A few days ago, Twyla told us while we were relaxing in our pool that she had found a great little nursery right here in Corozal. We had all agreed to some really vague plans on getting together in the near future to go and visit the place.
Naturally, yesterday was to be that "near future." We got a call from Doug saying he was pulling into the Capital Metals parking lot. They were heading to the new nurery and wanted to know if we wanted to join them.
Well, after totally rearranging our appointment calendar (thankfully, pretty much everyone operates down here following a"tentative and flexible agenda," so it was no mean trick for us to rearrange our schedule (chuck everything and run to the car) to head off and meet them at Capital Metals.
Once we got there, we followed Doug and Twyla back down the Northern Highway for about three blocks, where we turned left at the "Jing Jing Market", also on the left, and then an almost immediate right onto a dusty, wagon track. Well, that's what it looked like to me. I wouldn't even call it a road or a trail.
We were only on it for about a block before it turned into a normal town street, complete with speed-bumps, and some really nice looking houses for being in town. Obviously, I had never been to this neighborhood before, so I was glad to have them in front guiding me.
So, we pulled up in front of a nice concrete fence, home of
Atlantis Garden.
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| The Welcoming Sign Out Front |
We began strolling through the gate and immediately were struck by the pleasing and well-arranged layout of Atlantis Garden. The owner, Esther, came out to greet us soon after. She has quite a few beautiful specimens throughout the garden area.
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| A Favorite - Angel's Trumpet |
Several varieties of Angel's Trumpet, pink, yellow, and white are to be found on the grounds. They're a favorite of ours as we had a rather large yellow Trumpet up in Olympia. I wheeled the container in and out of our garage each season for several years (to protect it from frost). How nice to be able to leave them out year-round here.
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| Doug Exploring the Large Shaded Display Area |
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| Here's the Smaller Shaded Display Area |
Lot's of space is now available under shade cloth for display of specimens. Esther is beginning to fill it up, keeping it well organized and comfortable to walk around.
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| Esther Showing Dianna and Twyla Around |
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| A Pretty Coleus (I think) |
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| Looking One Way Across the Grounds |
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| Looking the Other Way Across the Grounds |
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| Lots of Interesting Groupings |
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| More Interesting Groupings |
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| Esther Giving Twyla and Dianna the Grand Tour |
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| More of the Grand Tour |
Quite a few shady areas are around the garden, providing opportunity to rest and relax, and to check out the many interesting plants residing under the trees.
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| A Beautiful Avocado Tree |
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| Shade Under the Avocado Tree |
It's so nice to have a well laid out nursery here in Corozal. I'm sure there will still be trips to Pandora's in Ladyville and to some of the other nurseries in the Cayo area, but in the meantime, it'll be fun for the ladies to have a place to go that's so much fun to stroll around, looking at the great variety, make a few purchases, and it's all so close to home.
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| A Magnificent Noni Tree |
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| Great Looking Cockscomb |
Esther is very knowledgeable and really has an eye for layout and garden composition. Her Atlantis Garden is an engaging and fun location.
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| Well Laid Out With Lots of Little Groupings |
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| Helps Keep Interest |
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| Maybe an Orchid? |
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| Avocado in the Sun |
Esther also has a nice aviary, where she has a large population of parakeets and doves.
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| A Few of the Many Parakeets in Her Aviary |
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| More of Esther's Parakeets |
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| The Doves Especially Didn't Like the Camera |
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| More of the Doves |
Esther just picked these luscious Sapadillo fruits for us.
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| They're Going Home With Us |
Esther's hours are: Sunday through Thursday - 7 AM to 6 PM, Fridays - 7 AM to 3 PM. She's closed on Saturdays. You can reach her by phone at 422-0476.
Atlantis Garden is a very nice, well laid out and clean nursery. You won't be disappointed in a visit there. It's worth taking the time to find it.
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| Smaller Cockscombs Also Going Home With Us |
5 comments:
Thanks for the up date on Esthers Place I have not been to her house in a while and did not know she had a new business. The pictures look great. Thanks again.
this is awesome! I want to plant a bunch of things when I come down in november. Can you give me a ball park of prices, so I kind of know how to budget? want probably 5 banana plants, 6 bouganvilla or something to climb up my fence, and whatever else looks cool!
thanks!
Hi Lissa,
I really can't give you an idea of prices, other than it's less than you might think. I can tell you about the plants you mentioned. They're all available free. Just move here and you'll have new friends more than willing to give you plants and cuttings.
Also, some of the locals, once they find where you live and that you're new, will pester you at your gate wanting to sell you orchids, banana palms, coconut palms, etc., etc. It's ok to buy from them, we did for quite a while.
There's also a very active garden club here, Roots and Shoots, who meet regularly and have field trips to various nurseries all around the country.
As you saw, we have Atlantis Gardens here in Corozal. There's Pandora's in Ladyville, always worth an expedition, and several others over toward Belmopan.
It's easy to overdose on plants. You'll tend to become selective and chop out some that were initially favorites.
You'll feel like a kid in a candy store with all the plants and varieties that are available.
Just something to look forward to.
Cheers,
Dave
thanks dave. now that I have a caretaker to water for me, want to spruce up the yard when I am down. I used to have a bunch of banana trees, but hurricaine dean took them all away. I appreciate the advice you have given, and my well came out better than I had hoped! (posted on the belize forums)
Hi Lissa,
I think you'll really enjoy it when you get here. It's so easy to grow things here, if you have a stick with bark on it, you can literally push it into the ground and chances are that it will grow.
You can see examples of that all along the highways, where people have used wood fence posts - the posts are blooming!
Cheers,
Dave
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