We’re visiting a film location for Death in Paradise in today’s garden.

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Featured image courtesy of TripAdvisor 

Transcript:

Hello Listeners, 

Today is February 19, and this is A Garden A Day with Mædunbroc Gardens.

Thank you for listening.

This is our 50th episode.  Can you believe it?  I can’t!  Thank you to all of our loyal listeners.  It takes a lot of work to put together a podcast, even short episodes like the ones I narrate.  I really do appreciate each and every one of you who listens and then comes back to listen some more.  365 episodes is quite the task, and I appreciate that you are going along for the ride.

Today is also the premier date for the latest season of Death in Paradise — at least it is here in the United States.  Do you watch that show?  It’s one of my favorites, and my husband and I make sure we catch every episode.

It’s set on the island of Saint Marie, which is not a real place, but the show is filmed on the island of Guadeloupe, which is, of course, a real place.

And on Guadeloupe, the show has filmed at today’s garden at least twice.  If you remember the first episode of Season Three, when the first detective, Richard Poole, met his demise, you might remember the villa where he and his university classmates gathered.  

And if you remember the 2023 Christmas Special, you might recognize the waterfall and the beautiful flora in the party scene.

So, where are we?  Today, we are exploring Deshaies Botanical Garden on the island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean in Paradise.

The Deshaies Botanical Garden spans a little more than thirteen acres and was once owned by French comedian Coluche who purchased the property in 1979.  His friend, Michel Gaillard, a landscape designer, operated a nursery on Guadeloupe to grow palm trees for his design business.  In 1985, Coluche asked Gaillard to look after his property in exchange for allowing Gaillard to establish his nursery there.

The following year, 1986, Coluche died in a motorcycle accident, and Michel Gaillard set about trying to purchase the property which he succeeded in doing in 1991.  It was then that he transformed the property into a botanical garden.

He accomplished the task in only 14 months with himself acting as designer, and assistance from landscape architect Didier Rouselle, Richard Routhier, Daniel Puget, and about 40 employees all from the village of Deshaies, which viewers of Death in Paradise will recognize as the village of Honoré.

The garden includes many native species including the West Indian locust tree, the Red gum tree, the country pear tree, and mango.

The botanical garden includes an Asian garden complete with koi pond, lotus, and papyrus and an arid garden with succulents, cacti, euphorbias, and agave.

The garden also includes the Explorers garden which shows a variety of plants exchanged between different parts of the colonized world.

In a meadow that extends to the Caribbean Sea, visitors will find many tropical ornamental trees including baobab, jacaranda, and breadfruit and of course, there are many palm trees found within the garden.

The botanical garden includes a practical garden — one they call the “simple” garden modeled on medieval monastic gardens.  This is a garden with plants of medicinal value.

Plants aren’t the only colorful specimens to see at the botanical garden.  Many brightly colored birds make their home in the garden’s aviary or visit regularly — lorikeets, macaws, hummingbirds, and pink flamingos to name a few.

And don’t forget the other creatures in the garden.  The garden is home to koi, of course, in the pond I mentioned earlier, and also Guadeloupen goats.

The botanical garden recognizes the value of biodiversity and is working to protect plants native to Guadeloupe.  Currently, there are 256 species of Guadeloupe flora threatened with extinction.  The garden has put protective measures in place to aid native plants and manage the land in a responsible manner.

The Deshaies Botanical Garden is open every day of the year from 9:00 to 5:30.  The last entry for the day is at 4:30.

There is a snack bar offering island fast food and sandwiches, or you can opt for the gorgeous plant-side restaurant.   Try to get a table outside, if you can.  The menus for both spots are available on the botanical garden’s website, and I’ve included a link in the notes.

The garden hosts workshops throughout the year on garden design, medicinal plants, and propagating plants, among other topics.  The garden also hosts a big event each year on the first weekend of June — the Rendez-vous aux Jardins.

But if you want to immerse yourself in the botanical garden, you can do that.  If you remember toward the beginning of the episode I mentioned the villa where detective Richard Poole breathed his last breath.  Well, you can stay there.  The villa is available for rent and can accommodate up to eleven people.  It includes access to a swimming pool and barbecue.

There is also a smaller bungalow available for rent in the garden.  The bungalow can accommodate only two guests, but it, too, allows access to the garden off hours.

The garden grows more than 1000 species of plants, both native and exotic, and there will surely be something there to delight the senses.  

Well, that’s about it for today.  I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s garden, and I only have one more thing to say: Do do do do do, do do do, do do do, do do do do do. I can’t wait to watch the show!

Thank you so much for listening.  Join me tomorrow to find out where we are going next.  I release a new episode every single day.  

As a reminder, you can learn more about the gardens featured on A Garden a Day by clicking on the links in the notes or by visiting our website, agardenaday.com.

And If you like A Garden a Day, and I hope you do, please consider liking, subscribing, and telling your friends.  If you are able, please also consider giving us a five-star review.  It lets me know you like the show, and it also helps others find the podcast.  I really do appreciate your support.  

If all goes well, I will be right back here tomorrow.  See you then!

To learn more about Deshaies Botanical Garden, check out these links:

⁠https://jardin-botanique.com/⁠

⁠https://www.guadeloupe-islands.com/deshaies/⁠

⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardin_botanique_de_Deshaies⁠

⁠https://escaledenuit.com/en/visit-the-deshaies-botanical-garden-in-guadeloupe/⁠

⁠https://www.britbox.com/us/deathinparadise⁠

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