Botanical Park of Crete: Rooted in Fire, Inspiring Hope

A presumption of Crete’s Botanical Park. Credit: Greek Liquid Gold

The Botanical Park of Crete, a testament to nature’s beauty, was established successful 2010 done the efforts of a household that mislaid thousands of olive trees successful a devastating wildfire.

By Lisa Radinovsky, exertion of Greek Liquid Gold

In 2003, a wildfire propelled by strong, blistery winds from Africa destroyed thousands of past olive trees successful Crete. Destructive wildfires are tragically communal successful the adust Greek summers, but the effect of 1 household who mislaid each their trees is inspiring. On their burnt land, they created the Botanical Park of Crete, a fruitful solemnisation of nature.

In 2010, pursuing 7 years of hard work, the Botanical Park and Gardens opened to the public, on with a edifice featuring section products. One time past spring, aft lunch, Petros Marinakis, laminitis and managing manager of the park, told maine however burnt olive groves were transformed into a botanical wonderland.

The Botanical Park and gardens person go an eco-friendly wonderland. Credit: Greek Liquid Gold

A Fiery Beginning: The History of Crete’s Botanical Park

The October 2003 occurrence started with electrical cables successful a colony adjacent the Marinakis family’s olive groves. Strong winds blowing from Africa astatine the utmost level of 11 connected the Beaufort standard swiftly dispersed the flames. As Marinakis explains, “in 24 hours we mislaid everything astir us—thousands of olive trees, astir of them thousands of years old, from the Minoan, Venetian, and Ottoman periods.”

Tragically, “we mislaid galore trees the aforesaid size and property arsenic the Vouves tree”—the 3,000 to 5,000 twelvemonth aged monumental olive histrion visited by thousands annually successful the colony of Ano Vouves. “The catastrophe aft the occurrence was economic, environmental, and cultural,” Marinakis observed, arsenic immoderate of “the oldest olive groves connected the satellite were lost.”

“After this catastrophe,” Marinakis said, “I thought astir however radical successful our time unrecorded wholly otherwise from the erstwhile 1000 years, wholly disconnected from the earthy environment. It’s the archetypal clip radical are surviving successful boxes successful a technological environment. Young radical don’t cognize however an olive histrion looks, oregon an orangish tree.”

Marinakis had grown up successful a farming household with a emotion for nature, past studied tourism concern management. He wanted to assistance the country and his household get backmost connected their feet. “I wanted to bash thing for the area. I wanted to bash thing for society.”

Building the Botanical Park of Crete: Vision, Roots, and Ecological Design

A burned oilive tree. Credit: Greek Liquid Gold

Working with 2 of his 3 brothers, Kostas and Stratis, Petros Marinakis decided to “create a plot wherever radical tin learn” connected his family’s 20 hectares of burnt land. His absorption was “not a business; it’s much philosophy, to effort to link radical with nature. We don’t usage chemicals. We person an ecosystem wholly balanced, successful harmony.”

He besides wanted to “be connected with society, promoting everything the country produces. Only java and sweetener travel from abroad. The remainder is from the area. We beforehand the section tastes, link visitors with the earthy situation and our flavors, our products, our economy.”

How did helium make that astonishing garden? “First,” Marinakis reports, “I studied the property’s temperature, soil, morphology, and peculiarities. I determined wherever I would works the tropical, Mediterranean, and alpine plants. I made lists of plants. I recovered galore plants from Greece and the European Union. I brought the tropical and uncommon plants from Asia, Africa, and America done nurseries successful Europe that person a peculiar licence to import plants from different continents. For the past 20 years, my caput has been successful the botanical plot 24 hours a day.”

Where Three Climate Zones Meet: The Botanical Park of Crete’s Global Garden

Marinakis emphasizes that the uniqueness of the Botanical Park and Gardens of Crete extends beyond its history. “First, it is the lone plot successful Europe that specializes successful spices, herbs, and medicinal plants.” Moreover, “the microclimate is unique,” with astonishing variations successful a comparatively tiny area. “In the level country successful the vale you spot avocadoes and citrus. We turn mangoes and lychee from a tropical environment.”

Higher up, extracurricular the garden, we tin spot olive trees increasing connected the hillsides of the foothills of the White Mountains. That is simply a Mediterranean zone. Above that, wherever the olive trees halt and small tin grow, determination is an alpine zone. So successful summation to the land being located betwixt Africa, Europe and Asia, with the gangly mountains adjacent the garden, determination are perfect conditions to turn astir everything from astir the world.

A burned olive histrion among caller vegetation. Credit: Greek Liquid Gold

Exploring Crete with Kids: Discovering the Botanical Park’s Animals, Nature Trails, and Local Food

As immoderate of the park’s earliest visitors, my household and I person returned regularly, watching the small trees turn arsenic our children did. We introduced friends and household to the Botanical Park and Restaurant. When our children were tiny and easy tired, the distractions of the ducks, peacocks, donkeys, and different creatures that lived connected the garden’s hillsides, valley, and pond were helpful. Our children’s gait yet exceeded ours, truthful they reached the hilltop edifice earlier we did.

The edifice became known not lone for its beauteous presumption and fantabulous section products, but besides its originative instrumentality connected Cretan cuisine and attraction to creator detail. Its nutrient features section other virgin olive oil, mostly from the Tsounati variety. Thirty percent of the olive lipid comes from the Marinakis family’s ain production, with the remainder from tiny Cretan producers. (Olive lipid and different section products are disposable successful the restaurant’s spacious shop.)

As our children grew, the garden’s trees began to supply much shade, and plants filled successful the bare spaces. Every year, we noticed caller plantings, caller remainder stops and benches, and different improvements and additions. We spotted Greek pottery and plot ornaments, a whimsical doorway, plot implements hung successful a enactment from a tree, aged farming tools and machines among herbs and effect trees, antithetic bridges positioned implicit the brook, tunnels of trees and bamboo, adjacent a chromatic throne wherever we could beryllium to survey the lush valley, and a cooling ablution for summertime walkers.

From Wildfire to Wonder

As their website says, “amidst the vibrant, colorful scenery stands a burnt, past olive tree, a poignant memorial and notation constituent to the devastating 2003 fire, marking the past and root of the Garden.” Beyond the tree, paths upwind up and down hills and done the valley, among vibrant orchards and herb gardens, past striking Mediterranean and tropical flowers. Come to admire, observe, exercise, learn, meditate, relax, photograph, eat, drink, and commune with nature. Born from the ashes, this ever-evolving parkland impresses some locals and visitors from astir the world.

For much astir The Botanical Park of Crete, spot an earlier Greek Liquid Gold nonfiction focused connected it. Naturally, the Park looks antithetic successful antithetic seasons, arsenic good arsenic changing each year, truthful it is good worthy much than 1 visit!

Originally published connected Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (greekliquidgold.com). See that tract for recipes with olive oil, photos from Greece, agrotourism and nutrient tourism suggestions, and olive lipid quality and information.

Related: International Yale Symposium Examines Olive Oil and Health