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The herbalists came to townIn September, we had a visit from the Herb Society of Australia and New Zealand, as part of a tour organised by Ericka Stean, of the WA Herb Society. They had a fairly tight timetable, so were only able to stay for an hour or so, unfortunately, but the thirty visitors had time to walk through our flower farm, inspecting our veggie patch and fruit trees on the way past. Continue reading
Costa Rican gardensPart of my trip to Central and South America a few weeks ago involved a quick trip to Costa Rica. We (a group who were attending the Heliconia Society International conference, being held in Panama) were to visit the OTS Wilson Botanic Garden, which was established some fifty years ago on a small piece of land in the extreme south of Costa Rica, close to the Panamanian border. Continue reading
Grand Cayman’s QEII Botanic ParkA few days ago I was on Grand Cayman Island, on my way to Panama for the Heliconia Society International Conference and my daughter took me to visit this garden. It is just beautiful, a credit to the Caymanese. It has been established for many years, and is also a refuge for the native blue iguana. Continue reading
Tropical hedgesIn the tropics, hedges are a bit difficult. However in these days of closely built suburban developments, a sound and sight screen is often desirable. There are not a lot of plants Continue reading
Propagating Crinum bulbilsWhat on earth are Crinum bulbils you say – well they are the strange lumpy things that form on the flower heads after the flowers are finished. They are Continue reading
How to germinate Heliconia seedTo follow up on my last blog about growing heliconias and gingers from rhizomes, I thought we should talk about Heliconia seed. Heliconias set seed relatively freely Continue reading
Dividing Heliconia and gingersSince we are getting to the end of the Wet season here in the tropics, the next few weeks is about the last chance for dividing up heliconias and ginger rhizomes. Continue reading
Things you find on the flower farmA few months ago, my husband was winding his way through the ginger patch – not an easy task, since it is about 40 x 60 metres of tangled torch ginger canes, Continue reading