Inside Vives Verde, Oaxaca's Private Cactus Garden
This stunning Oaxacan cactus garden has been cultivated for over 30 years.
“You should visit the cactus garden!” Penny said to us.
Andrea’s mom, Purva, was visiting us from Montana and we knew before she arrived that one of the things she was most looking forward to was being amongst the greenery of Oaxaca. Montana is a ruggedly gorgeous state but it suffers from long, brutal winters, and Purva’s house had been buried for months under deep blankets of snow. She was ready not just for her first ever visit to Mexico (and her first time seeing our house in person), but also for a some time in a warmer climate.
Our planned itinerary was accordingly verdant. We planned to bring Purva to the local viveros so that she could see how incredible (and inexpensive) the plants are here and we debated taking her on a tour of the famed botanical garden in the Centro neighborhood of Oaxaca de Juárez. But regardless of a preset itinerary we knew we’d likely spend a good amount of time outside, as long as the heat would allow it.
Our house doesn’t disappoint guests. The swaying palm trees and sturdy cacti are bewitching for a great many people, ourselves included. The ferns growing in the shady spots make you want to pause, just for a moment, in the cool, light-speckled gloom. But Purva was so taken with how alive our house is she noticed things I hadn’t even been aware of. She was the one who said, “oh, I smell jasmine” days before the arch of greenery near our front door suddenly erupted with hundreds of fragrant blossoms. She was also the person to identify that the reason our lavender plants are so dry is because the ceramic tiles of our patio have been radiating heat upward into the base of the plants.
Part of the fun of coming to Oaxaca is having new experiences and our house, while lovely, offers limited thrills. It was clear Penny’s suggestion was a good one and it would also take us to a place Andrea and I hadn’t yet visited. We set off early one morning, hoping to beat the worst of the day’s heat.
The cactus garden, named Vives Verde, is in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, a colonia (neighborhood) of Oaxaca city. There’s nothing in Xoxo which would indicate that somewhere amongst the quite typical concrete homes and businesses lies a sprawling complex stuffed with cacti of every shape and size you could imagine. There don’t seem to be any advertisement for it or any road signs telling you how to reach the garden. Really the only way you’d ever find it is either completely by accident, or if you already knew it was there.
It was the architect, Francisco Martinez, who saw us pull up in our car and came and let us in. Admission is 100 pesos per person, which at the current exchange rate is around $6. When Francisco opened the steel doors separating the inside from the street we were stunned.
The variety of cacti growing at Vives Verde is extraordinary, and later during our trip Francisco approached me and said he’d been cultivating them for over 30 years. The garden also features a few areas with water plants.
Vives Verde is also absolutely festooned with art. Small sculptures of insects made from wire and beads are placed on and around cacti all across the garden. There’s also a large collection of sculpture ranging from at least 20 feet tall to just a few inches long. When I mentioned to Francisco that I liked one piece in particular he said, “everything here is for sale,” a statement which immediately made Andrea say, “NO, not this year.” The piece I loved, a hanging bird cage with a small bird inside of it and a larger one standing triumphantly on top, would be around 5000 pesos, or $300ish dollars. While we didn’t come home with it Francisco said, “let me give you my number,” and we exchanged information while Andrea rolled her eyes from where she was sitting on a bench in the shade.
Vives Verde is stunning in both its complexity and its design, and the art was incredible. But what I think enhances the experience is that it’s so unexpected. This beautiful, curated walled complex lies effectively hidden in a neighborhood that, as far as I can tell, is otherwise fairly typical. As has been shown to us so many times, Oaxaca has a huge amount to offer those willing to explore even just a little bit outside of the typical tourist zones.
