A Gardener’s Diary

Before I left New Providence I paid a visit to a local Garden Centre on the West Bank where I bought some herbs. My particular interest in herbs is related to those that are amongst the oldest known to the Western world, and were mentioned in the earliest herbals produced anywhere – mainly the better ones written by John Gerard and John Parkinson. Most of these plants were introduced to Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries, and were thought to have medicinal properties. Most of them are now used in the modern kitchen for cooking.  Here I am humming the tune of a popular ballad recorded over forty years ago by Simon and Garfunkel: ‘Are you going to Scarborough Fair, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.’ It is a beautiful little song.  Just as beautiful are the four herbs celebrated in the opening lines.    I now have them all growing in my garden in England as well, where the weather conditions are not ideal at the moment.

The cost of these four plants was not more than $3000, and they had been well grown. Fresh herbs are most definitely better than those obtained  in a bottle at the supermarket, although in truth bottled herbs are not as bad as all that. When I was a lad, planting out at this time of the year was never done, and would be guaranteed to put an end to your plants.  Nowadays because nearly everything you can buy at a garden centre is grown in pots you can plant out at any time.  It is the same in Guyana, although here if you buy plants in containers and plant them out they will grow providing you take care of the watering, and they are not suddenly exposed to the sun.

Nearly all of you will know how important it is to wean plants which have been grown in the shade so that they gradually become used to the full strength of the sun.  It is the same almost everywhere on the face of this planet.  The plants are growing away quite happily in Guyana and I have managed to grow quite a few of the herbs I’ve mentioned as well as anyone can, but the chief problem is getting hold of them in the first place because in Manchester they are as ‘cheap as chips.’ It is not so in Guyana.

Mexico not only gave us the Aztecs, Tacos and big hats.  It gave us Euphorbia pulcherrima as well, which is now as closely linked to Christmas as holly, turkey, and plum pudding. In Europe and North America production of the Poinsettia is worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year, but there’s an awful lot of planning involved to make it all happen. It all starts happening now (August and September) when cuttings from stock plants are rooted in mist propagators and grown on for marketing from the beginning of December. On that note please take care of your plants and may your God go with you wherever you live in this lovely country of ours.