By Heidi Trautmann

There is a place on the island of Cyprus, many people won’t miss it for the world to visit,  a hidden garden, where you will meet the heralds of spring, cyclamen, anemones, tulips and more,  all at once and you may begin to wonder if any are left over to cover the rest of the island.

We have been visiting Hikmet’s Wonderland, as I call it, for many years, it is a place that suggests how our world could be, with so many varieties of plants growing next to each other, sometimes intertwined, peacefully, sharing the same soil and the same sun.

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Hikmet Uluçam, the father of cacti, artist and photographer, spends a lot of time with caring for the many different trees, his unbelievable collection of cacti, and the cultivation of Cypriot spring flowers; he sees after the kindergarten of young plants, repots them when grown. Part of the potted ones he offers for sale.

This year he also put his own collection of artworks on display in his art gallery, early artworks of friends and colleagues, the older generation mostly, and at so many paintings, I cried out, look, Emin Cizenel’s drawing of his young years, even a watercolour by Çevdet Çağdaş, Kemal Ankaç, Vivian Guthrie, Nilgün Güney….and many more.  Unbelievable!

Nature and art, what a satisfying combination….

The garden will be open until March 31, daily from 10:00 – 17:00 except Monday and Tuesday.. See the plan on the poster.