VCHT Garden Tours Report

On February 6 the SOLD OUT fundraiser Garden Tour for the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust was a roaring success!  54 people met at the Tin Box at 8:45 am, divided up into 6 buses, to begin a tour of 3 of Vieques' outstanding gardens:  Bob Corcoran's nursery near Isabel; the elegant home garden of the Bravos Boyz, Thom Denton and Kevin Cunha along the north shore in Bravos de Boston; the scientifically and aesthetically orchestrated garden of the professional landscape gardener Jeff Mendoza in Santa Maria. Here are a few photos that cannot begin to do justice to the beauty and interest of what we experienced, and to the shared comradery of those enjoying the tour.

Bob Corcoran's nursery near Isabel II. Both new and seasoned gardiners go to Bob to supply their gardens with plants that are especially suited to the Vieques climate and soils. As we left Bob invited us to drop our Nikini water bottles over his gate so he can make use of them for seedlings.

In Santa Maria Jeff Mendoza explained the principles that underlay his design of the garden that cascades down the hill in front of his home - the color contrasts, the shifts in scale, a visual as well as walkable treat.

The second March 6 garden tour featured all new gardens!

In La Llave, the Reenders' garden, the daily passion of Scott Reenders, has an outdoor shower and garden sculpture amid the diverse array of planting surrounding their splendid glass house.

Around a PRAA house in Destino, John Walker, a retired teacher and school principal, has discovered his passion for gardens and is willing to share seedlings from his bamboo nursery shed upon request for aspiring and expanding gardeners. He also shares his knowledge with students at the Green School in Vieques.

In Pilon Christine Oliver, a new chef at the Finca Victoria, a Ayurvedic Boutique Hotel & Panchakarma Retreat Center, shares her knowledge of Tulsi or Holy Basil, among the most highly revered of the known therapeutic shrubbery for its ability to elevate the mind, heal the body, and uplift the soul.  You can brew it as a tea or take it as a tincture to treat colds and influenza.

Great thanks go to Eileen and Anthony Civitello who organized the tours, and their teams of volunteers who occupied each bus and prepped us with the history of the garden to which we were going. Thanks also go to the público drivers who negotiated all the driveways.  And to the Tin Box which provided a staging area and boxed lunches for those who requested and paid for them at the end of the tour.

And special thanks to our amazing gardeners Robert Corcoran, The Bravos Boyz: Thom Denton and Kevin Cunha, Jeffrey Mendoza, Scott & Julie Reenders, John Walker, and Finca Victoria. All of you do so much to make a beautiful Island even more stunning! Thank you for opening your gardens and hearts for a great cause.