My Very Old Orchid

This was my mother's favorite orchid. The actual plant was passed down from my great grandmother's second husband, a man called Pedro Centeno. While we don't have an exact date, it must be close to 70 years old. Mother (my great grandmother), as we knew her, had lost her first husband to typhoid in 1910. She was under 30 with six children, my grandmother Dora, the youngest just 10 months old.When I'm having a bad day, I think of her.
I come from a family of women. They gardened, they cooked and they talked. This is the first year that I won't be ringing Mummy to boast that the Shower of Gold as we know it, has outdone itself and offered up some five to six sprays. I hope she can see her favorite flower in bloom from heaven. All these women still live in me. And the orchid is still here blooming every year.
For all the orchid afficianados, I've included an excerpt from the site http://www.exoticrainforest.com/ that I've linked to below.

Dendrobium lindleyi Steud.Synonym: Dendrobium aggregatum
Often known as Dendrobium aggregatum, which is now considered to be a synonym of Dendrobium lindleyi, this species is a native of Indochina, the Himalayas, Burma, and the Malaysian peninsula. Capable of producing relatively large sprays of up to one dozen flowers, the small pseudobulbs measure approximately 5cm (2 inches) long. Typically, Dendrobium lindleyi blooms in the spring producing orange-yellow flowers measuring approximately 3.5cm (1.5 inches) in width. The flowers produce a very light scent and are suspended from an inflorescence that hangs like a pendent to the side of the orchid. Some growers choose to grow the epiphytic species on slabs of cork but they can also be potted or grown in wooden baskets. If placed in a pot the potting media is best if it consists of a fibrous material such as sphagnum moss. Dendrobium lindleyi prefers large amounts of water in summer along with warm temperatures (70 to 90 degrees F) and moderately bright light. Water frequently with a dilute fertilizer added to the water. The species prefers cool nights with temperatures down to the low 50 degree F range during the winter along with just enough water to keep the pseudobulbs plump. Some growers do not recommend fertilizer during the winter.


This Easter lily has just popped up as well. That is how I know that we are well into the dry season. They are always a lovely surprise when they pop up like this.

Another sign that dry season is in full form is the blooming of the pink poui. All the tree around the Savannah are in full flower and the roads, pavements and savannah grass is all covered in a carpet of pink. I believe the pink poui is the National Flower of Venezuela which would make sense as Venezuela is only seven miles away from us.
I think the sheer beauty of this flower does more for the psyche of the average Trinidadian than any marketing or peace summit meeting. If everyone had a poui tree in their yard, that amount of beauty could not fail to have a soul soothing effect. And responding to some primal clock, all trees thoughout the island begin their show at the same time. The things nature could teach us.
Thank you poui for gracing our landscape. Below is some information on the geneology of the plant: Thank you http://mgonline.com/pinktab.html

Zone 10
Pink Tabebuia is native from Mexico to Venezuela. It may be seen called Pink Poui-Rosea or just Pink Trumpet Tree
Larger than the Yellow Tabebuia, it is rated widely from 20-50 feeTabebuia Most mature trees we see locally are about 30-35 feet. Tabebuia Young Pinks grow like the Yellow but then fill out taller and wider
This Tabebuia is one over 100 species with blooms starting near the first day of spring in South Florida. Its clusters of pink trumpet flowers are very attractive

The Landmarks that Caught my Eye

It took us a day or two to realize that this lovely building that was outside of our 12th floor room was the famous Carnegie Hall. I caught the sun glinting off the windows in an unusual pattern.

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street.
Built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1890, it is one of the most famous venues in the United States for classical music and popular music, renowned for its beauty, history and acoustics. Carnegie Hall has its own artistic programming, development, and marketing departments and presents about 100 performances each season; it is also rented out to performing groups. It has no resident company, although the New York Philharmonic was officially resident there until 1962. To continue article click on text.

There is something incredibly peaceful about snow covered cemeteries. This pretty church did not suffer as much as a broken pane of glass on the dreadful day in September 2001. What did take the brunt was the ancient Sycamore tree that was felled by the debris. The sense of peace in this church will provide comfort to anyone visiting this site. It is literally across the road.

This was about as close as I could face getting to Ground Zero. Instead of looking closer, I spent more time in the chruch opposite to this fateful site. I quote from the sign in the churchyard.....

Built in 1766, St. Paul's, an Episcopal Chapel has witnessed the unfolding history of New York City and the nation. In the wake of September 11th, an extraordinary volunteer ministry emerged at the Chapel. It brought together thousands of people of every nationality, race and religion to provide care and solace to the recovery workers at Ground Zero. This new ministry became a symbol of the power of faith and the resilience of the human spirit. Today, St. Paul's continues to provide a sanctuary for people from all faiths and backgrounds who seek hope and healing.

New York the Wonderful

Here we are in the Big Apple. We were such tourists. It truly is a remarkable city just for sheer size and human density. Manhattan is actually very small and is home to some 1.3 (?) million but a whole lot more people pass through. Rockefeller Center was excellent to see because in my head it is the centre of the world. Goes to show the power of media.
Greek gyros on the street. Did we ever have any? Of course not, we were looking for the fancy places. There was so much choice it was ridiculous. Next time I suspect we'll be eating a whole lot more pretzels and gyros. Not such a bad diet if you think about it.
Votives lit in the church opposite World Trade Centre site.
The view of the building outside of our room. The sun was just coming up and hitting the front of the building and turning one side gold and one side silver. The snow just beginning to melt.
We did a lot of this. A lot.

The buildings are beautiful. And each one seems to say, "that's it..I've been here for a long time, I've seen them all come and go. So go your way, live your life, I'll still be here". Humbling, really. I took pictures of lots of churchs- this is St Malachy's and I quote straight from Wikipedia.....In 1920 the Theatre District moved into the area, and actors, dancers, musicians became prominent members. An Actors' Chapel was constructed below the main church in 1920. St. Malachy's became famous as a haven of worship for the entertainment community.

This church has seen notable ceremonies such as the marriage of Douglas Fairbanks to Joan Crawford (for our generation- the actress from Mommy Dearest fame) and Walter O'Malley's marriage to Katherine Elizabeth Hanson, and Rudolph Valentino's funeral.
The Neon Blue Electric Fountain in Rockefeller Center is new and very impressive. It was recently created by Tim Noble and Sue Webster. It is, like everything else in Manhattan, real but not real. I was overwhelmed by the power of image and illusion in this city Everything is digitally projected and coming from an island images like a neon water fountain struck an odd chord.

Below is an extract of a recent New York Times article on the project.
The two, the London artists Tim Noble, 42, and Sue Webster, 40, seemed even more excited than the crowd as they watched two years of work and a decade-long dream finally take shape. “The piece is really about danger,” Ms. Webster warned impishly. “Everyone knows you shouldn’t mix electricity with water.”
Yet the water will be only a simulation. Turned on each day from 6 a.m. to midnight through April 4, the fountain’s blue neon tubing and LED lights will create the illusion of cascading water.

To read the entire article clink on the text above.

Rain in the Dry Season

When it rains in the dry season, it's as if the flowers themselves open to welcome the drops. This morning's early shower was just enough to wash the dust off the blooming orchids and freshen the air. My vandas are really in form this year. But I am ever alert for the batchacs who I know are in the shadows biding their time! This red vanda is particularly attractive to the iguanas and I have seen a baby patiently crawl his way to the top to take a munch. Yes, I could have stopped him but he worked so hard and he was so pretty. I haven't seen any around in a few weeks.
My new Datura. It is a different colour to our regular peach and white ones. This variety is distinctly orange. The smell of Datura is truly intoxicating; a strange mix of ginger and jasmine. It is highly hallucinogenic and in fact, can be poisonous. I didn't allow it in my garden for years. But now that Hayley is older, I've introduced it again.

This alocasia is growing in a basket and has done very well in this environment. I believe that it is Alocasia Frydek but will check this information. Over at Dave's Garden there is an excellent post on how to tell the difference between the alocasias, colocasias and xanthosoma which all fall loosely under the "Elephant Ears" umbrella. I have started growing my more higly srung begonias in hanging baskets as well as I find the combination of being off the ground and being able to drain properly has helped with my problem of fungus and root rot with the begonias.

Hello New York

It's all about relativity. I fly out for a week in New York city tomorrow morning and I am so excited that I am going to see snow for the first time in almost two decades. It goes to show that different is exotic. We are beautiful at this time of year but sometimes you have to have a city break to appreciate living on an island
My house is very quiet tonight as Hayley and Shoobie have been farmed out for the week and the cats are oblivious to the suitcases.

Who knew begonias had it in them?

I have several layers in my garden. The one that gets the most attention is my main level. Yet it is the lower end of the garden that always explodes in a riot of colour. This year is had been particularly pretty because I introduced pink begonias to the mix. They now flank the sides of the stairs that lead down to this level. The mix of bougainvillaea and begonias is the colouful front and the terrace is given height by heliconias and musa bananas.
Ever curious. What ARE you doing down there? The pink begonias are also lightly scented in the morning but strangely not at night. This is the front of my garden. I am a big believer in using mundo grass to hold my beds. I find without a good border, I lose all my soil in the rainy season. I also like the effect that it provides. This bed is difficult to handle as it receives blasts of blistering sun or full shade depending on the time of year. Again my begonias have done really well here. My grass on the other hand, is just beginning to grow after not receiving sun for the better part of six months.

Hello babies! Yes this is my brand new crop of cocoa seedlings grown from my mother tree. I also managed to germinated a batch of roucou or annatto but could not get them past the seedling stage. My congo or scotch bonnet peppers are also just coming in and I want to try and combine these with the more highly flavoured piri piri ones and make a Chutney pepper sauce.

Back in the Garden

It's been too long. For some reason, I went dry. But Carnival and Christmas are behind us and it has finally stopped raining and my garden is so beautiful tonight in the almost full moon that it is breaking my heart. These are shots from this afternoon as the sun was going down. My vandas have finally been given a reprieve from the deadly batchacs. I know it is but a temporary cease fire but I am enjoying the the white flag moment.
The very centre of this vanda is almost like a face.
Twins in the centre of the bougainvillaea

White Begonia or bread and cheese A brand new shampoo ginger. My very first flower.
Vanda back lit.
This is the first bloom of this orchid which I believe is a cattleya. It is delicately scented and if other years are anything to go by, it should bloom until about October. But it is never as fresh and pretty as it is on the first day.

Boissierre House Campaign

We can pressure the government to purchase this building but would the property then go the way of Milles Fleurs which is now a tragic eyesore. If the Prime Minister can mobilize the resources to do the level of construction that we see around us daily, surely resources can be directed to Milles Fleurs. And has anyone really looked at what is going on with Stollmeyer's Castle? And this is owned by the Government.
My understanding is that once the list is passed- even Government becomes accountable for their preservation. I believe a lot of ground work has been done, it is just to push it to the next stage. There is much dialogue about how many buildings the Goverment can actually purchase and turn into house museums. I think part of the solution may be looking to the private sector as they certainly have the funds- and try and force the administration's hand at giving them large tax incentives and others rewards for maintaining and preserving. Like so many others things, I'm not sure we can trust the public sector with such highly valuable heritage. But by making protection law, even the public sector will have to answer to a higher authority.
101 Tragarete Rd has just been preserved up to a very high standard at great cost- with no Government endorsement or acknowledgement. Resoration is expensive work.
The fire is hot, so to speak, right now. As there is so much attention on the issue now- let's see if we can rally support with clear requests directed to the Government.
I'd love to hear comments.
In speaking to the Heritage Council, the problem seems to be that this is the first list and the legal documentation is being created. Once this goes through, it should be fairly easy to get future buildings added.
This is an old article from the archives of the Guardian supplied by Judy Raymond that throws light on the current situation.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2006-08-13/bussguardian6.html