Who can recognize a true ebony tree?
Many plants look particularly gorgeous when lit at night, especially Pennisetum purpureum, all of the palm trees, and almost all of the aroids such as philodendrons, monsteras, alocasias and bamboos. The large Ali Baba pots and large clay pots are especially attractive when planted up and lit with Chinese lanterns. Strategically placed lights in a [...]
The myrtle family
The myrtle family, the Myrtaceae, contains many plants which we all know well. The eucalyptus, the Australian bottle brush, myrtle itself, the guava, and the Suriname cherry called Eugenia uniflora, to name but a few. A word about eucalyptus in a moment. The Suriname cherry is a plant having many virtues, not least of which [...]
A word about orchids
There are quite a few fern species which are probably best described as tree ferns, for the simple reason that they have a ‘trunk.’ Most of these are to be found in New Zealand and Australia, but we have some in Guyana as well. They are notable at higher altitudes in the Pakaraimas, and thank [...]
Prune hard
Every gardener who aspires to the name will really know his or her way round a pair of secateurs, and will, I think, automatically know that the harder you prune shrubs (particularly roses) the stronger the new growths will be. It therefore follows that pruning lightly will not result in any vigorous growth. Thinking of [...]
Bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers
When I was a mere lad I always had difficulty with the difference between bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes. All children at school nowadays are taught the difference, which I suppose is simple enough. It’s like riding a bicycle. Once you know it you’re not likely to forget it. The bulb (onion, tulip, and so [...]
Kill scale insects off when they are young and unprotected
It is one of the amazing things about trees and shrubs. Many have the ability to produce roots no matter how long (or short) the cuttings are. Willows, for example, will root even if you stick in pieces six feet long, and so do many other species. Nature gives them a built-in ability to help [...]
Plants with beautiful foliage
Plants grown for the beauty of their leaves are just as important as those grown for their flowers. In point of fact flowering trees and shrubs flower (and fruit) at a definite time of the year, whereas trees and shrubs grown for their foliage are generally a delight throughout the year. Attractive trees and shrubs [...]
Bananas and roses
I have just finished reading a gardening magazine produced for the English market. In the questions section a readers said that she had been advised by a friend to put banana skins around her roses. She lets them rot down naturally. Another friend chops them into small pieces and lets them rot down, and another [...]
Plants need carbon dioxide, water, light
Whales can be 50ft in length, weigh 20 tons, and have a appetite to match. A fully grown Saman tree such as one might see in the grounds of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad will have the same dimension, and the same appetite. Whales consume krill and other small forms of marine [...]
Add compost to heavy soils
If your garden occasionally begins to look like a paddy field or you get pools of water which lie on the ground for quite long periods of time, then you almost certainly have a drainage problem. It may be caused by soil which is almost pure clay becoming as hard as iron in the dry [...]
Sub-tropical bulb plants
Most gardeners will know that the bulb is a development in plants which is designed to assist them survive long periods of dormancy that occur in dry places on earth. It gives food to the emerging shoots and roots once the cold winter period or long dry period is over,
The low maintenance garden
Many gardeners prefer the smaller garden for they have little time or inclination for anything larger. Have you ever thought how much time you need or want to devote on your garden? Well perhaps it’s not as much as you think. Maybe as little as one or two hours a week. Let us take a [...]
Patios can be very beautiful
When I was a young lad growing up in the Lancashire/Yorkshire we had a patio which started off its life with my family as a truncated cricket pitch. As my interest in plants increased so the pitch became smaller. Eventually for a serious game we had to go to the local park. Now small gardens [...]
Limit the number of water lilies in your pond
Just a few words to finish off what I was saying last Sunday about ornamental pools in the garden. Once we have got to the stage where the water is going into the pond, and the edging of stone slabs or turf has been laid, the next question is what to put into the pond. [...]
Give your garden a water feature
In Guyana, or at least in Georgetown, I don’t suppose that many gardeners feel any urgent need to have a water feature in the garden, because for a disproportionate amount of time you have an excess of it! However you will find that there are formal or informal water features in every really good garden, [...]