Gardens of the Caribbean
Public Gardens Located in the West Indies Islands of the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean islands are home to fantastic botanical gardens that are nothing short of paradise. You can focus on one Caribbean island at a time and really get to know the local flora and fauna or take a cruise and book shore excursions that will give you a quick overview of several Caribbean botanical gardens. If the idea of a botanical garden doesn't sound thrilling to you, you've got to check out some of these places!
The Bahamas' Garden of the Groves - Freeport, Grand Bahama Island
Hurricanes in 2008 destroyed much of Freeport's Garden of the Groves. Watching this video though, you can see the great effort that is being put forth to restore the grounds.
The park has 3 main purposes: Education. Conservation. Recreation. 26 plant species growing at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park can only be found on the island of Grand Cayman.
Queen Elizabeth II's Botanic Park
Cuban Gardening - In New York of course, there's a trade embargo ;)
Searching YouTube quickly I couldn't find videos for any actual Cuban gardens. I did find this orchid show though, being set up at the New York Botanical Garden.. The orchid show, Cuba in Flower, had conservatory workers placing orchids in the Sago palms. They also make use of bananas, sugar cane, heliconias and even a copernicia macroglossa.
Cranbrook Flower Forest - St. Ann's, Jamaica
The guide at Jamaica's Cranbrook Flower Forest points out Frangipani and color-me-nots. Follow their tour along the entire guidepath.
Le Jardin de Balata - Martinique
Watch this slideshow of the beautiful trees, shrubs, bromeliads and scenery from Martinique's 'Le Jardin de Balata'.
Has this lens made you consider a Caribbean cruise for your next vacation? Has it prompted you to rethink some of the shore excursions available on your next cruise? Or maybe are you thinking of having a land-only vacation focusing on just one Caribbean island in particular? Are you just having a look at the pretty pictures and being an armchair tourist? Let me know here.