Dry times and blue skies

the imortelle also known as the scarlet coral tree (erythrina lysistemon) with its striking scarlet blooms

All my Mango trees are in full bloom as a result of the dry spell, they would normally bloom around April/May. I hope that they will set fruit.

parched and cracking ground

toads trying to find some shade in the cracked earth

"RAIN RAIN come down and wash the whole of Bridgetown" we would sing as children playing with our friends. This is one time we would welcome such a thing. Yep things are dry......the ground is cracking making it difficult to traverse across some parts of the garden. And only blue skies are insight. I get very irritated when I hear visitors say that they don't want it to rain when they are on holiday. I would interject that we need the rain and without it we cannot eat, bathe and there will be no gardens to visit. So I am all smiles when I see the rain. For me it is eau de vie!

Clerodendron madness

My clerodendron quadriloculare is in full bloom at this time. Even though we are now going through a severe drought they have still mustered up enough energy to bloom. I am hoping that the gods send some rain soon or else we will be in a very serious and dangerous drought. Farmers are losing their crops and many of my plants have died.

An Open Garden .....The Finale

this is my idea of paradise

this was la piece de la resistance!

I have never seen a cannon ball tree with so much ammunition!

The house was designed to allow the cooling Caribbean breeze to blow freely throughout and is beautifully framed by flowering and colourful foliage shrubs.

Mr Ole Dam- Mikkelsen


Oh what a paradise this garden has been, with so many species of plants from around the world. This garden has given me inspiration to keep on going and dreaming that one day I can create a beautiful area like this. Remember folks, this type of garden doesn't happen overnight. It is many many years of hard work, twenty five years to be exact and tons of patience. My hats off to the owner Mr Ole Dam-Mikkelsen known as Ole (Olay) to many, who hails from Denmark and is from a long line of Danish pig farmers.

An Open Garden part 4

Some of these orchids were growing on what were piles of waste wood and coconuts within a strong wire enclosure. This is a great way to recycle old wood and coconuts and has inspired me to adopt this method for growing orchids.

An Open Garden part 3

red chinaman's hat

am not too sure of the name of this shrub, could it be some sort of justica?

Jathropha a plant I strongly dislike because of its propensity for bugs

bougainvilleas

This Frangipani from Tanzania blooms are quite larger than the normal ones found on the islands

The stunning colour display of flowering shrubs and plants left me breathless. This garden was at its peak even though the dry season was in full swing.

An Open Garden part 2

In my previous post on this magnificent garden, I promised to post more photos. So here they are. Many of the above orchids were on sale. I was also very impressed with the layout of the garden. The under tree plantings were very creative and colourful. I was in awe of how cleverly the ground covers were used, and this has given me many ideas for my garden. The owner has a dug well for watering his garden so he can water everyday and doesn't have the huge public water bill to deal with . Since it is dry season I will be looking at drought tolerant plants. To be continued........

An Open Garden part 1

Today I visited an open garden in the parish of St. Peter organized by our local horticultural society. It is an amazing garden owned by an expat Dane who has lived on the island for many years. I vote it the most beautiful garden on the island. It covers an area of about four acres with a variety of trees, plants and orchids from around the world. The orchids are to die for! The layout is excellent, utilizing the large trees and group plantings of palms very well. This garden is every gardener's dream garden. I will be posting more, so stay tuned.

Another bloomin' Friday

pink Starburst clerodendron with the blue duranta repens

the Jamaica rain tree is raining with these tiny yellow blooms

yellow cassia

pink angelonia

my favorite rose a floribunda of some sort.

Welcome to my first blooming Friday for the year. It is still very dry however many plants that love the dry are now coming into bloom. Many of the others that have bloomed in wetter conditions are on their way out. I am on an emotional weather see saw. Every time I see a dark cloud my hopes accelerate upwards and then quickly plummet if it were just a teaser. For more blooming Friday, why not take a skip jump or a hop over to Katerina at roses and stuff?