The Exciting World of Heliconias and Gingers

Heliconias have become synonymous with the tropics. They can be found throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America as well as throughout much of the Antipodes area and South East Asia. Did Gauguin include them in his paintings of an Edenic Tahiti? I haven't noticed but most of the species are indigenous to the New World and it's possible that they had not yet made the trek across the Pacific Ocean. I am sure if they were already established, they would be documented in his work. Paul Gauguin is just so heliconia-like.
The beauty of these species (and there a lot of species, maybe 200-300?) lies in the brightly coloured bracts that are mistakenly called the flowers. The actual flower is the tiny little flowers that emerge from the large showy bracts. Because these large, often upright inflorescences hold water and are often very brightly coloured they are a magnet to the avian population. The favour is more than returned as most heliconias are pollinated by hummingbirds and others. Some people will plant heliconias for the attractive, banana leaf foliage that can be very exotic looking.

The picture below is a close up of Heliconia Chartacea or Sexy Red. The seeds are very attractive and are absolutely irresistible to parrots, tanagers and even the wild parakeets that make an appearance several times in the garden.

I like Sexy Red very much because unlike its equally attactive cousin, Sexy Pink, this variety is classified as a "clumping" variety. This means that it stays where it is put and does not walk all over your garden. The bracts are long and spirally and the leaves are quite distinct as they are paddle shaped with a white powder on their underside that looks almost silver in the sun.
This leaf differentiation is important when purchasing plants that are not in bloom. Sexy Pink's leaves are very shredded looking. Attractive in their own way, they are instantly identifiable if you know what you are looking for. Sexy Orange is commonly confused with Sexy Pink but the leaf is larger and not as tattered. The problem with getting a Sexy Orange instead of Sexy Pink is that the orange variety only flowers from maybe June to October and is a much larger plant. Conservatively, it can reach 15 feet easily and it is a major walker.


This is Heliconia orthotricha "She" (Heliconiaceae). I'm not sure who named her but they got it so right. "She" is truly beautiful. Covered in velvet-y white hairs, this heliconia has an unusual texture to touch. Soft and feminine. Her bright pink bracts are edged with lime green. This beauty is just coming into bloom in my garden and "She" is right on schedule as her time is December to July. An erect flower, I am not sure if this puts her in the Bihai bracket. It may.

Classic red ginger or alpinia purpurata. A standard in any Caribbean garden. This photo was taken early in the morning as the sun was coming up.

Beauty

Jen, over at Living Dominica, posted on the beauty of our universe. Both the immensity and the sheer unbelievableness of our (sic) universe should be sobering reminders of our realistic place in the overall scheme of life. Thank you Jen for this.........

Recently, astronauts voted on the top photographs taken by Hubble, in its 16-year journey so far. Remarking in the article from the Daily Mail, reporter Michael Hanlon says the photos "illustrate that our universe is not only deeply strange, but also almost impossibly beautiful."

How lucky we are to have the technology to see what was once only conceivable in the realms of magic and mystery. True magic lies in our ability to look at the face of an unborn child on an ultrasound screen and, simulataneously, watch the images of the infinite universe unfold before us. That is true voodoo.

Our Architectural Vernacular

Where does the nostalgia for these houses come from? I grew up in the 1970s in a standard suburban Caribbean home, so it's not to say that I have childhood memories of this architecture.
Perhaps it is that these remarkable houses are so representative of our diversity. These old houses call to mind slower days, days when each house had to be crafted to catch the dying breezes of the rainy season, channeling them through wooden louvres and demerara windows. The steep gables give an indication of the high ceilings of most interiors, an integral part of keeping the house cool. The much beloved gallery was a place to relax, look out upon the happening of the world and entertain visitors.

Trinidad was a Spanish colony for far longer than many of the other English speaking islands. But being so close to the coveted mainland we were often bypassed in the busy traffic that was hurrying to get the plunder fresh off the Lama trails and across the Atlantic.
What does this have to do with our houses in Trinidad? Quite a bit. Our history was very different to most of the region and by extension, so is our architectural heritage. Never a French colony, yet very French in both custom and style. Many of the gingerbread trimmings such as fretwork bear a strong similarity to period houses out of Louisiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe; a reflection of the influence of the French cocoa planters that came to the then Spanish colony to plant cocoa, develop estates and escape political unrest in the French islands.
A visit to other islands throws up similarities, but Trinidad cannot be pinned down as being primarily Georgian like most British colonies, neither are we classically Spanish like much of the mainland and the Spanish islands such as Puerto Rico.
Strange because we were in fact only colonized by these two countries.
Our national architecture was influenced by many immigrants- East Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, Syrian/Lebanese. and others.
Throw the weather into the mix and things really get interesting. The heavy humidity and rainfall during the long rainy season dictated practical aspects such as long useful verandahs, often adorned with breadfruit fern baskets to provide shade and the beautiful demerara windows that have just begun to make a resurgence. Many of the older houses had lovely fretwork built into the sides of the windows. These windows are ideally suited to the climate and were often found in the kitchens as the served the dual purpose of letting in breeze and providing shade at the same time.
The building below is one of the Magnificent Seven that are found around the Savannah.
Roomor, as it is now known, was once known as "Mr.Ambard"s House".

According to "Searching for SugarMills. An Architectural Guide to the Eastern Caribbean" by Suzanne Gordon and Ann Hersh, the house was built by Lucien. F.Ambard, a prominent cocoa proprietor, after a Parisian chateau of the Second Empire where he had lived with his family. It is sometimes called the "Queen of Architecture". Towers, pinnacles, dormers and cupolas accentuate the roofline and the galleries. The house had Renaissance-style ironwork made in Scotland.
The Queen is a bit down on her luck these days. Privately owned, she is suffering from the ravages of a hot, humid climate, her glory days behind her.

Happy New Year World

Permaculture in Trinidad

I blog to make myself see the world differently.

To look for the beauty in the detail and to turn my face from the rolling-ball negativity that pervades so much of modern life.
Johnny Stollmeyer devotes his time to making the world a more sustainable place.
Why do I want to blog about him?
Because I think of Johnny every time I run across an article or note documenting the discovery of a new species. Just a few weeks ago, I read that a new species of Cobra was discovered in Kenya. The medicinal potential of a discovery like this is profound.
I had the same feeling when I learned that the vine that I love so much, odontadenia macrantha, was showing promise in Ovarian Cancer.
Traditional religion may provide abstract comfort but, increasingly, I feel the need to hold onto to something more tangible. Something practical that will ensure the preservation of our planet.
In this curious season of Advent, I wanted to highlight permaculture because the spirit of rebirth is not far away; it is right below our feet, every day.
For 2008, let's all try and respect it a bit more.
This is my first on-line blog interview so here goes:

Me:
Johnny, where do we start?
How do I begin to describe what you do?

Johnny:
I am a conceptual artist/deep ecologist working on issues of sustainability.
My practice includes painting, sculpture, installation, performance and craft. I run a small cottage industry that produces a line of ecological jewelery using mostly calabash and coconut shell called Turtle Island Children.
I have not been in the studio for the past year as I have been working on introducing Permaculture to T&T. This has meant spending more time in the kitchen garden and planting fruit trees on the land behind my parents house.



Me:
Permaculture is a term that I keep hearing. What does it mean exactly?

Johnny:
PC is a land use, community building movement that started in the 70’s in response to the energy crisis brought on when the US reached peak oil.

The father of PC, Bill Mollison a Tasmanian forester, came up with the concept (along with David Holmgren, one of his students) from experiences gleaned while working with indigenous subsistence forest gardeners.
PC is a set of Ethics and Principles used to design landscapes that produce a continuous yield of food and material for human needs that conserve energy and that have the biodiversity and stability of/and harmonise with natural ecosystems by mimicking them.
It is applicable to all environments, urban, suburban, rural village or hamlet at all scales from individual homes to large farmsteads.

Me:
We seem to be going in the opposite direction so it's reassuring to learn that Permaculture is picking up momentum. Why now in Trinidad?

Johnny:
Peaking oil (the end of cheap energy), climate change (the coming ice age) and the human population explosion.
PC addresses all these issues by:

• Promoting decentralization, shortening supply lines and import substitution to improve local community self reliance and, thereby, reduce global trade.
• Using renewable biological resources that contribute to the cycling of nutrients;
• Creating edible landscapes using locally adapted, open pollinated heirloom annuals, perennial leafy green vegetables and planting food forests that are more resilient in the face of changing weather patterns, restore habitat for wildlife, rebuild topsoil, control flooding and sequester carbon.
• Calling for self directed limits to population and consumption.
  

Me:
How much corporate support are you receiving now?

Johnny:
Atlantic LNG has hired us to design their buffer zone and to plant shade and fruit trees in the recreational area of the relocated residents.

Me:
How can the public find out more about what they can do?

Johnny:
At the moment there are several courses being offered. Recently there was the 2 week intensive, certificate Design Course taught by Peter Bane, editor of the PC Activist.
The next one runs from 4th – 19th Jan. 2008 led by Erle Rahaman-Noronha and myself.
See our website at www.wasamakipermaculture.org
We have also been offering one day introductory seminars to generate interest in the certificate course. T Also we are thinking of offering a certificate course to run over consecutive weekends.

Me:
What has the response been like?

Johnny:
The first course attracted 25 participants. The seminars had good early turnouts (12-15).

Me:
How did you end up doing this?

Johnny:
I am inspired by that part of the back to the land, intentional community movement of the 60’s which has now come together under the term Bioregionalism (life-place).
I was introduced to the Bioregional Movement in 1988 and have attended all the Continental Congresses (-1) since then.

We have been referred to as the “Ghost Dancers” of the environmental movement as many of us embrace native spirituality.

Bioregionalism is about learning to live in balance with the place we call home.
Becoming personally accountable to all the other beings we share our watershed with: trees, birds, rocks, rivers... Re-inhabitation, becoming indigenous, building human community from the neighbourhood up.
The new term is Localisation.
Permaculture is an integral aspect of Bioregionalism.Me: I know there is a relationship between your respect for the land and your expertise in the kitchen. Can you give me two easy recipes for a quick dip to serve with some crix?

Johnny:
I don’t do measurements, but.......

• Black bean dip:
• soak and boil beans till soft,
• fry garlic, onion and ginger in a little coconut oil until they begin to caramelise,
• add beans with freshly chopped shadon bene, chives and fine leaf thyme.
• Add salt, pepper sauce, olive oil and a squeeze of lime to taste,
  
• mash with a potato masher.
  
• Serve with corn chips.

• Choka Melongene/bene butter (tahini) dip:
• burn skin over an open flame, turning until completely charred,
  
• let cool,
• remove skin.
  
• Whisk together with raw garlic, bene butter (Tahini), salt, olive oil and lime juice.
• Garnish with sliced stuffed olives
• serve with multigrain crix.

Thank you Johnny.

NB:
2nd Annual Permaculture Design Course:
Friday 4th - Sunday 6th - tackle climate change, peak oil and escalating
food prices as we build sustainable communities that have the diversity
and resilience of natural ecosystems and generate continuous yields for
human needs. Learn how to create an edible landscape and food forests that
encourage wildlife, conserve energy and trap greenhouse gases at Wa Samaki
Ecosystems, cor. La Cuesa/Freeport Todds Road, Freeport.

Permaculture Principles can be applied to urban, suburban or rural
environments on the scale of households, neighbourhoods, villages or cities
Contact: John @ 624-1341, Erle @ 373-2890 for details:

Christmas

A time of life.
I really do see the face of God in pregnant women.


A true Christmas gift is life that spans across a century.
Both of these women live in close proximity to me and when I wake up tomorrow morning, I will try to think past the glitter and glitz that Christmas has become and find the spirit of life and rebirth that I think the metaphor of Christianity brings to us.

And in mothers who make it to 100 years old.
Merry Christmas World.

First Morning on Turks and Caicos Safari

I love the light so much on these coral islands- it is so different to our jungly, greeny hue. This light is reflected off the aqua water and powdery white sands and throws back a crispness that is quite remarkable.


Pair this with the cobalt of the glasses and the yellow of the orange juice and the palette is perfect.



After our rather lively night at "Da Conch Shack" we were all a bit fragile the next morning. If you are going to do breakfast, aim for the skies- raspberries on cream top the granola, all accented with a sprig of mint. Not impossible to do at home but very satisfying both aesthetically and gastronomically. Wash it all down with a mimosa and you are ready to go again.


Where were we?
On fabulous Grace Bay beach in Turks and Caicos enjoying the hospitality of Nikheel Advani who was the co-chairman of the 1st Annual TCI Gourmet Safari. This young , hip Managing Director of Grace Bay Club was impeccably turned out at 8.00am . There he is in the middle, with Sebastein from Dellis Cay and Dan Dunn, writer.
I am jumping ahead of myself because this was actually breakfast dessert - yes, there is such a thing- strawberries in champagne.


We are waking up slowly- in the background looking quite sleepy is Dan Dunn who is fresh off a book tour promoting his first book "The Imbiber". Life as a spirits writer- no not the medium kind! The kind that cause you to make wild promises and bond indiscriminately with the nearest warm body. My husband is already devouring it and I have heard the laugh out loud moments. Dan is a funny guy with a LOT of stamina.
This day ended at 2.00am or thereabouts and I was the one to finally put him to sleep on the bus by trying to explain the history of the Caribbean using my palm for geographic references. Poor man, he was no match.

Turks and Caicos

I will post later. I'm in Turks and Caicos on a Food Safari. Let's see if the pictures tell 1,000 words.