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St Croix. I'm here for a food festival which has been wonderful. So much to blog! Tomorrow...

My first lotus

 It's been a little over a year since I've posted on the blog. But the garden is now up and running. This is my first lotus bloom. It is a double and is very dramatic. I can now see it from my kitchen.

The copper is full of duck weed which has to be skimmed frequently, water lettuce, and water lilies. About three quarter of the copper is full of dirt (natural compost from under my mango tree on the hill). Initially we had tried with no soil and the ecosystem did not support the plants or the fish. But the medium is fine now.

 My red-stemmed palms are coming along nicely as well.

 This is my second set of tomatoes. This sturdy plant grew up wild.

 The butterfly vine below is perfect for this spot. It is just small enough to be manageable but large enough to have impact. The beauty lies not just in the little yellow flowers but also in the butterfly-shaped pods that start yellow and gradually turn brown on the vine.

It's good to be back and stretching my blogging muscles.