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114 | InsideOut Autumn 2015

The healing gardens

BY CATHERINE MACGILLIVRAY

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The holistic and humanitarian approach

to healthcare by heart specialist Dr. Devi

Shetty goes beyond the walls of his new

hospital in East End.

Health City Cayman Islands, which is a joint

venture between Dr. Shetty’s Narayana Health

in India and Ascension Health in the U.S., is

an ambitious development that has flourishing

gardens to complement the facilities inside the

high-tech building.

“We knew that our building design was based

on function first and so we would need lush

landscaping to really accentuate the healing

and Caribbean-feel for visitors,” explains Ryan

Smith, construction and facility manager at the

hospital.

Dr. Shetty previously founded Health City in

Bangalore, India, with the mission of delivering

expert healthcare, regardless of income.

Adopting the same principles for his first

international venture, the initial phase of

Health City Cayman Islands opened in 2014

to provide top-quality, low-cost healthcare,

focusing on heart surgeries and orthopedic

procedures.

Currently operating with 140-beds, the

complex will expand to a 2,000-bed hospital

system with an adjoining hotel for patients

to stay before and after their procedure, and

for their families. Other future plans include

a medical university and an assisted-living

community.

Ryan says they wanted to create an integrated

landscape design for the entire life of the

development, using the hospital as the catalyst.

Entrance to Health City

Phot

os b

y St

ephe

n C

lark

e

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Above: Caption

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Margaret BarwickIt was Health City Cayman Islands project director, Gene Thompson – a landscape enthusiast – who directed Ryan to engage the services of veteran landscape designer Margaret Barwick.

Laid out as a series of gardens circling the hospital building, Margaret has interpreted the landscape vision and brought it to life, working with Kurl Knight of Landmark Landscaping, and his team, on the installation of all the gardens.

Her design-brief included creating an uplifting environment for the patients, incorporating native flora in what is a relatively untouched area of dry woodland, integrating practical elements such as food for the kitchen, providing secluded rest areas, reflecting the Indian element in both the design and content, and installing walking/jogging paths.

The individual areas Margaret has designed include the East Garden, West Garden, Kitchen Garden, Medicinal Garden and The Sanctuary.

The East and West gardens are in front of the hospital and comprise large, undulating, colorful borders of shrubs and perennials flanked by lawns to the rear and the roadside, and dotted with palms and small trees.

A meandering, wheelchair-friendly path runs from the entrance, through the plantings, to the east or west sides to connect with similar paths throughout the gardens, doubling as a running track.

Kitchen GardenAnd while Health City is renowned for its state-of-the-art healthcare, the facility’s food is also second-to-none with Chef Vidyadhara Shetty from Blue Cilantro restaurant on West Bay Road in charge of the kitchens.

Patients and staff are offered a choice of Indian, Continental and Caribbean cuisines to tempt their palates, with fruit and vegetables from the Kitchen Garden on hand for the freshly prepared dishes.

“At this time, the area near the kitchen is planted with basic crops and fruit

Left: trees reach second story, right:

butterflies abound in Health City gardens

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118 | InsideOut Autumn 2015

care side,” Ryan explains. “We do anticipate that integrative medicine practices, championed by Betsy, will make their way to the island’s primary care physicians and that these plants can be used as an integral part of care plans.

“We would love for the Health City Medicinal Garden to be the first used in these practices. This will take a bit of mindset change among our local primary physicians, but the research is overwhelming that they work and reduce/help the need for pharmaceuticals.”

Margaret has incorporated a mixture of Indian and Caymanian plants used in traditional medicine.

“It seemed fitting to include such a garden, particularly as this is an Indian hospital and India is so famous for its Ayurvedic medicine which encompasses many herbal remedies,” she says.

The Sanctuary, meanwhile, provides an area for quiet contemplation with two garden seats

Patients and families can meander around the garden paths.

trees including bananas, papayas, sugar cane, cassava, pumpkins etc. as well as breadfruit, mangos, custard apples, limes, star fruit, star apple, curry leaf, avocado and soursop,” says Margaret.

There are also three Acai palms (that can be harvested for their “hearts”) and, eventually, there will be a large area for seasonal crops such as tomatoes, peppers, lettuces and spinach.

Medicinal GardenAdditionally, the hospital anticipates utilizing the plants grown in the Medicinal Garden, which is being looked after by Ryan’s wife Betsy, who has studied alternative medicines.

“The plants won’t be immediately incorporated into the healthcare program as our hospital is a tertiary care facility, while the remedies the plants have are on a more primary

“The individual

areas Margaret

has designed

include the East

Garden, West

Garden, Kitchen

Garden, Medicinal

Garden and The

Sanctuary.”

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and a fishpond set amidst an exotic oasis.

And patients who are recovering from

surgery can also enjoy the gardens from the

privacy of their beds, thanks to big windows in

the hospital.

“This two-storied building was planted on all

sides with tall-growing trees and palms which

would attract parrots and other birds by their

fruit,” Margaret explains. “Thus the patients would

be able to enjoy this activity from their beds.”

Native plantsNative planting was central to the landscaping

not only from an environmental aspect as

they are already adapted to the climate and

often require little watering, but also from an

aesthetic viewpoint.

“Naturalistic plantings of island flora will

make patients feel relaxed and minimize the

stress already associated with major surgeries,”

states part of the design brief.

Plans are also in place to start a nursery on-

site to propagate plants for future phases.

To help minimize the environmental impact

of the hospital development, felled trees have

been mulched and top soil will be made from

excavated peat, rain water is collected in the

gutters and gray water used for irrigation.

Health City has also been working with

the National Trust for the Cayman Islands,

and the Cayman Islands Orchid Society, to

recover orchids from felled trees so they can be

replanted on-site or in the Botanic Park.

“We feel that active discussions with groups

such as these in our community are the most

productive way to develop responsibly while

meeting the ultimate humanitarian goal of the

hospital which is to help remove the connection

of affluence to quality specialty healthcare in

the world,” says Ryan.

Health City is one of Margaret’s final projects

as she is semi-retiring to France, although she

will return to Cayman to undertake future

phases of the hospital’s landscaping.

“Because of (horticulturalist) Michael

Ferrero’s interest in this project whilst he was

working at the Botanic Park and (general

manager) John Lawrus’s encouragement,

we were able to add many unusual and rare

tree species to our plantings,” she says. “That

has resulted in making the contents of these

gardens a serious asset to our islands.”

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InsideOut magazine is delighted to have become a “Platinum Friend” of the Garden Club of Grand Cayman.

As the club welcomes new members, it has recently opened up sponsorship to friends, benefactors and supporters of the horticultural organization.

Levels of support range from “Personal” at an annual endowment of $100, to “Silver” at $200, “Gold” at $300 and “Platinum” at $500.

Each category offers a rising scale of benefits, from a simple listing on the club’s website (caymangardenclub.com) to acknowledgement of the supporter on an electronic monitor at meetings and events.

“We are pleased to welcome InsideOut magazine as a Platinum Friend of the Garden Club,” says Ora Hollebon, president of the Garden Club. “As a publication that features prominent homes and gardens around Cayman, we look forward to a great synergy between our organizations.”

InsideOut, which is published in the autumn and spring, showcases some of Cayman’s most fabulous gardens and includes other gardening-related topics in every issue.

“We are thrilled to join the Garden Club and anticipate highlighting some of the most creative gardening projects on the island,” says Catherine MacGillivray, editor of the magazine.

Founded in 1957, the Garden Club has an active membership of more than 60 gardening enthusiasts, more than half of whom have joined in the last five years.

Pioneer members included Joyce Hilton, Ena Watler, Dorothy Roulstone, Frances Bodden, Una Bush and Corrine Thompson, all of whom have now passed on.

However, their strong legacy of commitment to beautifying and strengthening the community continues to flourish.

Club ethosThe aims of the Garden Club are to:

gardening and all things related to the natural beauty of the Cayman Islands

in concert with others, to beautify the community

understanding among persons of all races and nationalities who share an interest in gardening

The Garden Club is a registered not-for-profit organization, with members generously donating their time to numerous projects within the community.

These initiatives include work on the gardens at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands; enhancing the grounds of UCCI; landscaping at The Pines Retirement Home, Francis Bodden Girls Home and Bonaventure Boys Home; organizing projects at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park;

InsideOut joins Garden Club

Left: Ora Hollebon, current president of the Garden Club; above: National Gallery gardens where club members

helped with planting.

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Anyone wishing to become a sponsor of the Garden Club of Grand Cayman can do so by emailing gcosprey@gmail.com, tel: 925-5531 or 925-6520. For individuals who wish to join as ordinary members, the fee is $25 per annum.

InsideOut is also a new member of the Cayman Islands Orchid Society, which meets on the second Saturday of every month.

Members enjoy talks and presentations by local orchid experts and guest speakers, and stage the two-day annual Orchid Show jointly with the Botanic Park.

Monthly meetings are held at various venues, including members’ homes, with an annual membership fee of $25 to join the society.

Anybody interested in becoming a member can call society president Helen Hislop on 949-9346 or email orchidsociety.cayman@gmail.com.

Join the club

Orchid Society

and holding a bi-annual flower show.“Our new “Friends” initiative was created to provide

additional resources to take the club’s community involvement to greater heights,” says Ora. “Hopefully, this new relationship with one of Cayman’s premier magazines is an additional opportunity for our talented members to demonstrate their creative efforts and enhance this new initiative to greater success.”

MeetingsThe Garden Club meets on the first Thursday of every month, apart from July and August, usually at a member’s house or garden.

Either a guest speaker gives a talk on a garden-related subject, or a garden tour is held, with refreshments provided.

Gardens