Random things that make me happy

Mama hummingbird in her nest. This was late in the evening and I was trying not to use my flash. Hmmm......kind of arty I guess. To put her into scale- the nest cannot be bigger than 2.5 inches.
This is with the zoom lens and a flash- She was a bit annoyed but never moved- I loved the way she tucks herself into the nest, almost like a folding doll- there are two little white eggs on their way to a new life.

This is at my sister-in-law's house. I liked everything about this scene. She has a different variety of cocoa growing in her garden. Her pods are smaller and smoother than my own and her tree is more rambling.

A late evening glimpse of the garden with the copper to the side. This copper does not have water in it- I believe it is called the "sugar loaf" variety because of the high sides.

Landscaping course at UWI

I have had these pictures up for most of the week but am only just getting around to posting about them. This was our class visit to Wendy Lee Yuen's farm. I had done the first part of this landscaping course about 6 weeks ago and have beenputting all the info to good use. This is the advanced segment- here we are getting a handle (literally) on the rototiller, a fab machine that mixes and digs your beds. I have added one to my wish list- it makes light works of many of the hard, heavy, time consuming work that is the sweat and blood (or blisters) of landcaping work. This little machine can plough up a bed in no time flat, mix your soil and nicely incorporate all the composted cuttings.

A new variety of acalypha. I was not familiar with this one. I love acalyphas because they offer such a range of colours and textures in the garden. Their downfall is that they are irresistible bait for batchacs and they tend to get wooly scale and other sucking aphids. And the occasional fungus. My were out of commission for almost a year with a particularly nasty fungus and I did not want to spray. I eventually did treat and they all bounced right back.

Our lesson in topiary. I truly had no idea that ficus were so malleable. Apparently they catch very easily from piece, grow well and varieties such as mini-monique and others make it vereasy to make your own topiaries. I was reminded just a bit of Edward Scissorhands.


He makes it look so easy!
Here Adanna from Tracmac shows us the dreaded Cuban thrip and the resulting damage on a ficus leaf.

This is one unhappy plant. And this is why I'm so glad that I am doing this course, In the old days, my rationale would have been that the plant hated me and died based on this strong emotional aversion. Now I have learnt to recognize the problem and help save the plant's life. And that's what makes gardening fun. Nasty infestation of wooly scales, Or white blight as we all know it.

I saw a lot of these Jack Spaniards. They must do a lot of pollinating. Which is why I still try to stay away from insecticides. I hate the thought of poisoning that whole food chain. At the moment, I have a terrible case of cinch bug on my lawn. But I am determined to wait it out. I can't bear to kill the birds that come down to eat the bugs. And as someone pointed out to me, the insecticides affest the bats as well. I need my bats to keep my insect population down so I'm taking my chances and waiting it out.
But if you do have to spray, this is how you should do it. We got a full demonstration as Adanna from Tracmac brought all the kit out to show us- fancy disposable suit, gloves, proper respirator- not dust mask- and really important tip- wash your gloved hands before removing gear after spraying. And of course, the obvious, always spray with your back to the wind. Chemicals are scary things- and they are designed to kill- often on a cellular level- so treat them with great care.

Dendrobium Moschatum

This is what greeted me when I arrived home after a weekend away. Yaaaaayy! It's the first real blooming of one of my deciduous dendrobiums. All this means is that all their leaves fall off and then the canes send forth these fabulous flowers. I picked up this plant years ago in Arima thinking that it was the more common "Dendrobium superbum" which flowers a strongly scented purple flower. This flower is quite different because of its lip or "slipper" pouch.
Isn't it gorgeous?
http://www.orchidspecies.com/denmoschatum.htm has lots of information on it including the fact that is is indigenous to the area around the Himalayas, Nepal, Vietnam and Burma. Visit the site for more information on this amazing plant which grows to be very large.

Evening glory

The sight of the sun setting on the South American mainland never fails to amaze me. The mountains in the background are not Trinidad, but Venezuela. Less than seven miles away. It's surprising that there is not more movement between the two countries but language barriers persist.
There are several small islands that hug the northern peninsula of Trinidad and each of these islands has a distinct history. Our family has an island home on Monos.
This pirogue (local name for these solid fishing boats) was bustling on its way when we passed each other.

Just off the tip of Gasparee, one of the largest of these off shore islands, we were lucky to see the wild dolphins that are so common in our waters.

This was a particularly big pod and they frolicked (they really do frolic, because that's not a word I use lightly) around for a long time. They love to run with the bow of the boat so all the children hang over the edge to watch these magnificent creatures criss cross as they run alongside and under the boat. They often travel in pairs and sometimes we are lucky enough to see a baby. I don't presume the benevolence of dolphins because they are wild animals and interact according to the rules of their pack. I will never underestimate their intelligence but see no reason to impose my Hollywood "Flipper" assumptions on them.

Little miracles

The beauty in most things lies in the details. Every day, your garden will reward. These little orchids are related to the indigenous "virgin" orchid. They belong to the dendrobium family.
One of my favorite plants- the Iron Cross Rex Begonia. It is well known for its striking foliage but I had never seen it flower. The flower is surprisingly colourful. Which means that this plants takes itself very seriously- it packs a good wallop in visual stimulation- usually with strong foliage, the flower tends to be insignificant. The rich rusty colours perfectly complement the greens and browns of the leaves.

This photo is a bit washed out but it gives an idea of how the flower emerges from the plant.
The miniature pineapple. The tuft on top is actually a new plant and if treated right, will become a strong healthy specimen that will produce its own pineapple.

Fairchild Again

I have posted on some of these before but thought that I would revisit this day. I had shot the descriptions and thought that I would post them.
If you have any reservations about large lizards, I would approach Fairchild with extreme caution- I have never seen so many iguanas. What I find amazing is that they don't eat everything in sight. But according to the information below, this is changing as "our" Caribbean iguana invades. I know what they mean - here in Trinidad, iguanas eat all young shoots, flowers and just about everything else that moves. I love seeing them in the wild but cannot say that I would be happy to meet one of them in the house- I have seen one snap his tail at my dogs with impressive results. Still it is sad to see them caught and trussed up for sale at the side of the road- they are considered a delicacy by many people and the taste has been compared to chicken. I have stopped and bargained to buy them so that I can release them into my garden. Why I do not know as they repay my generosity by eating my orchids. But c'est la vie, I just like seeing them hanging around.
This is the more civilized American iguana. The Caribbean variety are not as large or as orange.

I love this colour combination.
Bromeliad.

Good Night

Green Thumb Sunday
The garden tucks itself in by gently folding petals into the centre. The hibiscus in particular beds down with an air of relief. Anything to escape the May heat and to welcome the cool night air.
This last yellow is reluctant to go to bed, Not so this double red. He should perk up again by tomorrow morning.
No, this is not a hibiscus. It is a curly lily. I have never seen one like it before and I picked it up at the horticultural market and this is the second blooming of the year. As I write this, the frogs are bellowing from the copper and the cicadas have been screaming for rain all evening. For those that think I may be using purple prose here, this is not hyperbole. There is an incredible racket outside tonight. I love the sounds of our night.
Another more common lily that is locally referred to as an "Easter lily".

Another sleepy one. This is one of my new ones and is a recent import from Miami. I have never seen this particular colour locally. It is a true orange with no hint of red or coral in it.

The flowers of a miniature ixora. The little flowers are exquisite as they open. Each little one perfect in its symmetry.
Good night. Good night frogs, cicadas, crickets. Protect us from the batchacs as we sleep.

The Heart of Things

This is a new hibiscus that is really lovely. I don't know the name of it but it is a red double with splashes of yellow. Thank you Wendy Lee Yuen, who sold it to me. It was in bud when I brought it home so I was waiting with bated breath for the flower to open. And ta-da. I am thrilled. I don't have tremendous experience with hibiscus because the mealy-bug epidemic wiped out most on the island. The hybrids were especially hard hit so I am pleased to see that they are making a come back. This is my common orange that I grew from a piece taken from a bush in Brasso Seco (Northern Trinidad mountain range).
The brave new world. The stamen from my large, single pink.
New growth on my staghorn fern. The network of veins illuminated by the rising sun really struck me. So much life-veins and capillaries rushing to carry precious nutrients for growth. Just like us.

This is a croton. No it's not brightly coloured but it is, nevertheless, a croton. Albeit a ridiculously slow growing one. And the shot below is an example of a grumbling calladium. He is beginning to burn because the sun has changed direction and he's getting too hot. If I can keep him hydrated and relatively happy, this too shall pass but I must be careful not to ignore his signs of distress.


On the other hand, this is about as happy as a calladium gets. She is in a basket under the mango tree. She's cool, has good drainage and filtered light. It doesn't get much better for a calladium.