Garden lined entrance to AnaCapri Estate on Tortola in the BVI
The grounds of AnaCapri Estate are lush with palm trees, fruit trees, plants and flowers. Our garden banana trees are actually annuals, growing for nine months to produce a large hanging bundle of bananas. The bunch of bananas has about 10 to 20 “hands” of bananas, and each of these with about 15 – 20 bananas. This means we may have as many as 200 bananas at a time! They can weigh 80 to 125 pounds, so it’s wise to support the tree with a Y shaped branch propped up to help hold some of the weight of the fruit and not pull down the tree. Though bananas can ripen on the tree, we cut them just as they are about to ripen to prevent them from being eaten by the colorful little yellow and black birds called Bananakeets. Once the tree has fruited, it is cut down allowing for new shoots or stems from the original tree to grow. Currently we have finger bananas, plantains, and horse bananas in various stages of development, and many new shoots starting to grow.
There are two types of papayas found in our garden, the traditional type of round papayas and the longer and larger PawPaw’s – both are delicious. We usually pick them before they ripen on the tree, trying to prevent them from being eaten by the Bananakeets, and let them ripen inside to a dark amber color. Hopefully some will be ready for you to enjoy the sweet orangy-red juicy fruit while you are at AnaCapri Estate. Dry out the seeds, they have a peppery flavor and can be added to salads.
Our garden is bountiful! We have four types of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, lemon grass, garlic, tomatoes, green onions, mangoes, limes, breadfruit, coconuts, avacados and lots of vine spinach. Feel free to explore the gardens and use anything to help you make wonderful, memorable meals.
The lush garden includes fragrant gardenias, vivid red, pink and yellow hibiscus, perky oleanders, native frangipani, ixorras, and boughanvilla. Every morning there is something fresh to see and enjoy, so take a leisurely walk and immerse yourself in paradise!
Royal Palm Trees lining entrance to AnaCapri Estate, BVI – Guana Island in the background
Enjoy the fragrance of the many flowers species on the grounds of AnaCapri Estate
Bright, bold flowers abound on the estate – north shore of Tortola in the BVI
Banana Flower Pod, AnaCapri Estate, British Virgin Islands
Hands of Bananas at AnaCapri Estate, BVI
Take morning walks around AnaCapri Estate and check out the floral beauty
Spectacular beauty on the natural terraced landscape of AnaCapri Estate, Tortola, BVI
Papaya Tree at AnaCapri Estate, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Gardens Of AnaCapri (aka Jardin de d’Enet) – British Virgin Islands
Ixora flowers divide the two-tiered pool deck at AnaCapri Estate – down island view all of the way to Virgin Gorda