JAMAICA - GARDENS BY NATURE AND DESIGN

Story & Photos by Pamela A. Campbell

Sure Jamaica has sunny beaches, reggae music and jerk pork, but not surprisingly, it's also a nature lover's paradise.

A recent visit to Kingston, Jamaica's capital, included touring two botanical gardens. They are open to the public and you can wander around on your own. If you would like to know more about the trees and flowers you see, a volunteer guide will accompany visitors on a leisurely stroll around the gardens, dispensing information such as names, origin, flowering patterns etc.

CASTLETON GARDENS

At Castleton Gardens we were introduced to Keith Phipps, a gardener here for the past 20 years, who obviously knows his stuff. Just be prepared for the refrain that ends every sentence 'Yeah mon' whenever he answers your query.

Giant palm trees surround the entrance pathways. Known as the coconut tree, coco palm or coconut palm, this is the most popular of the 1500 species of palms since its origin dates back to the prehistoric era. These palms can tower to 100 feet in height and are used in many diverse ways - food (coconuts), oil for soap, cosmetics, margarine, Vitamin B, decorations, mats, hats, novelties, jewelry and shelters.

As it turned out, this was to be a sensory testing experience which required a sharp nose. Phipps would pick some leaves and pass them around as we eagerly tried to identify them after a quick sniff. Most of us got past the first test by guessing cinnamon after crushing the leaves and inhaling the scent, and we were equally successful with the lemon leaves (used for making Old Spice Aftershave).

But this was also a welcome opportunity for me to become acquainted with some of the most unusual and exquisite flowering plants from around the world. There was the delicate white flower with a contrasting yellow center sitting atop the green leaves of the 100-year-old Iron Wood tree from Sri Lanka. And vying for equal attention were clusters of pink Bemoua from Hong Kong and buttercup yellow Allemanda nestling in the greenery.

If you enjoy nature walks, this 30-acre garden is full of rich plant life, brimming with flowers and foliage as fresh as the morning dew. I was captivated by a Shell Ginger plant which exuded a rare kind of beauty - the shell like bunch of white flowers, delicately pink tipped, opened to reveal a bright yellow lining and blood red centers.

Further on, a fairly large section of palm trees dominate the area. There are the Royal Palm, a 130-year-old relic, smooth ringed with a majestic trunk, the Century Palm, the Dormant Palm and the Raffia Palm. But it's the Pininga Palm that catches my eye with its colorful assortment of seeds hanging in bunches that look like beaded Rastafarian braids.

Set amidst all this natural splendor is a reflecting pond with a circle of floating water lilies, and then an encounter with a most unusual horticultural wonder, the Musianda, which bears pink flowers in the winter and then remains green in the summer months. And then to my surprise Poinsettia trees that loomed high above the potted variety we commonly see around the Christmas season in North America. Uncovering the mystery of the red blooms was another bonus on this visit. The red leaves sometimes obscure the tiny yellow flower in the center, the true flower of the Poinsettia. And one more fact, the plant blooms according to the length of time they are exposed to daylight. Nicknamed "short day" bloomers, they usually bloom when the days are shorter (winter).

The finale to this tropical garden paradise tour was an encounter with the huge Cannonball Tree, its size and appearance being just part of its distinctive character. Crowned by heavy foliage at the top of the tree, the branches emerge from the heavy bark in a totally disconnected manner. But what evolves is like a novelty unfolding, except the 'before' and 'after' remain on the tree curiously enough so even the most discriminating believer can marvel at the sight.

The sweet smelling blooms are between three to five inches in diameter, and look almost like hand carved wax roses. The petals are rose beige, edged in a bright orange red, and in the center a white pod with purple stamens are yellow tipped. Popularly known as the "comb and brush flower" by the locals, the blooms give way to the inedible, hard-shelled cannonball fruit. The six to eight-inch fruits are split open, the pulp discarded and the shells are used as open containers, known to Jamaicans as "calabashes."

Thanks to Mr. Phipps I am not as "botanically challenged" as when I left Toronto, and to that he'd probably say, "Yeah mon!"

HOPE GARDENS

My visit to Hope Gardens began with two outstanding features. Firstly, our guide is probably the oldest volunteer for public gardens in Jamaica, and secondly, he announced that Hope Gardens is the largest botanical garden in the West Indies.

At 84, Ambrose Plummer, credits his 54 years of experience at this 200-acre attraction for his expertise at informing his visitors about every plant, tree and flower growing here.

It's a long walk through this large park like setting, but Mr. Plummer patiently guides his visitors through the property as we stop to enjoy the lush foliage, the colorful flowers, some of them unheard of or unseen before by many of us. Expect to see tropical trees, large and imposing on these grounds.

Despite the distance you'll cover, it's well worth your while to take along your camera as the photo opportunities are seemingly endless, and two factors remain etched in my mind, color and size.

Visitors to the West Indies rarely leave without seeing the Bottle Brush Tree, its origin stemming from two Greek words Kallistos Stamon (beautiful thread/stamens). So called because of the long cylindrical spikes of bright red flowers that hang downwards among the narrow, pointed leaves, they do look like brushes used to clean bottles, except for the colorful tufts of red stamens.

Native to Australia, but striving beautifully here in Jamaica, is the Eucalyptus gum tree with its distinctive thick leaves that point alternately. Its best-known uses are gum, timber, and eucalyptus oil (from the leaves).

From sheer greenery to the exciting Cariota Palm, its bright red bunches of seed pods instantly commanding attention from every photographer's lens.

This time it's fun to turn the tables on Mr. Plummer, delighting him with my newfound knowledge by pointing out the versatile Musianda and expounding on the novel Cannonball Tree.

The orchid section is gradually being restored to its former glory of 1,000 varieties (destroyed by hurricane Gilbert in 1984), but I did spot some of them behind a fence, most notably the Cattleya Hybrid.

Although some of the names were a spelling challenge, we entreated our guide repeatedly to tell us more. Ever accommodating, Mr. Plummer told us about the bright orange Champanilatah Tree, also known as Flame of the Forest.

Add to the list the Royal Poinciana, commonly known as Flamboyant. Strikingly beautiful, these trees stand around 40-feet high and bloom from spring to summer, blanketing the treetops in scarlet clusters. A very discerning feature is that one of the five petals of every flower is white, with fern like leaves. After the tree sheds its blooms and leaves, long brown pods appear and remain hanging for months. Locals often make necklaces with the seeds and the dried pods are used as fuel on some Caribbean islands.

Another brightly colored flower, native to Brazil, but found throughout the Caribbean, is the Bougainvillea, named after the French navigator, Louis A. De Bougainville. The paper-thin flowers bloom continuously in bouquet-like sprays of crimson and purple.

Don't miss the giant Elephant Tree from Africa, its massive trunk dwarfing even the tallest individual who dares to measure up for size.

Hope Gardens is home to many trees yielding edible fruit, raw or cooked. Try to identify some of the ones I will list here. You may even be tempted to pick some up at a fruit stand if you possess adventurous taste buds.

STARAPPLE - Purple skinned with white flesh, this fruit never falls off the tree, hence the local saying, "You're mean as a starapple" which means "You don't part with anything." You'll enjoy the full, sweet flavor of the starapple when it's fully ripened.

ACKEE - This bright red fruit begin as a small white blossom on a 50-foot evergreen tree, named after Captain Bligh, the English mariner. It creates a festive red and green Christmas tree effect when the fruits ripen. The three-sectioned pods must ripen and open naturally, if not, they are poisonous. Ackee and Salt Fish is a popular national dish in Jamaica.

GUAVA - This 25-foot evergreen is a popular fruit tree in the tropics. It bears a white flower, followed by the fruit which is green and ripens to a lemon color with a strong aroma. The flesh of the fruit is either white or pink, depending on the species, can be seeded or seedless. This pulp is used to produce jam, jellies, pastes and juice.

BREADNUT - This fruit grows within a round green ball with spines protruding on its exterior. The actual fruit consists of edible seeds encased in a brown shell like skin, and is delicious when boiled in salted water.

PIMENTO - They are exported in berry form to produce allspice.

CASHEW NUT/CASHEW APPLE - Another evergreen that produces the edible reddish pear shaped fruit, which is attached to the kidney-shaped seeds, edible only when roasted.

GRIMBALIN - An extremely sour green fruit shaped like tiny cucumbers, with a much sharper taste than pickles. It's also used to make a cooling fruit drink.

LYCHEE - This Chinese fruit is a popular canned import in North America. The soft transparent white fleshy part of this fruit is deliciously sweet, but be careful not to swallow the small seed in the middle.

And so ends a delightful encounter with nature in the heart of Jamaica. I enjoyed it all, and I hope you will too, someday!