Thursday 2 May 2013

The Royal Botanic Gardens

The Saraca indica.

I try to walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Trinidad at least twice a week. We are very lucky to have such wonderful gardens laid out in the middle of our city. Originally established by Sir Ralph Woodford in 1818, the gardens were one of the earliest Botanic Gardens in existence and certainly one of the longest to have a continuous run. Under the purvey of The Ministry of Agriculture since the early 1900s, this space is manned by some one hundred staff.
Indian Silk Cotton

The best time to visit is during the early dry season, when the grass is still green and the trees are just beginning to flower and the air cool and crisp.
Line of bay trees

The Fern House


It's one of the few places in urban Port of Spain where you can still see wildlife. Squirrels and parrots in particular.


Close up of the flowers of the Saraca indica.


The yellow African tulip

 


Collection of seeds






Many past governor generals are buried in the little cemetery. So too their wives, often lost young. But alongside them are also the remains of past curators and many who have loved this space. A tranquil gentle place that lies within site of the bay trees, the cemetery is often known as "God's Acre".

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