Today I'm taking you on a tour of the tropical garden at the ecolodges “Les Bananes Vertes”, located at the foot of the Soufrière volcano in the commune of Saint-Claude, but also to meet Guy, the man who knows how to talk to plants.
Originally from Guadeloupe, Guy has been working at Les Bananes Vertes since 2016.
He arrives every day around 7am and starts his day by maintaining the swimming pool before moving on to the garden.
This plant and phytotherapy enthusiast will be delighted to give you a guided tour of the estate, sharing his knowledge of the various species that grow there.
Until you can benefit from all Guy's knowledge, I'd like to take you on an introductory stroll through the flora and fauna of our garden.
Let's start with the obvious! We are “Les Bananes Vertes” Ecolodges ........., so it's only logical that we should have plenty of banana trees on our property, as well as other fruit trees such as mango, coffee and avocado. Tropical plants such as tree fern, aloe, bamboo, sugar cane and, of course, the famous palm and coconut trees so typical of the islands can be found throughout the garden.
Our ecolodges' gardens are full of life, from small animals to tropical plants, and will awaken all your senses.
During the day, if you stroll among the plants, you may see many anolis, small colorful lizards, or admire a few hummingbirds. Did you know that the hummingbird is the emblem of Guadeloupe? There are 6 varieties on our beautiful island, and two species can be seen here:
The first is the easily observed Madeira hummingbird, which changes color according to the light: it can be brightly colored in the sunshine and black at dusk. They can be recognized by their red throats and green wings.
The second variety you'll see are the crested hummingbirds, recognizable by their small size (less than 10 cm) and the green color on top. They nest mainly in gardens, low-lying forests and mountains, and feed on flower nectar.
So keep an eye out!
At dusk, you may be lucky enough to meet our four-legged friends, the racoons. As endearing as they are nosy, these little masked thieves will be delighted to come and pilfer your provisions during the night, so remember to keep everything well camouflaged in your fridge and pantry.
One of these rascals has even taken up residence in lodge 5, the tree house, and regularly pays a courtesy call to introduce himself to the guests.
When the sun goes down, it's not just the racoons that come out of hiding. The frogs also wake up and begin their nocturnal concert, sometimes accompanied by a few crickets. This melody of the night, surprising the first few evenings, gradually becomes habitual. For local children, it's like a reassuring, soothing lullaby sung to them by nature. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.