The ethnographic garden
This estate is one of the most beautiful rural settings in the municipality of La Orotava. Seventeen thousand square metres given over to an ethnographic park and leisure, replanted one seedling at a time over three decades. What you see today, the tajinaste in bloom, the palm-tree tunnel, the hydrangeas along the stone wall, was not here in 1996.
How it began
Thirty years ago this land was dry and most of it had no shade. We started by planting the almond trees, then the Canary Island pines, then the fruit trees. The small vineyard came later.
The tajinaste and the agapanthus arrived in waves, one year the tajinaste, another year the blue agapanthus, another the hydrangeas along the stone wall. Every plant had its place. The estate looks after itself now; we only prune and water it when it needs it.
The traditional Canarian wine press, the hay barn and the threshing floor were already here when we arrived. They are heritage features that belong to the estate. The hay barn is listed by the Cabildo and is being restored; the wine press still keeps its sandstone-brick vault, the barrels and the bottles; the threshing floor guards the old threshing cart beneath the almond tree.
* Working draft, pending final nuances from the owner before sign-off.
Inside the garden
What the estate has kept
This is not a museum open to the public. These are features that belong to the estate and that you explore during your stay, among the fruit trees and the agapanthus. Step into each one to learn what it was and how it worked.
Sandstone vault · beam press
The traditional wine press still keeps its century-old vault of sandstone brick, the wooden barrels and the bottles stacked in an arch. Outside, the old beam press rests beneath its roof.
It no longer makes wine: it is a heritage feature that lives within the garden and can be explored during your stay.
Dry stone + thatched roof · listed
Built of dry volcanic stone, with its green door and a thatched roof. The Cabildo of Tenerife has it listed as an ethnographic heritage site.
These months the roof is being rebuilt piece by piece, with the same materials it was first raised with.
Where the grain was threshed
A ring of open lawn between walls of volcanic stone and Canary Island pines. On this ground the harvest grain was once threshed.
The wheel of the old cart still leans nearby, beneath the great almond tree that gives its name to one of the houses.
Stone basins · running water
The original basins still standing, with their spouts over the stone. Here the laundry was washed by hand before water reached the houses.
They are part of the garden walk, beside the large clay water jars.
A trough from a single log
A trough carved from a single hollowed-out log, resting against the stone wall with a couple of clay jars beside it.
One of the humblest features on the estate, and one of the loveliest to look at.
The hand pump over the well
A cast-iron lever pump, mounted over the old well and surrounded by clay water jars.
It was worked by hand, up and down, to raise the water that watered the vegetable garden.
Boules and the shade of pines
A court carved out among Canary Island pines, with firm earth underfoot and shade that settles in by the late afternoon.
One of the corners Jose shows to guests who stay more than a couple of nights.
Featured flora
Red tajinaste
Echium wildpretii
Endemic to the Canary Islands, a spike up to 3 m tall that flowers in spring.
Blue agapanthus
Agapanthus africanus
Spherical heads of deep blue in late spring and summer.
Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla
Pink and blue along the stone wall at the entrance.
Canary Island pine
Pinus canariensis
Endemic to the Canary Islands. Needles in bundles of three, fire-resistant.
Banana plant
Musa × paradisiaca
The quintessential farming landscape of northern Tenerife.
Almond tree
Prunus dulcis
White-and-pink blossom between January and February. The threshing floor sits beneath one.
Dragon tree
Dracaena draco
Symbol of the Orotava Valley and of the Canary archipelago.
Small vineyard
Vitis vinifera
For the family's own use, not commercial.
During your stay
The garden explores itself. There are no opening hours, no guided routes, no tickets. Each house opens directly onto the estate, and the path between the pool and the houses winds through the garden's corners.
If you are interested in the history, Jose will show you the seven ethnographic features and tell you how Montserrat replanted each area. If you would rather not see anyone, you won't see anyone, the houses are 50 m apart, set among woodland and fruit trees.
It is one of those places where calm comes of its own accord. You are in the middle of nature, with some of the best hikes in Las Cañadas and Mount Teide a stone's throw away.
There are three independent houses, 50 m apart — La Era, El Castaño and Casa Azul. They share only the pool; everything else is yours.