Over the past decade and a half, the creation and maintenance of Xandari’s impressive and diverse flora has been largely orchestrated by one man, José Luis Ballestero. Head gardener at the property, this man and his skilled team of gardeners have developed a highly heterogeneous and visually appealing collection of plant life throughout the private nature reserve that was once a coffee plantation.

As James and I will show in the next several weeks, Xandari’s gardens are a true wonder and effectively occupy any space that is not covered by the resort’s buildings. I use the word ‘garden’ here flexibly, because the forest that makes up the lower portions of Xandari’s forty-odd acres is more of a jungle than a garden, and at this point much of the flora  has been propagated by natural causes rather than with the help of a spade (and of course much of the forest present today was also present during the plantation years due to difficult terrain or soil fertility issues).

In upcoming posts we’ll be showing you some of the fantastic tropical plants that make up Xandari’s omnipresent garden, as well as plenty of the jungle, both of which attract the great wildlife that can be found in the reserve. Check out the teaser slideshow below!

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