Gardening with Georgia

Garden stories can arise from a single plant or a profusion of them, from a spectacular bird or glorious butterfly that visits a worthy bloom, or a new discovery made in the field that expands our understanding of the Earth. Any and all of these realms are for sharing and discussing on this blog, which we invite you to join.

Georgia is currently traveling in the South Pacific and India. Her most recent blogs are written from location and we hope you enjoy her observations on this exciting area of the world.

Text and photos by Georgia Tasker

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Late winter

Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 08:46:17 AM

     

Late winter      

Begonia petals are peeking
out from their buds.

Rhizomatous begonias are sending up flower spikes, a late winter phenomenon that always is welcome. These are plants that have stems on the ground or just beneath the mulch that produce leaves and flowers on top and roots beneath. There are many fine cultivars on the market suitable for landscape use, and their care is fairly easy. They like bright shade, even some early morning sun, moist soil and controlled-release fertilizer. As Tim Anderson of Palm Hammock Orchid Estate used to tell me, begonias like a lot of water a little at a time.

And while the winter has been warm, it’s best to refrain from

New fern fronds are
unfolding.

fertilizing until mid or late February. I know, new leaves are appearing amid the cold damage. But there’s another dip in temperatures forecast for next week.  Cold damage was slow to appear in my yard this year, but cold did more harm that I initially believed.  Lots of aroids have brown edges, but they are remaining upright, so I have left them to provide photosynthesis for the new leaves.

My amaryllis have been flowering for a couple of weeks, the dendrobiums have buds and the bat plant has two seedpods,

Amaryllis.

no doubt from self-pollination. Mangos are just beginning to push out flower spikes.

Over the weekend, I noticed that some staghorn ferns in our trees had begun to wilt from the lack of rain. Platycerium bifurcatum, the staghorn most often seen here, is usually pretty tough, but the lack of rain has been tougher.

Fairchild’s conservatory has been overhauled, and looks perfectly stunning these days. Should you stroll through and wonder where the Cyrtostachys renda or sealing wax palm has gone, look up. It’s still in its place on the south side of the pond, just a lot taller.

           


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A botanist in Chile

Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 04:47:54 PM

Auracaria aruacana in its Chilean habitat.

Dr. Scott Zona’s presentation, A Botanical Tour of Chile, mesmerized the Tropical Fern and Exotic Plant Society Monday night – not only because of the botanical knowledge imparted but also the fabulous photos (four of which he graciously allowed me to use here).

Scott, a former palm specialist at FTBG, is curator of the Wertheim Conservatory at Florida International University. He traveled to Chile with fellow botanists Dr. John Tobe of Tallahassee and Drs. John and Soejatmi Dransfield. John Dransfield is another palm expert who retired from the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew.

Calceolaria crenatiflora.

Scott said they spent two weeks touring and botanizing in the temperate and central part of Chile, where the flora grows in mid-California-like conditions. With the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Andes Mountains on the other, the plants have been isolated for a long time, he said, and he added 10 to12 new families of plants to his life list.

 Some of the wild relatives of houseplants showed up, such as  Alstroemeria  pulchra var. maxima. Alstroemerias are bulbs. You’ve seen them sold in this country as cut flowers called Peruvian lilies. Another northern

Cruckshanksia
hymenodon.

houseplant relative, Calceolaria crenatiflora, with its cute pouch-like lip, is endemic to Chile. What seemed to be a mini Mussaenda turned out to be Cruckshanksia hymenodon, with colorful wide sepals and small yellow flowers.

            While lots of red and orange tubular plants seemed perfect candidates for hummingbird pollinators, Scott said he saw only one hummer on the trip.          

Jubaea chilensis.

What thrilled him? Seeing his favorite palm, Jubaea chilensis, with trunks four to five feet across and enormous crowns of pinnate fronds. The sap is used to make a kind of honey in Chile.

Another heart-stopper: the auracarias. Auracaria aruacana was “spectacular” he said, and a huge millenary  Auracaria with a burned-out trunk was thought to be 2,000 years old.

Scott’s photostream on Flickr is not only full of gorgeous images but the plants are correctly named!


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Let the chocolate begin

Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 01:00:35 PM

Samples everywhere.

A perfect winter morning got the chocolate festival off to a beautiful start Friday. Chocolatiers in the Garden House had such tempting samples on display that few could resist.

Millie with her cake.

But the food vendors had some scrumptous offerings, too. Millie, the M of M&L Carib Conchs, made a chocolate cake that seemed to epitomize the event.

However, there also were vegan chocolates, teas and spices and kettle corn to sample.

Oncidium Sharry Baby smelled as wonderfully of chocolate as the real thing.

Black sapote offering.

At the fruit pavilion, the cacao tree's chocolate pods were high up but impressive, while outside you could sample the exotic flavors of canistel and black sapote.

And should you find yourself full to the brim with chocolate and in need of a short break to refresh your taste buds, wander into the Conservatory, where the Amherstia nobilis, the Pride of Burma, is flowering. It is a lovely sight, one that is not that often seen in our part of the world.

Amherstia nobilis.

 

 

 

 

 


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Beautiful weather for the garden

Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 07:05:50 AM

Long-John, Triplaris cumingiana,is in its glory right now on the

Triplaris cumingiana.

west side of the Bailey Palm Glade. The tree’s red (female) flowers are on long racemes, and against a brilliant blue winter sky, they are spectacular. Hailing from Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia, this flowering tree shows off every winter. The stems are hollow and inhabited by stinging ants when in their natural setting, so the tree is sometimes referred to as the ant tree. This slender, tall tree may reach 80 feet or more, and may flower later in the year in Central America, from February to about April.

Long-tailed Skipper

When coming to see the Triplaris, wander over to the butterfly garden. It’s a good time to see Julias and skippers such as the Long-tailed, with its iridescent blue-green body, Horace’s duskywing and the Twin-Spot.

It's the perfect time of year to visit the garden and spend a leisurely hour watching butterflies.

 

 


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Interior design

Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 11:49:14 AM

Dioon edule seed pod.

Walking past the cycad circle recently I noticed that the end of a Dioon edule seed pod had fallen away, revealing a perfectly packaged interior. It reminded me of the exquisite symmetry of mahogany seed pods, which I love to find just barely opened so I can admire the design. See what you think.

Mahogany seed pod.

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Seeing anew

Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 06:04:17 PM

After many weeks away, it’s wonderful to be back among good friends.

Mt. Everest, second from right.

The last posting on this blog was from Bhutan. From there, we journeyed to Nepal. It was a rather brief visit because of a cancelled flight, but we managed to view Mt. Everest from a small plane and then wander through the country’s 210-acre national botanical garden on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Our guide said none of his clients had ever asked to see that garden before, and he quite enjoyed it as well.

This week, I’ve been strolling through Fairchild with a fresh appreciation of the glorious horticulture.  I’m finding new clumps of Sobralia sessilis orchids along the allee, bright hybrid Spathoglottis orchids in the tropical fruit pavilion, and butterflies galore. A great American egret posed just beyond the Visitors Center one

Chinese hat plant attracts
hummingbirds.

afternoon, and hummingbirds are patrolling the area around the Chinese hat plant, Holmskioldia sanguinea, near the butterfly garden. If you sit for a few moments on the bench next to the information kiosk, you’ll hear the hummers clicking before they swoop in for a quick nectar fix. Monday, a ruby throat spent several minutes resting, clicking and tasting the air while perched on a leafless oak twig just above the kiosk.

Powderpuff also pulls in the
hummingbirds.

Plants that are reliable magnets for hummingbirds also include firebush, Hamelia patens, and red powderpuff, Calliandra haematocephala.  The winter-flowering Chinese hat plant, firebush and the powderpuff are super easy to grow. All of these plants are for full sun, and seldom require extra irrigation. I give them a modest amount of 8-2-12 palm fertilizer a couple of times a year. My hat plant needs a hard pruning other year or it tends to insinuate itself into the trees on the other side of the fence. The firebush can be shaped into either a shrub or a small tree. My powderpuff is in a tight space, so I lightly nip back the branches from time to time. It’s a great winter gesture to provide for hummingbirds, and with these three plants in the right location, you may even be able to observe them enjoying your hospitality from a window.

 

 

 


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The Himalayas

Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 09:19:03 AM

A summit on climate change in the Himalaya is emphasizing food security, energy and water security as well as biodiversity here in Thimphu, Bhutan's capitol. Representatives from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan are working on a 10-year plan that will hopefully mitigate dramatic changes now affecting them. 

Glacial lakes are forming rapidly, and threaten to burst at any time as glaciers melt rapidly. In 2008, a major river here flooded, causing severe infrastructure damage in Paro, including a bridge that has yet to be replaced. 

This morning, however, we finally reached a mountain pass that gave us a view of the Himalaya. We also visited a Bhutan National Botanic Garden, which has all 46 species of rhododendron collected and labeled. A lycopodium has fertile fronds sprouting profusely next to the wild strawberries that line the trails. The park is huge, and serves as a wildlife corridor connecting vast protected areas. 

By the way, a forestry employee gave me the latest percentage of  forest cover in this country: 80.8 percent.


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The Tiny Kingdom of Bhutan

Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 09:05:40 AM

We have come to the tiny landlocked kingdom of Bhutan, with a total population of 700,000, after spending three weeks in the world's second most populous nation. The country's single airport is here in Paro, pop. 10,000. What a refreshing change. 

It is the land of the thunder dragon, where the Dzong is both monastery and city administration center, where larch and spruce and pines reach through the clouds at  13,000 feet, but so do the prayer flags. The national tree is a cypress and the national flower is the blue poppy. 

Temples are as numerous here as stupas in Burma, and the stupas here are square, not round. Men do not spend weeks or months as monks, but years, the first of which is spent reciting mantras memorized from Sanskrit. Oddly, the young men do not know the meanings of the mantras until they go on for more Buddhist education.  

We visited a 7th Century temple where nuns, lay people and a lama chanted beautiful Buddhist songs in a special ceremony held for 21 straight days once every year. Two men played horns, as bells were rung and holy water was given out--poured into one palm of each person and held until a particular prayer was completed. Then the herb-laced water was tasted and quickly applied to the hair. It was a lovely and solemn ceremony. 

Traditional architecture was begun in the 7th Century and most houses are square with three stories. Once the first floor housed cattle; the second was for storage and the third was for living. Today, it is forbidden to bring cattle into the house for sanitary reasons. Wheat and other grains are stored on the third floor, which is open on all sides, and the family lives on the second floor. Every home has a small temple, complete with a Buddha and altar. Seven bowls of water are placed on the altar every morning as an offering, and emptied every evening. 

Here in Paro, red rice has been harvested for the winter, and some threshing continues. Often, families help each other with this chore in a cooperative effort. Wheat, cabbage, radishes and broccoli are the winter crops that soon will be planted. Old stems from the rice are stacked for the cattle. 

Chilis drying on a roof.

 

Chili-cheese is the national dish, made from fiery hot peppers that are dried on the shed tops. Rice and butter tea are traditionally eaten for breakfast, and we tasted the tea which is made with tea leaves, salt and cow or yak butter. We also sipped the local liquor called ara, which can be made from wheat or another grain. It tastes like saki. The longer it is kept, the stronger it becomes. 

While we saw the famous Tiger's Nest monastery, we opted to drive over a 13,000-foot pass instead. The hike to reach it takes 3 hours and the last leg involves 600 steps down then 600 steps up. Afterwards, you have to return by the same route. There are 94 steps up to this room, and that's quite enough.    


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Palace Flowers

Sun, Nov 13, 2011 at 02:17:22 PM

In central India, the Mogul influence is seen in all the palaces and forts of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur, as well as the the Taj Mahal in Agraand Akbar's magnificent tomb there. What I have loved most about these splendidly decorated places is the flower motif found again and again. 

At first, I tried to identify them. Lilies and lotus are pretty easy, and I managed to see a daffodil-like flower, but it turns out that most are imaginative interpretations by Persian-influenced artists. 

Here are some that I hope you like.

A  Borassus palm carving.
Carved marble flowers.
Grapes and vines in
Akbar's tomb.
Semi-precious stones create
flowers in marble.
Even the elephants have flowers.

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Tea Time and a Botanic Garden

Sat, Nov 12, 2011 at 10:58:30 AM

Darjeeling,India--Tea gardens climb the hills beneath trees with delicate bipinnate leaves. Leaves gently fall among the tea plants acting as fertilizer while the trees provide just the right amount of shade for the shrubs that can live 50 years. 

Women are the tea workers, wearing cloth bags that quickly fill with leaves. These are hung from their heads, while their index and middle fingers are bound with strips of rags to protect them. This is the autumn or third and last picking of the year, and these leaves will yield the strongest tea. The first flush of spring leaves is picked in March and April when leaves are young and without  the byproducts of photosynthesis. Such tender leaves are dried in the air and produce delicate white or green tea. June-July leaves are oven dried for a few moments for luscious teas. Final flush leaves are oven dried the longest.  

The British settled Darjeeling in the 1870s, finding the 7,000-foot altitude a respite from summer heat. They built a fairy story hotel in1875, which remains charming. They also built a reservoir for a population of 10,000 that today ill serves the 300,000 people who crowd the houses clinging to the steep hillsides. Streets, too, remain one-lane and traffic is a nightmare.  

However, the 40-acre Lloyd Botanic Garden is intact, and has three contemporary additions that bespeak a nature-minded staff: a medicinal garden, where signs spell out not only plant names but their uses; an evolution garden tracing the development of ferns, conifers and flowering plants, and a students’ garden. 

Glass houses protect familiar tropical plants as well as temperate flowers, and an orchid house brims with Cymbidiums, Dendrobiums and Paphiopedilum species. An Alpine garden planted among rocks is sighing its last before going dormant.

 

Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, discovered in China in 1941 after being known only as a fossil, made its way here in 1948. Other trees that have reached enormous proportions include Ficus hookeri, Cedrus libani and Acer campbellii. 

Alas, the morning we arose at three to view the sunrise reflected on the Himalaya, the fog obscured everything but the sun and the full moon.


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