &International)
Affiliate Member Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors
Member North American Travel Journalists Association
http://www.ICanGarden.com
http://www.gardeningtours.com
http://twitter.com/icangarden
2011 Garden Tours - Thailand, Morocco, Paris/Chelsea, Italy, HCFS
|
