Native orchids are the star at this garden.
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Transcript:
Hey there, Garden Lovers,
Today is February 9, and this is A Garden A Day with Mædunbroc Gardens.
Thank you for listening.
Orchids are one of the largest plant families in the world, and they can be found growing almost every where except on glaciers. There are approximately 28,000 species of orchids, and today’s garden houses the tiniest little orchid in the world.
Where are we? Today, we are exploring Monteverde Orchid Garden in Santa Elena, Costa Rica.
Monteverde sits 4,600 feet above sea level and was named Monteverde for good reason. Monteverde, means Green Mountain and speaks to its lush wealth of natural beauty in this mountainous location and is one of Costa Rica’s major eco-tourism destinations.
There are more than 1400 types of wild orchids growing in the rainforests of Costa Rica. 500 of those can be found in Monteverde.
Santa Elena is a small town in Monteverde, but even though it is small, it is the central hub for tourism in Monteverde.
The Monteverde Orchid Garden is located in Santa Elena. The garden, too, is small — only a little more than 10,000 square feet, but visitors will see an abundance of orchids. Some cling to trees. Others sit in pots. A lot of floral beauty is packed into a small space.
And orchids aren’t the only things to see. Other tropical plants grow in the garden, and of course, with so many colorful and scented blooms, expect to see insects, birds, and butterflies.
The garden opened seventeen years ago with the mission to conserve the wild orchids of Costa Rica. Owner Alvaro Salazar began collecting orchids more than thirty years ago and opened the garden to share his passion for orchids with visitors.
He gathered more than ninety-five species of orchids from Monteverde’s Cloud Forest Reserve, with permission, of course.
The Cloud Forest was founded in 1972 and spans more than 26,000 acres. It is a high biodiversity area and includes the most orchid species in a single place. The Reserve is deserving of its own episode, so I’ll see what I can do about that.
The Monteverde Orchid Garden is divided into three areas. The first showcases the miniature wild orchid. It includes the smallest known orchid in the world — the Platystele jungermannioides. About 80% of wild orchids are miniature with flowers measuring only 1mm to 3cm in diameter.
The second area of the garden contains larger orchids and orchids that are most common in Costa Rica. These are orchids that thrive in the forests where climate transitions from humid to tropical humid.
The third area is devoted to hybrid orchids.
The garden grows 450 native Costa Rican species of orchids. Several are rarely seen by humans because they live high in the forest canopy in the wild.
More than 120 orchids bloom everyday of the year in the garden — some orchids bloom for only one day — so you never know what you might see.
The garden is open every day of the year from 9:00 to 5:00.
A guided tour is included with entry, and visitors are given a magnifying glass to be able to observe the tiny blossoms of the tiniest orchids.
Visitors also learn about the different fragrances of orchids. Some fragrances lure insects to the flower to help with pollination. Other fragrances are used in perfume, and don’t forget about the sweet scent of vanilla. Vanilla comes from an orchid — the Vanilla planifolia.
But it’s not just the fragrance that attracts insects. Some orchid blossoms mimic the appearance of butterflies and bees. Tricky. Tricky.
Tours start approximately every 20 minutes and last about 45 minutes. If you book online, you usually don’t have to wait for a tour to start once you arrive.
Tours are given in Spanish and English.
Well, that’s about it for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s garden.
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 Monteverde Orchid Garden, check out these links:
https://monteverdeorchidgarden.com/
https://www.monteverdelodge.com/orchid-garden/
https://www.monteverdeinfo.com/tours/orchid-garden
https://costaricatravelblog.com/monteverde-orchid-garden/
https://theultimateguidetocostarica.com/monteverde-orchid-garden/
https://www.costarica.com/attractions/orchid-garden
https://locos4travel-costarica.com/things-to-do/monteverde/monteverde-orchid-garden/
https://exploremonteverde.com/place/monteverde-orchid-garden/
https://www.finegardening.com/article/gpod-on-the-road-monteverde-orchid-garden-part-1
https://thetravelbunny.com/things-to-do-in-monteverde-costa-rica/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monteverde_Cloud_Forest_Reserve
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