Cut down your Acalyphas on a tree-year cycle

It is my experience living in the quiet backwater of New Providence that a few yards can make a whole lot of difference in terms of weather. Many times have I seen my neighbours’ gardens bathed in sunshine and workable, while mine has been under water. Many people experience this kind of phenomenon: a quite sharp line across the road by the end of the rain cloud.

Yesterday I saw a butterfly flit across the road, and then the river (Demerara) in the blazing sunshine. In the couple of weeks since returning home I have also seen a pair of blue  sakis, which put me in mind of the jingle, ‘Not a blade of grass, not one blue saki.’ May is not always a good month in the garden for me. A few years ago I lost several good plants of the Jade vine.  Hearing of this an old friend telephoned and offered me some plants he had got in Trinidad. What is wonderful about gardens is that lifelong friendships are formed by a love of plants, and my life has certainly been enriched in this way. The Jade vines I am to receive have all come from cuttings and may be rooted in pure sand and also with the aid of hormone rooting powders.

Providentially my old-time grass cutters came today and did a cut. It was such a beautiful day and the first one since the rains began. It was them or sheep. Anyway, the smell of newly mown grass is wonderful, but it wasn’t long before the heavens opened. A few regular cuts will no  doubt improve things, and some top dressing will gradually get rid of the depressions and footprints.
In the lulls we have managed to start reducing the size of our Acalyphas. These very beautiful plants provide colour through their leaves during periods when flowers are a bit thin on the ground. There is a golden rule which helps you manage their ultimate size. Cut down only a third of the number of shoots each year to within two feet of the ground. The next year repeat the process and in the third year complete the process by which you will have replaced the entire bush without it looking too bad. You will still have leaf colour throughout the year. By the way it is exactly the same with blackcurrant bushes. The entire bush is replaced each third year.

I am always very pleased to see a huge silk cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) when I am approaching New Providence. It is a massive and wonderful sight. At the other end of the scale my late mother-in-law had a really good black pepper bush near the entrance to her garden which was forever producing fruit. I have tried so much to get one going in my garden without success so far. My mind is dwelling on Codiaeum SP, a plant belonging to the Euphorbia family. This is a plant which has spectacular foliage with a wide variety of colours and shapes. The foliage is quite thick and strong, and plants will form rather strong bushes several feet high and not be subject to attacks by pests or disease. They can be used as hedging plants or as single specimens indoors or outside. Happy gardening and may your God go with you wherever you are in Guyana.