Join us as we explore the final home and resting place of Robert Louis Stevenson and the gardens that surround his home.
Visit us at maedunbroc.com
Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix
Featured image courtesy of SamoaPocketguide.com
Transcript:
Hello Listeners,
I hope you have your sea legs. We’re going offshore! Today is January 2, and this is A Garden a Day with Mædunbroc Gardens.
Yesterday, we were in the South Pacific on the island of Tonga. Didn’t that sound nice? Temperatures in the mid-80s. Tropical plants. Mangoes. Papaya. Beaches. Ahhhhh.
I want to go there. Don’t you?
Well, I did not mention one thing. This is a garden podcast, so I did not mention that if you do visit Tonga, you could swim with humpback whales.
Isn’t that amazing? You can do that when you visit the island of Tonga. They swim with humpback whales. Add that to your vacation list, friends.
So, I don’t know where you live, but I know the ground is frozen outside my door, and I want to stay in the islands a little bit longer. So we are going to stay in the South Pacific today for our second garden.
We’re going to find our own Treasure Island.
Today, we’re going slightly north of Tonga — about 470 miles or so — to another island that rings in the new year first. We’re going to the island of Samoa, and we’re going to visit Villa Vailima, the Vailima Botanical Gardens, and Vailima National Reserve.
I mentioned I wanted to find my own Treasure Island, and it’s because of Treasure Island and Kidnapped and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that we have Vailima. Because their author, Robert Louis Stevenson, travelled the world, but found his home right here on the island of Samoa. And it’s right here where he had his house built called Vailima and where he lived out his final days.
Sadly, he died at a very young age, only 44, in 1894. The house did not remain in the Stevenson family, but because of good luck and a great investment by interested parties, the house was restored to the way it was when the Stevenson family lived there and it opened to the public in 1994 as a museum.
So today, you can visit the house as well as the gardens and the reserve.
After Stevenson’s death, the family no longer used the home, and just a few years later, after the Second Samoan Civil War, Germany was given control of the island, and the home, Villa Vailima, became the official residence of the German governor of the island.
Now, this is a garden podcast, not a biography or history podcast, so I must apologize for not sharing more information about any of the history or people who lived there, but I do hope that you take some time to look up the information, because it’s fascinating.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s life story, in and of itself is interesting, and then also the history of Samoa is quite fascinating was well. So I do hope that you take the time to dig a little deeper and learn more about this area of the world, if you aren’t familiar with it already.
Because I am here to talk about the gardens, I wanted you to know that the gardens that you can visit today did start in the the early 1900s, when Germany controlled the island.
A German botanist named Gustav Hermann Schmitz was hired to establish the gardens, and he remained the director of the gardens until his death in 1933. Now, I’m not sure between 1933 and 1994 if the gardens were open to the public or not, but I do know that the current museum opened in 1994, and the gardens are open today . So, you can visit them today.
The gardens offer a diverse range of plant life including a medicinal collection of plants traditionally used by Samoan natives. And there’s one plant in particular that I found interesting called ‘matalafi’ or (Psychotria insularum). And this plant, when ingested, has a similar effect as ibuprofen. Isn’t that interesting?
The garden also includes sections dedicated to rare and threatened plants.
In addition to the gardens, you will find an Orchid House with a wide variety of orchids including native orchids.
If you like birds, you will enjoy the Aviary with parrots, doves, and finches.
A guided tour of the garden will offer not only the sights and smells of a beautiful tropical rainforest, tropical flowers, and fruit trees, but you will also have the opportunity to learn the history of the gardens and learn about local culture.
During your visit, you might enjoy a picnic lunch, or a stroll along the network of walking trails that wind through the landscape. If you take the correct path, your senses will be dazzled not only by the view but by the waterfall and freshwater pool that was once a favorite spot for Robert Louis Stevenson to swim. Isn’t that wonderful?
There is also a hiking trail called the Road of Loving Hearts. Isn’t that sweet? That trail takes you to the top of Mount Vea, where you can find the final resting place of Robert Louis Stevenson. That would be an interesting place to visit.
And if you are looking for a different perspective, there is a boat tour that allows you to see the garden in ways you can’t by land, and that’s something that most gardens don’t have.
I’ve included many links in the notes if you want to read more about Vailima Botanical Garden, Samoa, or Robert Louis Stevenson.
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, which makes me very happy, 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 Vailima Botanical Garden, Samoa, and Robert Louis Stevenson, please check out these links:
https://samoapocketguide.com/best-things-to-do-in-apia
https://nuwao.org.nz/vailima-botanical-gardens/
https://www.samoaroyaltours.com/vailimabotanicalgardentour
https://robert-louis-stevenson.org/109-samoa-museum-western-samoa/
https://mairineil.com/2015/09/29/vailima-robert-louis-stevensons-samoan-home/
https://www.samoa.travel/plan-book/activities/vailima-national-reserve/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vailima,_Samoa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson_Museum
https://wanderlog.com/place/details/10531439/vailima-botanical-garden
https://heroesofadventure.com/listing/vailima-botanical-garden/
https://www.samoa.travel/plan-book/activities/vailima-national-reserve/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Samoa
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