Butterflies and Buddhas

Thses photos were taken by my friend Jeannine Storey who is a very talented graphic artist. She designs the Gardening In Trinidad calendar every year and is the daughter of Joanne de Gannes, one of the Trinidad and Tobago's top landscape artists. My zinnias were a bit hit with the butterflies and seeing this makes me so glad that I have tried to cut out all spraying of insecticides. Butterflies are lovely but they are, of course, preceded by caterpillars. It is impossible to have one without the other. As children we were always surrounded by butterflies but they are becoming more and more rare. This is my new trellis - and this is my shade area where I grow gingers and calatheas. I tried everything as a border plant on these stairs but nothing would grow until I tried this long-leaved calathea which solved the problem.
A section in the front area of my garden This orange Datura does not last very long but is quite spectacular when it is in flower. This bed is filled with acalyphas, begonias, pachystachys, hibiscus and coleus.
This is a new bed and it is at the entrance to my garden. Once again because of heavy shade, I ma pretty much locked into calatheas for foliage patterning. A miniature ixora is doing well here and I have planted a pomegranate behind my buddha.

Thank you Jeannine.