A roadside view

Last year I had my helper  dig up some very old and  bad looking hibiscus shrubs that bordered the perimeter of the property at the front along the roadside. I replaced them with Christmas palms and plumeria pudica.

Today we completed the job and I counted a total of thirty nine Christmas palms  and about  thirty seven plumerias. It will take about  four years (geez sounds too long)  to be fully appreciated providing we get adequate rainfall.

The grass was cut today and more rain is expected so I gave it a lower cut than usual. The dwarf  yellow alamandas were trimmed back earlier this year and boy they are flowering up a storm.

The yellow galphimia glauca aka thryallis (showers of gold) now occupies this space that once housed an old tree stump. I have planted an avocado tree in the middle replacing the stump.

Weedy Wednesday

I was up at 3.00 am and I couldn't get back to sleep. So I started to do some house cleaning. I swept downstairs  and  went  on the computer.  I was back in bed by 4.30am and slept until 6.30 am. I got up and mopped the floors. I made a cup of coffee and around 7.45am I decided to do some weeding. I have been saying that for several days and I couldn't find anymore excuses why I couldn't get it done.

I looked at one of the areas to be weeded  and started with gusto. I pulled on my gloves worked continuously  until 11.45 am. I couldn't ask for better working conditions.  The soil was damp, it was breezy and I was working in the shade of an enormous ficus  tree.

Soon things were looking better,  spaces were appearing where weeds once thrived. 

By and by the weeds were piling up in my cart. More weeds were thrown on the cart and soon it was overflowing. Another weed pile started on the ground behind the cart. I didn't finish it all, there was  a small piece  left that I plan to do the following day.

I was thirsty, so I collected some ripe limes from under the tree and made some limeade.

I took a lunch break and guzzled down three glasses of limeade, it was delicious. Limeade is very easy to make. I squeezed enough limes to get a half cup of juice. I added  eight cups of water and  one and a half cups of sugar. A final garnish of some Angostura bitters and it was finished.  

I tried getting back to the weeding  after lunch but it wasn't the same, so I decided to cut the grass.  I jumped on my mower and got to work. I worked   into the evening and finished around 7.00 pm.  I wondered if it was that cup of cafe I had earlier.......hmmn. 

Bloomsday August 2010

My orchids are slowly making a comeback after being divided and repotted many months ago.

These mesmerizing blue water lilies are quite rare in Europe.

Many are surprised to hear that blue ones exist.

 

Welcome to garden bloggers bloomday where gardeners from all over the globe post what is blooming in their gardens. My garden is sodden from the frequent heavy showers we have been experiencing. For more bloomsday blooms please stroll over to May dreams gardens  to see what is blooming.

potatoes au gratin

Last week we had dinner with a good friend who lives between Canada and Barbados. He is a fantastic cook and had made some potatoes au gratin (potatoes in a sauce and topping) that was to die for.   I hadn't made this dish for some time and had a yearning for it.  My sister in law who now lives in Tortola had mentioned to me that she would like the recipe. So Judith this one's for you!

 You will need

several potatoes peeled and sliced

3 cloves of glarlic

half of cubanelle sweet pepper

a handful of  chopped basil

black /white pepper

salt to taste 
2 tablespoons of butter
1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch
2 cups of low fat milk
1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Cut peeled garlic in half and rub the interior of a shallow  pie or tart dish well.  Then grease the dish using a small amount of butter. In another bowl peel and slice the potatoes, cut up finely the garlic, sweet pepper and basil,  and toss into the potatoes. Sprinkle some salt and some ground black pepper or white pepper to taste. Layer the potatoes in the greased dish and dot with butter.

 
In a medium saucepan, melt about 2 tablespoons of butter and add 11/2 tablespoons  of corn starch. Cook cornstarch and butter for a few minutes on a medium heat. when the mixture is lump free add 2 cups of low fat milk.

  Keep stirring the mixture until it thickens coating the spoon. If the sauce looks too thick add a little more milk, if it is too thin add a small amount of cornstarch dissolved in a little water to the sauce.

Add 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese, remove from the heat stirring constantly until it is lump free. 

Pour cheese sauce over potatoes  and bake in a preheated oven 350 F bake until potatoes are tender and golden at the top.

Bon apetit and enjoy!

Friday's flowers

These night blooming water lilies open around eight o'clock at night and close around eleven o'clock the next morning.

The pink pride of Barbados, I think this is the prettiest of them all.

Pink vervain or porterweed, this is one of the larval food plants of  the buckeye butterfly. This shrub grows 6-8ft tall.

 Malay apple or pommerac, the crop was so sparse this year that I didn't get one to eat.

 Hello folks, it has been some time since I have posted, my sincere apologies to all.  The rains are on schedule and even though it has been raining frequently,  temperatures and humidity  continue to be  high. Still, there is an occasional breeze wafting through every now and then making life a bit more comfortable. Weeds, weeds are everywhere, so this weekend I will be very busy. Friends and  volunteers are welcome, I will feed you, and this is a promise!

 Sunset in Speightstown

 Speightstown's jetty

  Last Sunday,  hubby and I had dinner at a little restaurant in Speightstown called Wave Rider. It was very inexpensive  and the food was fair. However the ambience was cozy with an open vista to the ocean. I will give this place a 6 on the scale of 10. Wishing all gardeners around the globe a happy and peaceful weekend.

Saturday blues

petrea volubilis next to the gazebo was ablaze with blooms last week

thunbergia erecta

after a heavy downpour

I came across this field of ruellias or mexican petunias,  when I was out searching for Monarch caterpillars.

Hello folks, I have been busy,  doing very little around the garden  because it has been too wet. I am not complaining, just a bit perturbed and  alarmed at  the rate the weeds and grass is growing. I did manage to cut some of the grass on Friday just before a heavy downpour.  I still have lots more to do hoping that there will be a dry day or two. Today, I had my garden helper open some dry coconuts (24 of them) for me. I am in the process of making some coconut oil.  I will keep you updated on the results. I had seen the instructions on the island farm blog, so I decided to give it a try. I have been meaning to try this for about 10 years or so. As they say, better late than never!

dinner time

 For a quick dinner  tonight I made a pasta primavera with shrimp.  I used the following, please remember these are approximate quantities

2 cups of sliced broccoli 

2 cups of sliced carrots

3 cups  of cooked pasta (rotini or penne cooked al dente)

1 medium onion sliced and chopped

3-4 cloves of finely chopped  garlic

1 red sweet pepper sliced

3-4 stalks of chopped chives

4 sprigs of thyme

1/2 stalk of chopped celery

2 cups of peeled medium shrimps or substitute diced chicken

 1 can of cream of celery soup

1 soup can of water

pinch of salt and black pepper

3/4 cup of aged grated Parmesan cheese

Sprinkle shrimp with freshly ground black pepper and salt and let sit in the refrigerator in a covered container.  In a large open pan (I used a paella pan), over a medium high setting,  heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil, add onions, celery, garlic, chives and thyme. Stir fry until onions are cooked(translucent) then  add broccoli, carrots and sweet pepper.  Continue stir frying until veggies are partially cooked (about 8-10 minutes ).

 Remove shrimp from refrigerator  and add to the vegetables. Stir fry until shrimps turn pink, reduce heat, then add can of celery soup and a can of water using the soup can. 

Stir until vegetables and shrimp are coated then add cooked  pasta, toss pasta until fully coated, if mixture seems dry add more water, about 1/2 cup.  Finally sprinkle  3/4 cup of  aged grated Parmesan cheese  and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately !

Bon apetit!

Monarch SOS

Recently, I have noticed a decline of monarch butterflies in our garden. The milkweed plants grew and flowered, yet there was no activity on the plants. In prior years, there were always a flutter of monarchs (danaus plexipus) in our garden; then suddenly one day they were all gone! For two years, we waited, and waited, then today I spied a familiar face, gliding and floating lazily from flower to flower. Aha! They were back, at least one was. I screeched (bawled out) with excitement (more like a Chhaaaakk) and I quickly ran to the house to give Chuck the good news.

We later decided to go to a nearby field where we had previously seen many monarchs, to collect a few caterpillars to get the colony going. I was really disappointed with the scarcity of monarch larvae. The field had many of their larval food plants present, yet I spotted one lone monarch. What had happened? Could it be that the heavy and indiscriminate use of pesticides, had finally taken its toll on the population? Or, could it be due to some type of virus? Or had some predator developed an appetite for these bad tasting creatures? After carefully searching under the leaves of their larval host plant, (the giant milkweed) we found about six caterpillars varying in sizes, the largest measuring around 4cms.

We brought them home and they are now happily chomping away on the milkweeds in our garden.

The absence of these creatures is a strong indicator that all is not well in our environment. Without these delightful insects, our food supply will be affected as well as the survival of other important insects in the food chain. These insects are some of the pollinators necessary for food crop and fruit production. I feel a sense of urgency, that unless we do something immediately, we will be in very serious trouble. We have to act now to:

• drastically reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides
• preserve native species of plants that are used for nectar and larval food
  
• to encourage and educate homeowners on how to start butterfly gardens
  
• introduce butterfly gardens into schools where good habits for a healthy environment can be cultivated at an early age

I am presently in the process of planning butterfly gardening workshops here for children and adults.

Kitchen finale

The pantry cupboard panels are made from galvanized steel panels I salvaged from a dumpster. I punched the pattern with a nail and hammer, then gave it an acid wash to strip the finish and sprayed it a copper like colour.

Okay folks, I have finally posted the kitchen photos. Some things have to be tweaked, some to be redone, like the tiles on the back splash. The tiler did such an awful job that I can't live with it. I know that he won't be getting any more work from me nor any recommendations. Apart from that, I am quite pleased with the overall look.