Let’s head to the US Virgin Islands and visit the island of St. Croix.
Visit us at maedunbroc.com
Music by Jason Shaw at AudionautiX
Featured image courtesy of St. George Village Botanical Garden
Transcript:
Hello Friends, Today is January 3, and this is A Garden a Day with Mædunbroc Gardens.
Thank you for being here.
I liked our little jaunts to the South Pacific to start the new year. What did you think? Tonga on the first. Samoa on the second. Gorgeous places. Both of them.
So, where should we go today?
I say, let’s stay in the vacation frame of mind a little longer, but let’s go to a different tropical island, in a different part of the world, okay? Let’s go to another beach, some more sun, some more palm trees, ocean waves, softly lapping on shore. Doesn’t that sound nice?
So let’s hop on a plane or board a cruise ship because today, we are going a tiny bit closer to home but still far enough away to get that tropical vibe.
We are going to the U.S. Virgin Islands to the island of St. Croix to St. George Village Botanical. And as a bonus, if you’re a U.S. citizen, you don’t even need a passport.
Established in 1972, the St. George Village Botanical Garden covers 16 acres of tropical gardens planted with over 1500 native and exotic plant species growing amidst the ruins of a 19th century Danish sugar plantation.
So much history is interwoven amongst the native and pan-tropical plants in this garden.
We’re talking 2,000 years of history, and it’s documented in a museum within the garden housed in a restored colonial-era worker’s cottage that was originally built to house enslaved workers on the sugar plantation.
This is not just a garden for beauty. This is a garden for learning and a garden for thinking. And that, friends, is exactly the kind of garden I adore.
Preservation is important to the folks at St. George Village Botanical Garden. They’ve made an impressive go at preservation on many levels. Their Herbarium contains over 6,000 dried and pressed plants representing about 80% of plants found in the US Virgin Islands, and they also keep a Seed Bank to store and preserve seeds to conserve genetic biodiversity. One plant that is especially important to them is the St. Croix native Agave eggersiana which is on the endangered plant list.
If you get a chance to visit, don’t miss their native arboretum that includes over 20 species of trees that are considered native to St. Croix. You will also find a naturalized forest and over 25 species of palm.
Throughout the garden, you will find collections of bromeliads, cactus, succulents, ferns, and over 60 species of orchids.
Heritage gardens grow plants that have been traditionally vital to everyday life, welfare, and wellbeing of the islanders. These gardens include medical plants, plants used for dyes and weaving, for building materials, spices, fruit trees, and sugar cane.
December to April is peak tourist season, and there is a reason for that. Summer gets a bit too hot, and late summer to fall, I’m sure we can all remember, is hurricane season. Still, good times to visit if the weather cooperates, but of course, you’ll want to check before you go.
The garden is open from 9:00am until 3:00pm everyday of the year except Christmas Day, but you might want to check with the garden before going for updated hours and ticket prices.
As an extra bonus, check out their website and social accounts. They are top-notch. Whoever is working on those has a really good eye. It’s quite wonderful. Bravo to them!
I’ve included links to those as well as other sites that might interest you, including one to Trip Advisor. There are stunning photos from visitors on there that I think you will enjoy.
Now, doesn’t St. George Village Botanical Garden sound like a great place to visit? It’s beautiful. It’s smart. It’s exactly how I like it!
Thank you so much for listening. Join me tomorrow to find out where we are going next.
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 appreciate it.
If all goes well, I will be right back here tomorrow. See you then!
To learn more about St. George Village Botanical Garden and St. Croix, visit these links:
https://www.thegardenstcroix.org/
https://www.shortform.com/pages/travel/best-time-to-visit/best-time-to-visit-st-croix.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George_Village_Botanical_Garden
https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4401
https://whichmuseum.com/museum/st-george-village-botanical-garden-frederiksted-30529
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