A Gardener’s Diary

There is a plant in my garden which has been in full flower for weeks and weeks and which shows no sign of ending its remarkable display. It is popularly known as the Sleeping hibiscus (Malvaviscus grandiflorus), a soft-wood shrub growing to a height of eight to ten feet, and native to South America. It’s a plant which will take up a lot of space if allowed to, and I find the secateurs are often in use to keep it within the amount of space I have for it. A friend of mine likened it to a fuchsia the other day, no doubt because of its characteristic drooping flowers, the petals of which are folded within each other and never expanded to a fully open flower. Like many plants it makes a colourful hedge, but as I’ve said, requires clipping frequently to make it do what you want it to do.

One new frangipani (Plumeria rubra) introduced to the garden means that another one after many years of giving fragrance has to go. The newcomer is an upright form bearing white flowers well above the foliage, and is quite a common sight in the grounds of the mosque near to the entrance to Republic Park. I managed to persuade them to sell one to me, and the consequence of this was that I had to get rid of a pink one which was untidy and spreading all over the place. With a small garden you have often to do this. It’s a choice everyone has to make at some time. One thing to bear in mind about propagating the frangipani is that small pieces can be snapped off larger branches and rooted. But not quickly or immediately, and there is a particular method to use. The way this is done is as follows:

They should be placed in full sunlight to dry out for several weeks. This is to dry the milky latex until it stops dripping. After several weeks they can be inserted in pure sand and will quickly form roots. Frangipani latex can give you problems and take care when handling and don’t rub your eyes when you have it on your fingers. You must wash your hands thoroughly if latex gets onto them.

Just at the wrong time two of my plants of Snow on the Mountain have died off. There seems to be no reason for this (although there always is), and I am left with one plant. This one plant never behaved as it ought to and never produced a mass of white flowers from December, but delayed it until February. A few yards away the bottle brush (Calliandra), and the Antigua Heath (Russelia) are attracting regular customers for their nectar supply. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago and each year I can always count on seeing a pair of hummingbirds, some golden orioles and a pair of blue sakis. These latter are becoming quite a rarity nowadays. Never particularly common, I feel that the increase in the urbanization of the area may have something to do with this.

The really interesting thing about the Calliandra is that the flowers open fully in the evening and close up during the day to reduce water loss from the plant. When the flowers open up fully it becomes a paradise for the small community of birds which depend on its nectar.

I also mentioned that whilst walking a few years ago from Kato to Kurukubaru I saw a really superb red Calliandra which I would love to obtain, and which I have to confess would be a better acquisition than the pink form I now have. I may just be able to find space for both colour forms, so there will be no difficult choices.

My plant of Leea coccinea is now becoming nicely established. It is a collector’s item really belonging to the Vitaceae, and produces small scarlet flowers and beautiful dark red foliage. Handsome, I would call it, and not an easy plant. I rarely stray from my desk, although the roads are superb compared to what they were when I first came to Guyana in 1981, but now the roads are great to drive on and the volume of traffic is, of course, much increased. Give me strength. Wherever you are and whatever you do, may your God go with you.