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TRINIDADgrow

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Love BLooMs at trinidad garden CLuB WhiCh teaChes hortiCuLture and gives BaCk to CoMMunities

Writer CaroLine Moses

PhotograPhers susan de gannes and Jeannine story

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as the rainy season roLLs into gear and another

drought CoMes to an end, CariBBean garden

Lovers FLoCk to their LaWns to grooM and tend

to their PLants. But for one group in trinidad, this

happens year-round. this is the trinidad garden Club,

and at 130 members, the group has come a long way

in 22 years.

“it started off as just a small group of friends starting

a club because they were garden enthusiasts,” Chancy

Moll, past president and current vice-president of the

trinidad garden Club, said.

“garden enthusiast’’ seems a fitting term to describe

the members of the club. this is more than just a

group of ladies who love to garden and keep busy.

unsurprisingly, the men and women of the garden

club are more than the stereotypical housewives and

well-heeled husbands with too much time on their

hands. With some of the most respected names in

trinidad, including doctors, lawyers and business

professionals, in the membership, there is a lot more

to this club than meets the eye.

growing happiness

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With extravagant gardens and luscious flowers

being the symbol of wealth and status in trinidad’s

earliest days, one might assume that members of the

country’s premier garden club would be among the

wealthiest of the nation, but that isn’t exactly true.

the executive board accepts every applicant who

shows love and dedication to horticulture and his or

her own garden. Credentials are straightforward: to

become a member of the garden club, one must be a

keen gardener.

“a garden is something that is shared by people

irrespective of class, creed or colour. We have people

from every walk of life engaged in gardening,”

explained Moll. “and that is why the club has become

so popular.”

at a member’s home in Westmoorings for the

month’s scheduled meeting, the enthusiasts gather in

the garden, participate in show benches and discuss

their love of their gardens and agriculture in general.

it’s these monthly meetings that solidify the bond of

the group.

But this bond goes far deeper than monthly

meetings. the members of the club pride themselves

on educating themselves and the public about

gardening techniques, the importance of gardening,

and horticulture itself.

sponsoring a bursary at the university of West

indies st augustine campus for students studying

horticulture and agriculture, the trinidad garden Club

is passionate about fuelling the next generation’s

love for garden culture.

“the most important thing is education,” Moll

said, explaining the group’s dedication to facilitating

discussions and workshops and teaching both their

members and the public about gardening and

horticulture.

Besides teaching formally, they aim to share their

knowledge with one another—as each member has

a different insight to add to the discussion. according

to Moll, gardeners in general should strive to educate

themselves on the craft, especially when it comes to

purchasing plants and blooms. not every plant can

sPonsoring a Bursary at the university oF West indies

st augustine CaMPus For students studying hortiCuLture

and agriCuLture, the trinidad garden CLuB is Passionate

aBout FueLLing the neXt generation’s Love For garden CuLture

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Trees are critically important to the survival of most living things especially human

beings, and while this is a long-established fact, it somehow has not positively impacted

human behavior towards the environment. Trees are a source of beauty and shade;

they provide homes for birds and other wildlife and are beneficial in so many ways. yet

they are removed indiscriminately. everyone should try to plant a tree where possible. A

word of advice though: one needs to carefully research and select a tree appropriate to

one’s surroundings. Pay careful attention to size at maturity and root system.

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be placed just anywhere, with many better suited for

bright sunshine or shaded areas of the garden. Most

importantly, not every plant thrives in our tropical

climate, but when they do, they really shine.

“We have a lot of sunshine, we have a lot of rain,”

added Moll. “and that combination makes for a lot

of good gardening.”

Caribbean gardens really are unique in that way: the

bright colours, wild greenery and diverse selection,

almost as if they were made to mirror our own culture.

trinidadians are a little bit of everything, and the garden

club takes inspiration from our people for their gardens,

with hybridization becoming a more and more popular

trend. Many members have done hybridizing of orchids

on their own terms and in their own gardens, putting

together what Moll calls the best of two worlds:

creating a somewhat “ideal’’ species, taking the best

qualities from each family to create a better flower:

better in form, better in shape, and better in beauty.

through colourful blooms, lush greenery and

succulent fruit-bearing trees, gardeners have created

picturesque and somewhat serene oases, begging to

be photographed and shared with the world. seven

years ago, Moll finally took the plunge, suggesting

the idea of sharing a little piece of their gardens

with everyone else, creating an annual calendar

showcasing 12 gardens of different members each

year, complete with tips and tricks to following suit.

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flowering lilies are quite popular in Trinidad and Tobago. When I say lily, I loosely refer

to genera occurring in two classes: Liliaceae and Amaryllidaceae and narrowly to the

most popular flowering types grown in the caribbean, Amaryllis, crinum, hippeastrum,

hymenocallis, Griffinia and Gloriosa. A recent phenomenon that has been especially

exciting is lilies with coloured foliage, especially crinums. These are now more widely

available and are rewarding all year rather than only when they bloom. These plants are

also very versatile as they vary greatly in size from the diminutive blue-flowered eight-

to-12-inch variety of Griffinia, to the enormous six-to-eight-foot crinum “Sangria.”

CariBBean gardens reaLLy are unique in that Way:

the Bright CoLours, WiLd greenery and diverse seLeCtion,

aLMost as iF they Were Made to Mirror our oWn CuLture

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While all of the members tend to their own gardens,

the club has placed a green thumb on several larger

spaces throughout the country—landscaping areas

for the national zoo, the tsPCa and the tortuga

Church, among many others. in the past, the trinidad

garden Club would use the funds raised through the

annual calendars to landscape, upkeep and contribute

to these sites, but a few years ago members had a

better idea for the money.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013, the

garden club donated $20,000 to different charities

throughout trinidad, benefiting vita’s house hospice,

Living Water community, the animal Welfare and st

ornamental pineapples or Ananas have become a popular landscape plant in recent times. As more

varieties and cultivars become commercially available they are becoming increasingly sought after.

Pineapples have long since been a symbol of warmth and welcome, hence the reason they are

widely used as decorative pieces in concrete, coral stone and/or plaster at the entrance of homes

and businesses. Pineapple plants are now available in several colours, from pinks and pale creamy

yellow to white and creamy white to bright reddish brown and even reddish purple. They also vary

widely in terms of plant size, from 12 to 15 inches to three to four feet. They even vary in shape,

some are star-shaped, others recurve, while some have thorns and others do not.

vincent de Paul, among others. through plant sales,

tea parties and calendar orders, the group continues to

give back to the community—be it through assisting

in sponsoring healthcare, supporting a local charity or

providing for local churches and organizations.

“there’s something for saying when you touch the

soil, there’s something that touches you in your soul,”

Moll said.

With a unit that’s more like a family than a group

of friends, there is nothing quite like the bond that

the club members share. their love for the art of

gardening, combined with their love for one other

makes this group one like none other.M