Beset by complications following an operation, Dinah Veeris decided to heal herself by learning the medicinal traditions of the Caribbean. She traveled extensively studying with healers and then returned to Curacao where, in the kunuku (desert like) countryside of the island not far from Willemstad, she created Den Paradera, a botanical and historical garden filled with curative herbs.

"My heart goes into all my work, because I have felt pain and can feel my customer's pain," says Veeris, an elegant woman who dresses in long flowing gowns and matching turbans. "What I offer is the living strength, which comes from plants that were created by God to heal us."

Whether one believes in Veeris's philosophy or not, a tour of her award-winning gardens is worth the time just for its sheer beauty. Each garden area is filled with plants designated to cure medical woes. Kalbas di mondi aids those suffering from a cold, while anamu is a treatment for asthma. There are also imaginative garden accents—a bathtub painted blue brimming with orchids, birdhouses and brightly painted stones forming fences and Caribbean tableaus that tell the story of the area's rural history.

At the end of the garden is a little shop selling healing herbs and medicinal liqueurs such as sorrel, djamu and karawara wines. Veeris also uses her garden's harvest to make herbal tea, fruit juices, perfumes and herbal potpourri.

"These plants tell the story of our culture," says Veeris. "My mission is to elevate the knowledge of herbal remedies. I want people to know and understand that the knowledge of our slave elders was not stupid—they knew a lot."

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