A Caribbean Garden

Favourite weeds

2009-11-28T05:20:00.000-08:00

Living on a dry island where soil is largely nonexistent-the ground in most parts being either sand or limestone, I am always on the lookout for attractive “weeds” on the roadsides.

Chinese violet (Asystasia gangetica)

There are two main advantages of growing “weeds” here:

One, if a plant looks good growing on the roadside without supplemental water or soil it’s likely to grow in the garden. Two-these plants are free! For instance, I planted this agave sisalina and Cephalocereus millspaughii years ago when I was between jobs, and had no money to spend on plants. Today these are among the most dramatic plants and bird magnets in my garden .

I just adore this agave-it is most likely Agave beauleriana Jacobi. It quite resembles A. franzosini This is another "weed" you couldn't give away if you tried.

I plucked this one out of a friend's yard when it was a small pup, I was attracted to the perfect symmetry-I believe it is the all green version of agave augustifolia

As for the first pic-that is Antigonon leptopus - Coral Vine on the roadside. Such a pretty vine that I have never seen in anyone's garden in the Caribbean-but now growing in mine.

On another note, Nan Ondra-I am a big fan of her blog and books-kindly sent me the news that my blog was listed in Horticulture Magazine's Top 20 Garden Blogs!

Thanks, folks!

Dahlia Delight

2009-11-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

I saw these stunning dahlias at a florists in San Francisco in July.

I recently sowed some seeds of dahlia “Bishop’s children” This dahlia is a descendant of Bishop of Llandaff's dahlia-here’s a photo below from Wikipedia. I have never grown dahlias before but I remember when I was a child my father grew this huge purple dahlia from a tuber and pretty pompom dahlias from seeds.

Willow seedpod sculpture

2009-11-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

Check out these willow seedpods sculpture at Paradis Express, one of my favourite blogs.

Blooms Day November

2009-11-15T07:55:00.000-08:00

Doing my duty to bring a dash of sunlight and color to all the garden blog readers in the winter months...

Bougainvillea to infinity ( or so it seems)

Oleander-though the form of the plants don't appeal to me I like the flowers. I wish the oleander plant came in a more elegant form, as its the easiest plant to propagate and grow here.

Buds and Blooms of Kalanchoe Gastonis Bonnieri, Donkey Ears

Coral hibiscus-blooms every day. Those in warm climes should grow this more as its so easy compared to the hybrids.

macros

old and beautifully gnarled bougainvillea

My favourite Kalanchoe blossfeldia-this one had huge architectural leaves year round and bursts of yellow flowers every from November for a few months. Self seeds to rejuvenate itself every year, too.

honey scented Acacia

Picture This: End of the Line

2009-11-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

My entry for Gardening Gone Wild Picture This Photo Contest for November

It’s the end of the line for my Agave Sisalina, after throwing out a bloom stalk soaring to almost thirty feet. But see all the bulbils ready to start a new life.

Its also end of the line for the original Cephalocereus millspaughii column, broken in hurricane Omar last year, but with a new column growing atop the old. In some islands this cactus is known as the “Dildo Cactus” and I agree with the writer who said “it is hard to imagine how a spiny and threatening cactus conjured up the image that lends this cactus its common name”.

Fall colour from Aoth

2009-11-06T04:43:00.000-08:00

My friend from Laos, Aoth, now starting a new life in England, sent some fall images she took that are too pretty not to share.

Rainy day in town

Moon over agave bloomstalk

2009-11-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

and a stunning sunset

Ripe Plantain in tomato sauce

2009-11-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

This recipe is inspired by the one in Cooking with Kurma , a book which a friend had lent me some time ago. I do have to get around to buying the book.

I did not get a chance to copy the recipe so I can’t compare my version to his, but I pretty much like mine. Plantain is of those delicious and easily available foods in the Caribbean and one can never have enough ways to prepare ripe plantains. I do find that the chefs from the Hare Krishna movement (including Yamuna Devi) are very inspiring when it comes to vegetarian food, especially Indian influenced vegetarian.

Ingredients- 6 large ripe plantains
Oil for deep frying

Peel plantains and slice into 1 inch rounds. Fry in batches in hot oil turning until all sides are light to medium brown, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Ingredients-Tomato sauce

2 tablespoon olive oil or butter
½ medium onion, chopped or minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
(I usually put onion, garlic and ginger together in the food chopper and finely chop)
1 tablespoon ginger minced)
Hot pepper to taste
1 tbs garam masala
½ tsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt ( or less if using canned tomatoes)
1 ½ cups whole canned tomatoes, pureed or 5 whole vine ripened tomatoes, pureed
½ cup coconut milk

To finish:
chopped fresh thai basil, cilantro or mint leaves for garnish (optional)
coconut flakes for garnish (optional)

Method
Heat oil or butter in a deep pot, add onion, garlic, ginger and hot pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garam masala, and sugar. Add salt if using and stir one minute.

Add tomatoes and cook about 5 minutes. Add coconut milk Cook on low 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add friend plantains rounds. Cook on low 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the plantains to absorb the sauce at least 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with herbs and coconut flakes. Serves 6.

Hint: I made double the sauce and froze half, for use later. The sauce can also be used to make a main dish using a drained can of chickpeas or fried paneer cubes instead of plantains.

Blooming Friday

2009-10-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

Lots of blooms and butterflies in the Caribbean garden this week. Alas the butterflies wont stay still so here are some of the blooms

Always my favourite: bougainvillea

antigonon leptopus ( coral vine) trailing on yucca ( and top photo. This is such a pretty and easy vine I have no idea why almost no one uses it in the Caribbean. For years I could not get a plant-till one day I had a meeting and as I was leaving I saw these vines growing in an abandoned lot and got a friend to help pull out pieces for cuttings.

Vitex agnus-castus and Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia)

Aloe maculata with twisted bloomstalk

Euphorbia milli

I saw this lovely trailing vine at a hotel in St Kitts-brought home five seeds, got 2 plants out of those, and they have now started to bloom. When I asked the gardener at the hotel its name he told me "its a weed".

Delicate lavender bougainvillea. This one always reminds me of the friend who gave me the cutting, Art-he died from cancer last year after a fantastic 30 year battle.

Paneer in creamy or spicy tomato sauce

2009-10-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite Indian dishes. Its takes a bit of time to make but if you love vegetarian Indian food you'll like this. I have two versions here of the sauce-one spicy, one creamy.

Wikipedia states “Paneer Hindi: panīr, from Persian پنير panir) is the most common South Asian and Persian cheese. It is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or other food acid.”

Make paneer using this recipe. I usually add 1 tablespoon white vinegar with the lemon juice to get the milk to curdle better. You can also omit the yogurt if you don't have any. Of course if you can also purchase fresh paneer if its available. Its sometimes availale in the farmers market in the US. DO NOT use frozen paneer. Paneer can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

After you have made and pressed the paneer, cut into in ¾ inch cubes. Fry paneer cubes in a little olive oil in a non stick pan, turning on all sides to brown (about 5 minutes in all), Drain and set aside.

Sauce:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped/minced
3 cloves garlic finely chopped/minced
1 inch piece ginger, finely chopped/minced
(an easy method is to put onion, garlic and ginger together in the food chopper and finely chop.)
Hot pepper to taste
1 tsp coriander (optional)
1 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Ground cumin (geera)
1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes with their juice, pureed, or 5 fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, pureed
1-2 tsp kosher salt (less if using canned tomatoes-in fact I use no salt at all then)
2 tsp garam masala

1/4 c cream or 2 tablespoons cream cheese (you can also use ¼ cup plain yoghurt but it won’t be as rich tasting)

4 tbs finely chopped fresh coriander or mint

Method

Heat oil and add onions, garlic and ginger, fry for about 5 minutes stirring constantly. Add hot pepper, ground turmeric and cumin, stir, then quickly add the pureed tomatoes. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring often.

For spicy sauce: add 1 cup hot water and bring sauce to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook the sauce, covered, for 10 minutes. Add paneer cubes and cook 4 minutes. Fold in garam masala & chopped coriander or mint leaves.

For creamy sauce: add 1 cup hot water and bring sauce to boil. Add cream/cream cheese and stir till mixed in. Add paneer cubes and cook 4 minutes. Fold in garam masala & chopped coriander or mint leaves.
Serves 4-6

Why Farmers Markets-Blog Action Day

2009-10-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

When I was a child growing up in the Caribbean almost everyone had a kitchen garden and exchanged what they grew with neighbors and family. Almost every backyard had fruit trees. People bought their supplemental fresh fruits and vegetables from roadside stands and the Sunday farmers market. Farmers from different islands would also take or send their produce on boats to sell in the Sunday market.

Later, supermarkets started offering produce, but these were mostly bought from the farmers and were sold at higher prices than in the market. It was only in the 1990’s that the supermarkets started selling a variety of imported produce. The surprising thing is how this expanded-given the clear inferiority in the quality in much of the imported produce–I don’t know why anyone would buy a gas ripened supermarket tomato or unripe plum.

I have loved observing the growth of farmer’s markets in the US and have been to them in San Francisco and New York. They were just wonderful. While farmers markets have always been around in the Caribbean, I hope the Caribbean islanders take notes and expand their offerings. I also hope more people buy directly from local farmers.

In some Asian countries housewives go to the market several times a week, to get the freshest produce.

Apart from supporting local farmers and having fresher healthier and tastier food, farmers markets means less fuel is used in transportation, less pollution to the environment. And if it’s organic produce, even better.
You certainly can't get fresh like this when its trucked/flown or shipped thousands of miles

Luscious fruit

My friend Taly shrooming in the Noe Valley farmers market

Heirloom tomatoes and delectable eggplant

Farmers market also allow producers of agricultural products to sell and promote their goods-like olive oil, honey, cheese, pepper sauce etc.

“Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance."

Mark's Roses

2009-10-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

Not only are Mark and Elizabeth bakers of award winning breads (and my favorite pizza!) at Raymond's Bakery (in Cazadero, Sonoma where I had a lovely weekend in July)

Mark also grows some beautiful roses.

A couple years ago on previous visit I took cuttings from this rose above and actually managed to get 2 plants. I enjoyed the blooms for several months until my plants died (I think from the summer heat). These are mine below

Fruits of Eden

2009-09-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

My new favourite fruit and vegetable shop in Trinidad-Eden's in Cascade. Filled with backyard and small farm produce, including now hard to find varieties like sucruire, Gros Michel, silk and lacatan bananas, Indian radish, calabash mangoes. I have no idea why people buy substandard apples with all that fresh tropical fruit available.

proud owner of Eden-Julie mangoes and papayas in front

mangoes and Caribbean plums

doesn't that pumpkin look good?

avocados in foreground

breadfruit, vine ripened tomatoes in September, peppers, okras, beets, white Asian radish (locally called morai)

hot habanero peppers and and aji dulce "seasoning" peppers

Bells of Brazil

2009-08-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

We return for another virtual visit to the San Francisco Botanical Garden -this time to Brazil. I noticed that lots of the blooms in “Brazil” were tubular or bell shaped.

I do not know what this tree with the most unusual blooms is but I want one!

This unknown "fuzzy balls" shrub with the fuchsia was just stunning

Peachy abutilon

Is this a perfectly elegant brugmansia bloom or what?

The pink passion flowers are so cool-and the plant/s had hundreds

Fuchsia bells

I love these purple tubes

Succulent acquisitions

2009-08-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

I envy the people who can casually walk into their local nursery or even Home Depot and see row upon row of succulent plants for the taking, often at low prices. For on this warm, dry island that gets a maximum of 30 inches of rain a year there is nary a succulent or xeric plant to be found for sale. I actually have an agave, yuccas and aloes I grew from seed-such is my desperation.

Here are my proud new acquisitions from SF, a city certainly in love with succulents and xeric plants:

Aeonium cuttings looking good so far. Any help with ID will be appreciated.

Another freebie: I got three pups from this agave-I believe Americana? It actually looks a much deeper blue/green here in the tropical light. The leaves of the pups have a silky texture.

I bought 10 plants in 4 inch pots from GoSucculent
This is the second time I bought from them-the last time being May 2008. They have a fairly good selection of small plants at reasonable prices and the plants were all healthy.

The aloe striata I got and what I hope it will grow to be

Tiny sharkskin agaves. These grow into the most lovely structural plants. I could have bought one or two larger plants but I could not resist the 8 for $13 deal LOL. Especially since I am sure they'll be big plants in about 3 years.

Alas the aloe plicatilis and mangave bloodspot did not survive so have to make do with this pic from Flora Grubb

Aloe petricola

I like the form on this euphorbia hybrid

Some of the plants I got last year from gosucculent-aloe aculeata and agave vilmoriana having grown a lot are now in 3 gallon pots. These are ready to be taken out my "nursery' and be put in the garden.

Agave stricta grew much less and is in a pot now crammed with succulents-with an aloe maculata pup I transplanted and self seeded Kalanchoe blossfeldiana

I love the perfect symmetry of these echeverias I got in the nursery here last December- a once every few years experience of finding succulents for sale locally. They didn't look as nice as this when I got them-their colors were all insipid. After a couple months when I saw what beautiful plants they were ( after being repotted and getting sunlight) I went back to get more but they were all gone.

Can anyone help with the ID of the first two? Those two are also very prolific in sending out pups. The other two are I believe are E pulidonis and E black prince.

Blooms Day in the Caribbean Garden

2009-08-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

Another rushed blooms day post-we are preparing for tropical storm Ana, followed by hurricane Bill. See how bright and perfect the weather is-its always that way the day before a storm.

We really hope Bill doesn’t hit directly. The rain isn’t a problem as we have excellent drainage-it’s the high winds that can cause damage where we live.

Already done: fresh linens; water for drinking, bathing, cooking and flushing; canned foods, bread, spaghetti; blackberry and cell phones charged. Still to do: bring in potted succulents and aloes which may rot from all the rain.

Agave sisalina bloomstalk

Love my aloe maculatoa. Coral blooms with grey tips!

Always a favourite-bougainvillea

Euphorbia milli in hot pink and red

Turk's cap cactus-flower and edible fruit

Thai Red Curry Pumpkin

2009-08-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

My version of the Thai Red Curry Pumpkin at Osha
Totally scrumptious, for this you really need a superb flavored pumpkin, like Kabocha or Red Kuri and a creamy, rich coconut milk (fresh if you can make it).

The (vegetarian) South East Asian food I had at Slanted Door, At the Door and Osha in San Francisco is amazing, as good as or better than the vegetarian food I had in South East Asia.

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium or 2 small onions, cut into wedges
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1-2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 2 teaspoons fresh gingeroot, minced
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• 1 3/4 cups coconut milk
• 1 ½ -2 pounds kabocha squash or red kuri squash, cut into one and a half inch cubes ( peeling is optional)
• 1- 2 cups vegetables eg ½ cup sliced bell peppers with 1 cup sliced bamboo shoots and/or cauliflower and/or sugar snap peas and ½ cup cubed tofu or 1 cup asparagus, halved and 1 cup young squash eg pattypan or yellow squash, thickly sliced, or 1 cup sweet potato, peeled and cubed and par boiled 5 minutes and ½ cup sliced bell peppers.
• Sliced lemongrass ( optional)
• 1 fresh or dried Thai chile (optional- only if you like it hot!)
• 1/2 cup fresh Thai or sweet basil

Method
Heat oil in wok or deep frying pan. Add onions, garlic, ginger and curry and stir 1 minute. Add stock and coconut milk and bring to simmer. Add the pumpkin, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add vegetables (and lemongrass and chile if you are using) and cook another 5-7 minutes until the pumpkin is soft. Taste for salt. Stir in basil leaves leaving a few for garnish. Serve with jasmine or brown rice. Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serves 4.

Paws and brushes

2009-08-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

A little visit to Australia via the San Francisco Botanical Gardens

Kangaroo paws-I really want some of these for my garden

Spilling over...

I love bottlebrush and this pink is gorgeous

the red one used to be a popular plant in the Caribbean when I was a child

Banksia

Seedpods

cool blue berries

Peck of peppers

2009-08-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia “A chipotle is a smoke-dried jalapeño chili used primarily in Mexican, Mexican-American, Tex-Mex, and Mexican-inspired cuisine… Until recently, chipotles were almost exclusively found in the markets of central and southern Mexico .”

Well that last sentence quite explains why barely anyone in the Caribbean knows what a chipotle is.

I first had chipotle when friends took me out for dinner in Virginia and I tried the chipotle mashed potatoes at their suggestion. I loved it-the warm smoky flavour and just a slight kick. I subsequently bought a packet of chipotle and tried it in baked potatoes, black beans, stews etc. Everyone I served these dishes to said “what’s that smoky taste? It’s delicious”. Chipotle suppliers could very well look into the Caribbean market, as its apparently something that appeals to Caribbean taste buds.

I recently tried the ground chipotle and found it really convenient for quick dishes or when prep time is limited. Its also pretty dusted on top of food.

I stocked up on these whole and ground chilpotles at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market in San Francisco.

Japanese Tea Garden

2009-07-27T18:33:00.001-07:00

Entrance gate to the oldest Japanese garden in California-at Golden Gate park. Simply beautiful. Click on photos to enlarge.

The Teahouse

Stone lantern

Five storied pagoda

To contemplate the vision and work of the generations of gardeners is staggering..

The Drum Bridge or "Taiko Bashi" forms a perfect circle with its reflection. It is made from skillfully cut strips of wood.

Stone pagoda

San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers market-Flowers

2009-07-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

Lavender Harvest

July's blooms

2009-07-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Trio of hibiscus

petrea volubilis

aloe maculata

peeking through

Oleander, plumeria pudica, fragrant frangipani. Thought I'd show them together so you can see how they are related

Agave!

2009-07-12T10:09:00.001-07:00

Following on Pam’s Woody lilies love the heat and Danger Garden’s (what a sexy garden blog name!)
agave post here’s mine. I love agaves for their architectural lines and also because they are perfectly suited to the hot, dry island I live on. They offer so much drama for minimal care.

Most Caribbean islanders don’t appreciate agaves-this works both ways for me. Agaves are hardly ever offered for sale here so finding different varieties is challenging, but whenever you see any agaves (say in someone’s yard) they are usually more than happy for you to take them.

The first pic is of Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’ with its lovely urn shape-and one of the few offered for sale.

The candy coloured teeth of bovicornuta and the red margins of blue glow, both of which I got at the fabulous Flora Grubb Gardens

The "girly" attenuata. Lovely and no sharp spikes or teeth at all.

Lophanta by contrast I think is my most dangerous agave. This is another one people admire when they see it in my garden.

"The artichoke" Agave victoriae-reginae

I think this one is Agave neglecta. Used to be very common in the coral islands but now these are scarce in gardens. They seem to still be popular in Barbados and Antigua.

Filifera I guess

I pulled this up as a small pup from a friend's yard-it may be a hybrid, I can't identify it and haven't seen any others like it.

Textural: my agave sisalina bloomstalk (next to organ pipe cactus)

Nursery visit

2009-06-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

I went down to the nursery as a shipment of plants is due this month-alas we have to wait for 2 more weeks as the shipment has not yet arrived. Meanwhile this is some of what they have. Mostly very large plants, not the 1-5 gallon sizes I prefer. I love these 2 frangipani (plumeria)

A towering palm planted on the grounds provides a “showpiece” for their huge selection of palms. Many people (and resorts) here buy large plants for instant landscaping, so the choice of small plants is very small. I’ve grown most of my palms from seeds collected from under palm trees as I can’t afford these large palms.

Fruit of the geiger tree

White cordia blooms

I love traveller's palms but on a dry island you have to spend hundreds on water to manage this...

At last some people seem to be interested in succulents and xeric plants so I am actually able to get a small selection

I got this one and love it. Sold as "cordyline" I think its actually yucca bright edge.

Big grasses: bamboo and sugar cane

To think my grandfather had 200 acres of sugar cane and I have to buy one plant now for $35...

The nursery has a range of unlabeled hibiscus-I've grabbed quite a few on various visits as different colors were in bloom-will post on those later

Pretty bougainvillea

Masses of ixora

June Blooms

2009-06-15T17:58:00.001-07:00

Thanks, Carol, for hosting another

Blooms Day

Lots of lovely flowers in my garden. We start with "nature's collage": fuchsia bougainvillea and white oleander below the agave bloomstalk in the sky.

more bougainvillea

Gorgeous hibiscus

Cool whites
Plumeria pudica and my new frangipani

Hot reds and corals:
Aloe maculata, coral hibiscus, russelia, Mirandy rose