Not a jungle yet

A year ago there was nothing in the yard except one massive tree in a corner. Daryl chopped off a lot of the branches as they were falling on the roof….the brand new roof. But ‘things’ grow here, sometimes whether you want them too or not!

We have a big stump on the side of the house, Before Daryl left last May, he gave the tree growing out of it a big haircut, cut every bit of green off. It keeps coming back!

A couple of years ago Daryl sprouted an avocado pit. It has done really well and if we are lucky we will get avocados in a couple of years.

Last spring a friend gave us a small banana plant. It didn’t take long to grow up.

The corner of the yard on the road side is much lower than the rest of the yard and gets very wet. Two years ago we had a row of bamboo planted along the fence for privacy. It has done well everywhere except in this wet corner. Daryl got busy and built a French drain, and added a lot of gravel.

In April 2025 we bought some palm trees that are supposed to be good for privacy and thrive in wet soil. Only six months since planting, they haven’t grown tall yet but are sure filling in.

Not everything has thrived. A year ago we got a small poinsettia that initially did really well. Before I left in April we planted it in a shady area. When we arrived back in Pedasi, a month ago, our poinsettia had one skinny stock with a few leaves on top. This year we are trying again. Maybe the tall skinny plant will become a tree, or we might find out it is just too hot here for poinsettias.

On one of our beach days last year we were sitting under a tree that had red berry pods. It made a nice shade tree, just had wicked spikes. Daryl brought a few pods home and planted the seeds. Wikipedia identified the tree as some kind of tamarind, but we are not sure.

Exact same spot, dry season and wet season. One spiky tree survived and is growing!

This was a twig Daryl transplanted from outside the yard. No idea what it is, but it has already had a good haircut.

Daryl’s other property had a 10-12 foot limoncello (that’s what we have heard it called) hedge on the road side. It created total privacy and was full of spikes. The fruit is not edible. Last year Daryl took one of the fruits and planted it in the yard. We now have a plant growing. We also have a few more limoncello fruits to plant.

A couple of years ago while on a beach walk, Daryl found a coconut that had about a 6 inch sprout growing out of the side. He brought it home and planted it, actually it has been transplanted a few different times. It is going to be a very tall tree, hopefully producing coconuts.

Last year Daryl came home with a big bag of Sorel flowers. We took the leaves off, dried them and had lots of cold brew tea. The seeds were planted and literally grew like weeds. Sometime over our summer, the guy cutting the grass took a picture showing the Sorel plants were taller than the seven foot fence.

After we arrived back in Pedasi, Daryl chopped all the Sorel back and stuck some of the tops in the soil. Already they have grown a good foot. Still no fruit.

From May to November, pretty well the same spot.

At least one of us is a gardener and it is not me! It has been interesting and fun seeing ‘stuff’ grow from seeds or sprouts. Amazingly enough most everything survived the six months we were gone.

Cheers

Ruth