Garden Visits:Hunte’s Gardens

July 7, 2011 · Filed under Barbados, garden visits · Tagged Chrysothemis pulchella, Colocasia esculenta, Copper Leaf, Hunte's Gardens, Lotus

Lucky for me there is a tropical paradise on the island of Barbados, and even more luckily, I got to visit it. I did not know what to expect when we arrived at

 Hunte’s Gardens. But from the first moment,

 admiring the terra cotta columns and the metal gates, I was a goner.

And when Anthony Hunte called us to come up on his veranda and have a drink, I was in love. Not just with the garden, but with him. Anthony is one of a kind. A true eccentric, he is a warm and lovely man. Converting an old stable on a sugar plantation into his home, Anthony was smart enough to use a lot of architectural salvage. Opening for doors were constructed to fit antique doors, instead of finding doors to fit the openings. Everywhere you looked, there were amazing (how many times can I use that word, lol) things, furniture, art, decorative pieces, I could have happily moved in.  Full of fascinating stories, I could have sat and listened to him for hours (especially when he brought out the tray of rum punch), but the garden beckoned.

Walking down the steps from the house

 to a terrace, Anthony explained how the garden, ( a 1 3/4 acre masterpiece) had been constructed in only 2 years.

Starting at the bottom of the gully,

 all the undergrowth was cleared out, leaving just the cabbage palms, giving a cathedral like feel over head. The classical music playing also contributed to the ambiance.

 All of the paving and steps (a multitude) were constructed by him.

A mind boggling view, down into the gully.

Another set of steps, takes you to the bottom,

but there are numerous overgrown paths to secret sitting areas.

Hunte’s Gardens is made up of  a number of small clearings, on many levels.  In the 4 1/2 years since Anthony started his garden, the growth has been amazing. Thanks to the density of the planting, you cannot see a single square inch of soil showing.

He has some very interesting planting, some I knew from selling tropicals/house plants at the flower shop, like

Colocasia esculenta, Black Taro.

Copper Leaf or Chrysothemis pulchella.

This red stemmed palm is quite unusual.

Lotus

I don’t know what these are, but I love them.

In my next post, I will show you what I loved most about Anthony’s garden…

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