Another hummer

The female Antillean crested humming bird is quite plain looking when compared to the male who wears his crest like a king with his crown.

The eggs were the size of a lizard's egg.

The nest measures about 4cms in diameter with a depth around 3.5cms.

Yesterday I was walking by one of my mango trees when something caught my eye. I stopped and back peddled.  At first glance it looked like  a tree gall and on closer inspection I realized that it was a humming bird's nest with one tiny egg in it.  Hummers always lay two eggs so I looked around and saw a tiny female of the Antillean crested humming bird nearby.  The nest looked a bit different from the others I had seen before. It was so well camouflaged  that it looked like part of the tree.  I figured that she was not finished laying and I left. So today I went out to look for the nest and found the mother hummer sitting on the nest. She flew off as I got closer so I took a peek inside and there was another egg laid. A few years ago I did a post on another humming bird's nest I found in another mango tree. I will keep tabs on this nest and will keep you informed.

Garden blogger's bloom day September 2012

White Debdrobium flanked by busy lizzies add some colour  to this rack.

 Freshly cut ginger lilies welcome visitors to the house.

 Pink Pride of Barbados amongst the golden crinums

 Pink pride of Barbados (caesalpinia pulcherrima)

Plumbago

 Monarchs are back in the garden and this one just entered the world.

The evening sun through the trees.

Hello and welcome to Garden Blogger's blooms day for September. This month has been  hot and on the dryish side with a few scattered showers over the island. My water bill for last month was $123.00 ($62.00USD)  the lowest I have seen for some time. The month before was $530.00 ($265.00 USD). I dread seeing it if it continues to be dry. There is still lots of moisture in the air as I can see heavy dew on the grass in the early morning, that has put a damper on cutting the grass in the morning. September is still an official hurricane month for us and we are still watching systems developing in the Atlantic. I have roof repairs to do and will probably start in another week or so, something I am not looking forward to.

To see more blooming gardens around the globe please go over to Carol at may dreams gardens. Have a great weekend my friends.

Flora and fauna day

The dogs were barking frantically and staring up the mango tree. I went to investigate and spotted this visitor at the top of the tree. I had seen him before on several occasions in that same location. He  would arrive every morning for breakfast. He would eat two mangoes in the tree and take the third one away.

I have tried having a conversation with him but he would only stare at me and continue eating.
 I haven't seen him since the mangoes have all gone and I will surely see him again when the fruit is in season.

 This crinum lily flower was so heavy that it fell to the ground out in the field so I decided to rescue it and put it in a vase. The smell was heavenly it didn't last very long once all the flowers opened.

 Another new flower was ready to open.

 

It opened the very next day and it is still standing.

 

These miniature red leaf crinums at night

In the daylight

Night blooming cereus or epiphyllum oxypetalum. They open around 8.00 pm and close early in the morning around 4.00 am The night air around the patio was filled with its perfume.

They are a one night stand only to die after exhibiting their ethereal beauty. Have a great day my friends.

A Racist Pig

Last month I posted about my roadside update, where I planted some Christmas palms and frangipani pudica along the roadside. A stalking blogger by the name of Antigonum Cajan from Puerto Rico posted a comment that I was a fool to plant the two together. I was very annoyed with him because he would often leave rude comments on my blog. I refused to publish any of his comments and he even had the gall to ask me why. This time he had gone too far. I went to his blog and told him that. This was how it went down 

Him.... "Frangipani and Palms! The organic matter, seeds and fronds from the palms, eventually will decapitate the Plumerias, FOOL!7"

Me..... "you are a bigger asshole to keep posting rude comments that I will never publish"

Him..." Sorry darki the asshole is you. Palms with plumerias? You are a retard, believing you have anything to say/write, while your garden shows your rampant ignorance, doing a diservice to your readers...and making my day...I probably write a post with your photos. Islander fool....with airs.
I set trends beyond my territory...you believe I care if you publish my criticism? Thanks for dropping by!"

So he went ahead and stole my photograph and proceeded to  ridicule me on his blog. I asked him to remove my photo and he didn't. To be honest I didn't care what he posted about me nor my garden BUT just don't use my photos. So I decided to doctor my  photo that he used on his blog.

 Many of you may have seen this and wondered what may have happened to the photo. I had forgotten that the replaced photo would not have been updated in your inbox for those of you who subscribe to my blog.  I apologize  for shocking you and I was recently made aware by another subscriber Kerry. Thank you Kerry.
Well the pest Antigonum continues to make  rude comments on my other blog,  the latest:

 "You were so attractive, wow...I am cured. Eenie minie, minie moe cacth the tigger bi di toes" 

I suspected from the start that he was a SICK individual  and I ignored him BUT now I am convinced HE IS SICK RACIST INDIVIDUAL and I will ignore him. So please if you see this pest lurking and posting messages please ignore him as well.

 Update : Someone just sent me a profile of this Racist description of himself

"I am trapped in Puerto Rico. With many talents, unable to share my skills around horticulture, besides my garden with 120 species with their botanical names, and growing collection. A couple of neighbors interested in horticulture and my humble blog about criticism, pragmatic horticulture, landscaping maintenance practices, and the constant ripp offs, lack of aesthetics worthy of merit."

 

I can see why he is out of work and will continually be out of work.

Garden Blogger's bloom day August 2012

 White duranta repens  with their beautiful golden berries

 Radermachera or tree Jasmine I brought back with me from Florida

 Thunbergia erecta

 Yellow ground orchid

 Pinky looking ground orchid I got from tog of coral gables  a few years ago thank you Jordan!

 Pink pentas waiting to be transplanted

 The gorgeous white mussaenda

I am sooo Happy to see the end of the mango season, my back ached collecting these fellows.

Hello and welcome to Garden blogger's bloom day where gardeners around the globe post what is blooming in their gardens. The mango season has come to an end (phew!) and I am elated! There were mangoes all over the house. My freezer is bursting with bags of the fruit and my husband is complaining that he can't get counter space in the kitchen. I just have one more tub of mangoes to prepare for freezing (my poor hands).  We have been getting frequent short showers  and the garden is now  a verdant and weedy sanctuary. To see what is blooming in other gardens please go over to Carol at may dreams gardens where many gardeners can't wait to show you their gardens. Have a great week my friends.

Roadside update

I planted hibiscus along the road at the front of the property some 12 years ago. They grew nicely for a few years and then began to look scraggly and deteriorate. Mealy bugs attacked them and several times I had to cut them back severely. They looked awful for several years and one day after getting tired of glaring at them every time I passed I decided to something about it.  So in 2009 with the assistance of my garden helper we dug them out!

I had several Christmas palms in pots and several frangipani pudica.

Voila! The results three years later with thirty nine palms and frangipani.

 A  prettier view for all who drive along this road.

Landscape challenge part 2

 As promised I am about to show the back and sides of the property of this landscaping challenge and what it looked like before and after.

This is the front side and since yellow is the favorite colour of the client, I fell in love with these yellow threads (alternathera). I used them as a border to the front of the bed and inserted some ground orchids yellow and purple I then added some blue salvia and thunbergia erecta in the back ground. I planted some fish tail ferns at the side of the front entry to the house.

 The planter at the front entrance contained the air conditioning  unit that I wanted to disguise some what and still make it accessible. Fish tail ferns border the side entry and rice ferns edge the planter front. A foxtail palm was centrally placed to add some height while oxblood heliconias  and walking irises frame both sides of the AC unit. Shrimp plants and some acalypha firestorm fill the area around the palm tree. The lower planter contains bignonia rosea.

 The front entry has some green and yellow alternathera as a border with star jasmine and spiny dracena in the background. The alternathera border extends downwards meeting the walkway border of yellow and white lantana.

 The back of the property was very challenging, it was very windy and very hot with absolutely no shade at all.  Two kidney shaped beds were planted with palm trees and giant roheos.

 Pittorsporums were planted on the perimeter as a privacy fence.

 Golden crinums were planted along the back patio walls with some yellow and green pseudoranthemums, pink tip cordylines tied in with the wooden finishes in the patio.

 Here yellow threads fill the front of the bed of the golden crinums, pink tip cordylines and oxblood heliconias make up the background. The planter at the contains alocasias while a garlic vine snakes up the side of the pergola.

The wind and the sun were brutal in the first few weeks when this garden was installed. Frequent daily watering was essential to get the plants acclimatized and when the rains came they shot up as if they were on steroids.

   The client's favorite colour was yellow and as you can see much of it is repeated around the garden.

 A paver patio area was installed for a Gazebo or pergola  that will be added at a later date.

 Kidney shaped islands planted with palm trees and giant roheos break up the large expanse of grass, while a lime and mango tree were installed nearby.

 Portulaca borders the golden palms while gingers border the pool wall.

Paving stones provide easy walking to the back patio and pool area.

 Yes it was challenging and rewarding creating this garden space, working around water and drain pipes poorly installed near the surface proved very difficult and dictated the types of plants I had to use that would pose little or no danger to them. I will be tweaking some areas from time to time and I will keep updating you as the garden matures. Have a great weekend my friends.