Sunday, June 23, 2013 9:59 PM
Rob Kinnon
Kinnon Family Trip Report 2013 - A Tour of the Ethnobotanical Garden in Oaxaca City
My husband will bitterly dispute this but I really do try to keep everyone's interests in mind when I am doing my trip planning. That being said, high on my Oaxaca "must-do" list was a tour of the Ethnobotanical Garden on the grounds of the Santo Domingo convent. My late mother was obsessed with horticulture and gleefully dragged me and my brother through every botanical garden-greenhouse tour she could find when we were traveling together as a family. As a child, I was bored to tears and I find it hilarious (and I am alone in this) that now I too am obsessed with gardens and plants and get to subject my children to the same torture!
The mere utterance of the word "ethnobotanical" got me two sets of rolled eyes when I pitched the garden tour to the kids. Nevertheless, promises of more kid-friendly activities to come and dinner at Casa Oaxaca swayed them and off we went to the office of the Santo Domingo Cultural Center, conveniently (and not coincidentally) located just steps from Las Bugambilias
The Ethnobotanical Garden is located in the city of Oaxaca and exhibits
hundreds of live plant species, all native to Oaxaca. Planting began in
1998 with plants coming from different regions in the state of Oaxaca;
such as arid, humid, low tropical and high mountainous temperate zones.
The garden represents the broad diversity of geological formations,
types of vegetation and climates that characterize Oaxaca. Tours are given in both Spanish and English at different times of the day throughout the week.
We
were lucky to have Carol as our English-speaking tour guide. She regaled us about all aspects of Oaxacan life, past and present, as we meandered through the extensive
collection of corn, squash, beans herbs, flowering trees, cacti, agave and other succulents. All of the plants in the garden are native to Oaxaca state. The amazing diversity
of plants is due to the diverse growing environments found across the state; coastal regions and mountainous zones, wetlands and desert-like habitats. The
predominant theme of Carol's narrative was the diversity of plants and how each species contributed to and reflected the life and culture of
Oaxaca over the centuries.
A visit to the Ethnobotanical Garden is definitely a highlight of any
trip to Oaxaca. This was an amazing and informative two-hour tour that
greatly exceeded my expectations and was well worth the 100 peso admission price. Even my kids enjoyed it!
The garden can only be visited as part of a tour and you must stay with the tour. No wandering off allowed. Be sure to bring a hat, sunscreen and water.
For more detailed information about the Ethnobotanical Garden, please read my friend Suzanne Barbezat's article here.