Tropical Garden Home Page Click Here

Acanthus See The "B" Page BEAR'S BREACH

**Adenium See The "D" Page DESERT ROSE

African Tulip Tree Spathodea campanulata

**Agapanthus, Blue Lily of the Nile Agapanthus africanus or Agapanthus praecox
Agapanthus is another of our old favorite flowers. In Mexico they are available in the flower markets for a few months every year and a dozen stems of this purple or white flowering bulb (tuber) costs under five US dollars. We bought bulbs in the Taxco flower market last year and planted them when we got back to Montserrat. In the photo to the left you can see them getting started.
From: Southern Africa
Planting and growth: Each tuber will provide a plant about twenty inches tall and about twenty inches wide so don't underestimate its need for space. Plant them in full sun or a semi shady area for best results and give them a rich moist soil.
Link: http://www.somethingforthegarden.co.uk/agapanthus.htm
Text Copyrighted © KO 2008

**Agave (1) Agave or Agave Palmeri
We have these icy green leaved variety of agaves growing in our Montserrat garden, understandable since the plant is native to tropical America. Our Montserrat agave is very different from the one we have in Mexico; the surface of its leaves is papery and rough while the Mexican variety is hard and smooth.
Benefits: It is said that juice squeezed from the leaves of an agave will treat dandruff.

Text & Photos Copyrighted © KO 2007

**Agave (2) Agave angustifolia Marginata
This is the wonderful plant that graces the front of our house, mixed in with a variety of cactus and succulents.

Agave (3) Agave attenuata
This is a stunning plant. We brought seeds from a friend's farm in the central highlands of Mexico, but have not yet gotten them planted.
Planting and Care: As with most agaves, this one prefers a gritty well drained soil and all the sun you can provide.
Text Copyrighted © KO 2008

**Alfalfa Medicago sativa
A perennial native to Europe, alfalfa is used primarily as animal feed. However, we have developed a special fondness for alfalfa sprouts. We almost always have seeds growing in jars on the kitchen counter.
Text Copyrighted © KO 2007

Almond Tree, Tropical Almond Tree Terminalia catappa
Text Copyrighted © KO 2008

 **Aloe Aloe vera (L.)
We have two varieties, one that loves the heat and lives happily in Montserrat in very dry and sunny areas. This aloe we’ve planted in our cactus and succulent garden (see the photo to the left). The other, more sensitive plant probably from a more northern climate, lives where it receives lots of rain and not so much sun.
Benefits:
1. We use the leaves from both varieties of aloe as a soothing treatment for burns, but also as a terrific natural skin lotion. It does wonders for any type of skin problem, wrinkles included! Slice a leaf lengthwise, clean off the sharp edges and apply directly to the skin.
2. Though long known for its skin soothing qualities, aloe can also be used as an internal curative, providing relief from constipation and neutralizing an irritated bladder. Peel the leaves completely, eating only the inner pulp. Aloe pulp is extremely bitter and unappealing. Plan to mix it in a blender with other fresh fruit once you have peeled it and removed enough of the skin to get rid of the yellow slimy liquid.
3. Mixing pulp from the peeled leaves with water and salt makes a drink that is said to prevent and treat cancer.
4. At the very least it will have a beneficial effect on an upset stomach. If you have a bleeding ulcer, try this. Take two tablespoons of the pulp one hour after each meal and another dose at bedtime. You should see results in five to ten days.
5. Aloe leaves peeled and heated on a flat surfaced pan on the stove top can be applied to any muscle wound as a poultice. Salt the heated aloe, lay it on the affected area and wrap it. The salt will cause the aloe’s juice to penetrate the skin and bring its healing qualities to the wound. (A cure from Lester in Montserrat.)
Text & Photos Copyrighted © KO 2004

**Amaryllis Hippeastrum equestre or Hippeastrum puniceum
This plant pictured on the left is less showy than the cultivated US or Mexican potted varieties. It is no less attractive growing in our Montserrat garden, blooming lightly in February and March, but spectacularly in May. It is also a long-lasting cut flower.
Our personal favorite in the potted varieties is the Hippeastrum "Apple Blossom" which seems almost unreal when it has 6 to 8 blossoms open at the same time. We have these and other normally potted amaryllis now growing in our garden.
From: South America
To See More Varieties of Amaryllis Click the Photo!
Text & Photo Copyrighted © KO 2008

**Angel’s Trumpet Tree Brugmansia arborea (white) or Brugmansia hybrid (peach)
This year we brought pieces of the branches of a friend's brugmansia with us to Montserrat. We planted them and not long afterward were rewarded with leafy stems. We will plant one of them below our deck so we can enjoy the flowers everyday. The other, we will keep in a pot in a safe place away from possible ash damage from the volcano. Both the flowers and leaves of this exotically beautiful tree are highly poisonous, though parts of the plant are said to become an asthma remedy when smoked. Its many large flowers hang like decorative bells all over the tree which grows to about 15 feet.

In the summer of 2007, we had a wonderful visit to a very small Mexican town called Tenerillas where an American friend has bought property and is planning to build a home for his family. He has a field of flowers that are coveted in Washington, D.C., but which he considers close to weeds -- white freesias. Orchids decorate the ground and flowers seem almost like what I normally think of as weeds. They are everywhere and they are beautiful.

High in this mountainous and sparsely populated area we drove on mud roads seemingly a lifetime away from the colonial silver capital of the area, Taxco. We met an aunt of a wife of our friend and visited her chaotically planted acre or so. The following week she brought tubers and corms to the market spot were she sells her flowers each Saturday. I planted all that she gave me and am waiting to see what comes of these now beautifully different green leaved plants.
From: It came originally from Central America.
Planting and Growth: When happy angel's trumpets grow like weeds and are covered with blossoms. Unfortunately they have proved to be difficult to keep that way. The plants are subject to leaf curl disease and vulnerable to a number of insects and to a variety of caterpillars. We have used a soap spray to eliminate the insects, we've handpicked the caterpillars and we've waited out the leaf curl problem. Still the plants looked scraggly and had no blossoms until we discovered their voracious need for fertilizer. They are perking up nicely now that they are fertilized twice a month with a heavy dose of nitrogen along with a more balanced dose of regular fertilizer.
Text and photos copyrighted © KO 2008
To see more Angels Trumpet Tree photos click here!

**Anthurium Anthurium dominicense Schott

**Ants See The "W" Page WILDLIFE, Insects

**Aralia, Dinner Plate Aralia, Balfour Aralia Polyscias balfouriana or Aralia balfouriana
This is a peculiar upright plant with with rounded bicolor frilly leaves. At first I thought it unattractive, but as it came as a gift I had little choice but to plant it. A few years later it has won me over.
Planting and Care: Ours is doing well in semi shade with very bright light. With an occasional dose of fertilizer it seems to do well with little other care.
Text and Photographs Copyrighted © Krika.com 2008

**Areca See The "P" Page PALMS -- Bamboo Palm

**Arrowhead Vine Syngonium podophyllum
This is a very tenacious vine with about six inch arrow shaped leaves as its name implies. It is often used as an easy to care for house plant in northern climates, but here in the Caribbean it is a noxious plant and very hard to get rid of.
From: Mexico and Central America
Text copyrighted © KO 2008

Artichoke Vegetable Cynara scolymus
We think artichokes, along with asparagus, are the beluga caviar of the plant world. We have one plant of many that we planted in small pots that still survives and we are crossing our fingers. It seems a very difficult plant to get started, although it is sometimes seen as an "invasive" plant once it does. Go figure!
This small artichoke was gone when we returned to Montserrat having been away from April 15 to August 15. A local fellow described these few months, not as a drought (as I had thought), but as "a barbecue," too hot and too dry!
Description: Adult plants will be four feet tall and six to eight feet wide.
Where and how to plant: Artichokes are native to a Mediterranean environment; in the Caribbean they grow best in partial shade with moist soil and a daily misting of the leaves. We have found the plants extremely hard to start and keep growing, but recently we found this advice. Soak the seeds eight hours in water and then put in a jar of sand in the fridge for two weeks before planting in small pots or directly in the garden. We're going to try this and let you know how it works.
Once planted, artichokes like to be cared for with regular watering and generous additions of compost and manure each growing season. They like a slightly acid soil around 6.0. Once you have them growing well, each year replace a few of your plants with side roots from one of the healthiest plants you have. This way you will ensure production for your family, usually 4 plants for every two artichoke lovers.
Variety for the Caribbean: "Texas Hill" If it will grow in the Texas heat, it should grow here where daytime temperatures never reach those in Texas, but where the sun is extremely hot.
Pests: aphids, snails, slugs and gophers where there are gophers.
Text Copyrighted © KO 2007

Asparagus Vegetable
We planted the Martha Washington variety and had six inch plants when feral (or wild) chickens arrived and dug them up as they looked for bugs to eat. We are going to give asparagus another try realizing that the tough part is getting them started and giving them a dry period to simulate the northern winter. We’ll have to refrain from watering them during dry season. Asparagus normally like full sun, but here in Montserrat we'll plant them in a semi-shady area.
Benefits: Along with spinach and broccoli, asparagus is high in vitamin K which can neutralize anticoagulants. These vegetables promote blood clotting.
Text Copyrighted © KO 2007

**Asparagus Fern See The "F" Page FERNS

**Avocado Tree, Pear Persea americana

Depending on the variety, it can be a relatively small tree growing only to about thirty feet or a large tree at sixty feet with a breadth about half as wide. Growing one from a seed in my Boston based Beacon Hill apartment was not difficult. Once the seed had a root and a few leaves, I transferred it to a large pot with good soil and stuck it in a sunny window. It was thriving when I finished college and passed it along to a younger student.

Here in Montserrat we have bought and planted four avocado trees, all of which died soon after. We then took a seed as in the picture to the right and when it had a few more leaves we planted that. A few days later the two foot stem was lying on the ground and there was a hole where the large seed had been planted. An agouti, a Caribbean vegetarian rodent, had eaten his fill and gone on his way.Not long ago, we rescued a three foot avocado tree growing in a six inch black plastic bag in full sun at the Montserrat Department of Agriculture -- very sad. It has now been planted in a semi shady area and given a dose of urea. Its leaves have already turned a wonderful green and the little tree seems to be on its way.
Benefits:
1. Ounce for ounce, avocados contain 60% more potassium than bananas.
2. Its mono-saturated fat has been shown to lower blood cholesterol.
3. Apart from giving us its delicious fruit, its leaves steeped as a tea may help to help reduce high blood pressure.
4. As a skin moisturizer a ripe avocado is hard to beat. Mash the fruit of a peeled avocado and spread it generously all over yourself. Wait about fifteen or twenty minutes and rinse off in the shower.
From: The avocado is native to the jungle forests of Central America or to Mexico.
Fruit: Avocados normally flower sometime between January and March with its fruit maturing from August to September. Oddly enough it usually bears heavily one year and lightly the next.
Planting and Care: Plant your avocado in the garden in a hole about 18 " deep and wide using good non-acidic soil in an area that also has good drainage. Then stake it, give it some shade and protect it from strong winds. Be careful not to over water as that seems to be the worst thing you can do with an avocado. It should begin bearing in three to four years if it is a grafted tree. If not you will have to wait up to twenty years for the first fruit. When fertilizing remember that avocados favor the use of potassium and phosphorous, but use everything with a very light touch as this is a jungle tree.
Link: http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/avocado.html
Text & Photographs Copyrighted © Krika.com 2008

Back One Page

Top Of Page

Next Page