Hop on board a cruise ship to St. Thomas to visit this garden — Plantation Crown and Hawk Botanical Garden.
Visit us at maedunbroc.com
Music by Jason Shaw at AudionautiX
Featured image courtesy of Plantation Crown and Hawk Botanical Garden
Transcript:
Hello Friends, Today is January 4, and this is A Garden a Day with Mædunbroc Gardens.
We are staying in the U.S. Virgin Islands today. As I am recording this episode, it is 15 degrees outside my window, but at today’s garden, it’s a balmy 85. Oh my goodness. Get me to the islands!
If you do have a chance to book a last-minute getaway, January — right now— is the perfect time to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands, and you might consider visiting today’s garden —
Plantation Crown and Hawk Botanical Garden on the island of St. Thomas.
And even if you are not able to go anywhere warm and tropical, just take a look at home page of their website. You will get an immediate dose of happy. It’s bright. It’s colorful. It’s just happy. I’ve included a link in the notes. And if you are watching this on a video platform, you’ll be able to see it there.
Today’s garden is privately owned by Jackie and Klaus Neuberger. Jackie, an educated and trained horticulturalist, began restoring this piece of paradise in 1998 and opened it to the public in 2015, so it’s a fairly young garden, but age doesn’t mean a thing because it’s absolutely fabulous.
But the garden did begin as a botanical garden in the 1890s stewarded by the Agricultural Society of Denmark.
Similar to yesterday’s garden, Plantation Crown and Hawk was once a working sugar mill plantation, and you will find what remains of a sugar mill on your tour of this garden.
Located 1500 feet above the harbor of St. Thomas, the garden offers spectacular views of the harbor and ocean.
This garden is an easy five and a half acres that includes many rainforest plants, a plant maze, a cactus garden, bamboo, waterfall, an herb and spice garden, many tropical plants, and gorgeous bougainvillea. And to top it off, if you’re lucky, you will get to see tortoises, iguanas, macaws, and peacocks!
Friends, I used to live in Florida, and to be honest, I don’t really miss living in Florida, but I do miss bougainvillea and peacocks and also the birds that turn pink. There’s more than just flamingos, you know? Other birds turn pink, too. And I do miss that.
This garden, Plantation Crown and Hawk Botanical Garden, is open daily from 8:30 – 4:00, and you do not need reservations, but you might receive a discount admission if you do make a reservation. So, it’s probably good to check before you go.
And if you are planning a wedding or know someone who is, the Neubergers operate a wedding business on site called Villa Botanica. That might be something worth looking into if you are planning to say I do sometime soon.
There are several other gardens to visit in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but friends, I think I’m done with the islands for now.
I don’t know. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out, but I think I do want to hop on another plane, and you’ll have to join me to see where we go.
Thank you for listening to A Garden a Day with Mædunbroc Gardens.
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 it.
If all goes well, I will be right back here tomorrow. See you then!
To learn more about today’s garden, St. Thomas, and Villa Botanica wedding options, visit these links:
http://plantationbotanicalgarden.com/home/
https://vacationidea.com/caribbean/g/27345-Plantation-Crown-and-Hawk-Bota.html
https://cityseeker.com/st-thomas/1155875-plantation-crown-and-hawk-botanical-garden
https://www.britannica.com/place/Charlotte-Amalie
Leave a Reply