They are back

Last year October 26 2009,  the Orion butterfly appeared in my garden. Today they are back! The Orion (historis odius) is the largest butterfly in the Caribbean area, a strong and high flier, they are found between Florida, Mexico  and the Caribbean as far as Belize and South America. They feed on rotting fruit and their larval food is the Cecropia tree. I have documented the life cycle of this butterfly  here .
Wishing all gardeners around the globe a wonderful and fruitful weekend.

A country in mourning

It is soo refreshing when the grass is freshly mowed. It will only last a week but I am enjoying it while it lasts.

The pagoda flower just brightens up this bed.

The drought had almost killed off this breadfruit leaf fern aka wart fern.

It is taking its time to get started but will spread quickly if the rains continue.

    Last year we removed all the rotting woodwork at the main entrance to the house.We decided to replace it with concrete. We will complete the overhead pergola in treated pine hopefully before year end.

The cobblestone walk was properly laid in a bed of mortar, the base was reinforced with concrete and steel to last a very long time. 

 

Late Prime Minister The Hon David Thompson QC MP, 1961 - 2010

  My country is mourning the death of our Prime Minister, The right Honourable David John Howard Thompson. He succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 48. He passed away in the early hours Saturday morning. He is survived by his wife Mara, and his three daughters. My sincere condolences to his family. May they have the strength to endure this trying time. 

P.S. many thanks to those of you who responded to my SOS and  for your suggestions on where to find more online storage space.

GBBD October 2010

Epiphyllum oxypetalum, a night blooming cereus, this plant was given to me by my mother Miss Rose two years ago. It bloomed for the first time a few months ago and last week. It opened around 9.00 pm at night and had closed sometime in the early morning.

 

Lipstick pink ixora along my back wall garden

white dendrobium orchids, photo taken at dawn and during the day.

   Garlic vine

pink mussaenda

The rose of Sharon starts off the day white, this picture was taken around 6.15 am in the morning.

It turns a deep pink in the evening, this photo was taken around 5.00 pm. It's a pity that the flower only lasts a day.

Hello folks and welcome to Garden Blogger Blooms day where gardeners all over the globe post what is blooming in their gardens. This was the brilliant idea of Carol from maydreams gardens. To see more of what is blooming around the world please take a skip hop and a jump over to her blog. Have a great weekend!

Hunte's garden finale

 mythical creatures carefully positioned amongst plantings

Amazing Bee hive ginger

 Cozy seating areas in the gully

 Oh to be forever lost in this sanctuary!

 Colocasia  esculenta  aka "black taro" giving an indication of how hot the weather had been.

 

We have come to the finale of this visit to Hunte's Gardens.  I hope that this garden has inspired you go on to create your own sanctuary in your garden. Have a wonderful weekend folks.

Hunte's garden part 2

 It was pure "botanical luxury"  described by Sunita a blogger friend, as I meandered through this haven.

 Under the canopy of Cabbage palms many varieties of ferns, palms and alocaias thrive. These cabbage palms are some of the original inhabitants of this gully. 

 The copper leaf (Chrysothemis pulchella) has been used in this mixed border. 

 These cabbage palms reaching for the light, some I reckon to be over 70ft in height.

 The micro climate in this garden is ideally suited to many plants, they are bigger and  look a lot healthier than those in other parts of the island. 

PS....I have been having problems with blogger, many of my posted photos have disappeared. I will try to upload them again.


                                            To be continued......