Un jardin extraordinaire...

Jack and I visited a private garden called le Jardin bois de rose about 25 kilometers from Cayenne. If Claude Monet had lived in French Guiana, I'm sure the Jardin bois de rose would have inspired him just as much as Giverny. We met the owner, an old Creole lady about 70 years old who explained that she's invested all her time and money into the creation of her garden. The visit begins by following the secret path... (Click on photos to enlarge)

As we walked, we admired a cacao tree (used to make chocolate)...

...and flowers that seemed to be nesting in the undergrowth, waiting for the attentive eye to spot them.

Some flowers looked like pinecones with small orchids growing out of them...

In fact, we saw many varities of orchids like these tiny but fragrant Encyclia (I'm using my guide book to help me with a few names...)

or these...

We admired many different varities of palm trees and enjoyed lazing in their shade.

Then we reached the lily pond. Chairs were placed for visitors under the gazebo and allowed us to take our time contemplating the scene.

Dragonflies were busy, zipping around us, and the frogs gave a lovely concert of nature sounds. The reflection of sky and clouds on the pond's surface gave a special feeling to this part of the garden. Claude Monet's spiritual presence seemed to hover over the lily pads, perhaps near the heliconia?

...Or behind some of the other brightly orange-colored flowers? This one resembled flames licking a fiery object.

Unfortantely, we couldn't stay as long as we wanted because amongst the garden's inhabitants there were also some pesky mosquitos! We left along this path...

...and admired the tropical Hibiscus.

Once back home, I tried to imagine which flower I had admired most of all in the Jardin bois de rose. I think I preferred this rare specimen which, according to my guide book, bears the Latin name Jackibus Baratiae...