THE BARBADOS GARDEN OF ANTHONY HUNTE

My camera was strangely silent on our recent Caribbean travels. For a few days I carried it around and never took pictures so in the end I gave up. Of course the day we visited Hunte's gardens was the wrong day to have left it in the room. I would have to make do with my phone.

A previous visit to Barbados saw us taking a local bus high into the hills and down towards the coastal village of Bathsheba, to visit Andromeda Gardens; a six acre garden, now cared for by the Barbados National Trust, but once the private home and grounds of Iris Bannochie. She had gathered tropical plants from around the Caribbean to plant in her rocky, coral garden. On that day we had no pressure on time so when the local bus overheated part way there, finally chugged up the hill and dropped us off in this seemingly remote part of the island, we had no concerns about our return. We did indeed wait a long time for a return bus but eventually made it back to our hotel.

Hunte's Gardens didn't look too far from Bathsheba so our plan was to take the bus again. After a half hour walk from the ship we arrived at the bus station to find we had just missed the Number 5, 10am bus. The next one would not come until 11am-if then! Being the worry wart that I am I was already worrying about getting back to our ship by 4:30pm. not to mention the possibility of a bus breaking down. We decided to see if we could find a taxi to take us there-$60 was what they wanted because they would have to wait there for 2 hours for the return journey. We walked back to the bus station and I fretted some more as we waited for the bus. Then a couple arrived(tourists) asking if we spoke English! They wanted to go to Andromeda Gardens. When we told them we wanted to go to Hunte's Gardens and suggested we join up and take a taxi together we all went back outside found a taxi who would take all four of us for $50. Split between us this was more manageable.

As soon as we walked through the gates we knew we had arrived somewhere special on this tropical  island. Boasting a higher rainfall from any other part of the island that, and underground steams ensure the luxuriant growth of all the plants.

I inquired of a lady sitting by the gate of the naval officer was standing in the corner-Lord Nelson, Of course. I didn't think much about him at the time but this morning found myself going down the rabbit hole of opinion, on Lord Nelson, in Barbados. Clearly, as at the Battle of Copenhagen, he is turning "a blind eye" to all that controversy.

Anthony Hunte, who created the current gardens, had always been a plantsman, and within two years of  purchasing a 10 acre parcel of what had been the Castle Grant sugar plantation in 1990, he had created this tropical paradise, rising from the bottom of a sink hole 150' deep and 500'wide. I was reminded instantly of Butchart Gardens, which was created in a old quarry.
Mr Hunte's family came to the island from Britain as indentured servants in the 1600s so he is through and through Bajan. I wonder if he was educated in England. I listed to an interview and caught a slight Irish lilt to his accent.
What made it truly magical was the strains of classical music wafting up through the palm trees. I don't think I have ever heard that before.

We paid our $15 entrance fee and were given some modest direction to follow the steps down to the bottom and to return up to the house where we might meet the owner himself.
I completely failed to capture the steep winding steps, down into the bowl of the sink hole, which Anthony Hunte described the making of as being a learning experience. He originally started to create the steps from the top going down before realizing that you must start at the bottom and work up.

Along the way he had created lot of side pathways leading to small intimate seating areas.

And an eclectic mix of statuary tucked into corners among the plants.

I thought his staggered bowls a wonderful idea.

There were beautiful flowers and orchids at every turn.

We made our way back up to the house, created from what had once been the stables. I'm not sure if he actually uses these rooms or that they are just decorated for the public. Either way in such a humid climate the walls were covered with black mold. It reminded me of life in Hong Kong where it is impossible to keep the mold at bay.

We pretended we were taking tea in one of the rooms.

And then we entered a large covered verandah where there was a small gift shop and where people were sitting having a drink.
Mt Hunte was busy trying to do rather too many things. I told him how wonderful his gardens were and he told me to come on in and sit down and 'let's talk' I really would have liked to have heard more about his endeavors in the making of the gardens.

As we left a young man was just entering with a group of visitors and carrying some coolers. Maybe they were going to have picnic in the grounds. Sometimes the garden is used for weddings with the seating area probably at the bottom and the bride descending into the gully down those steep steps. How magical that must be.
If we ever find ourselves back on the island again I will be sure to catch the early bus and stay a while longer on the terrace-maybe sipping a rum punch with Mr Hunte, and I will take my camera.

TAKING THE ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH

As a gardener one thing you learn very quickly is that that no two gardening years are the same.

We have returned from our winter travels, albeit a short one of only 14 days, to some pretty sad scenes in the garden. Of course, I have seen it all before whether it be spring, summer or winter. Probably the most devastating was a terrible hail storm at the height of the spring flowering. Much was lost, some of it taking more than two years to be realized. When I left the garden, many times for 6 weeks in summer, exuberant growth is what met me on my return, as well as weeds, an unwelcome rattlesnake who had taken up residence in my absence, and on one occasion a pair of foxes.
What you don't expect is to have trouble leaving the garden in the winter. We always turn off the water when we leave and move the less hardy plants into the garage, greenhouse, potting shed and even the house. But this year the cold was prolonged and deep and some of my hardiest plants have succumbed. The soap aloes, which I had divided giving them each their own space in which to grow, instead of on top of one another, are soft mush. Will those long cold days and nights be the end of my Philippine violets? Even my ghost plant did not find refuge among the rocks in the sunken garden.

And yet!!! This photograph was taken on January 6th 2017 as we returned from a New Year visit to Connecticut. That was my concrete fish fountain underneath all that ice, the fountain still trickling.It crumbled apart after it thawed out.

Really not much different from this year when I used a sledge hammer to break the 2" thick ice.

 I almost couldn't wait for the New Year to begin so I could make plans for the 2018 garden year. What visions went through my head while among all that tropical foliage and balmy Caribbean air. What a shocker to hear gardening friends lamenting the strong cold front that stuck around night and day for 3 days. Of all years too, when my garden will be on a tour. But, the gardener presses on undaunted. Today the sun is shining and I am thinking about starting some seeds. I have moved all the orchids out of the laundry room to make way for seed starting. I have ordered a couple of plants and a grow light system. I walked around the garden and saw the bluebonnets are strong and healthy, the love-in-a-mist, California poppies, larkspur, rose campion and Barbara's buttons have shrugged off winter's cold. Bulbs are beginning to peep through the soil. Even the scarlet flax survived. In the days to come I will begin a tidy up of all the dead annual zinnias as I start new ones indoors.

I'm feeling better already.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

                                                      MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

                                                      AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

                                                             See you in the New Year

LEMONY GOODNESS

It has not been my best Meyer lemon crop this year, but it has certainly been my earliest. The mild fall with warm temperatures has meant the lemons have ripened at least 2 months ahead of normal. Many years I am still picking them in March. I like to leave them on the tree until I need them but as we moved the trees into the potting shed for the winter several lemons fell off.

 I had to quickly think of what I was going to do with them. Lemonade? I made a big jug of that at Thanksgiving when the grandchildren were over. I could certainly freeze the juice and rind for later use. Lemon curd? that's a favorite. Preserved lemons? I have several recipes that call for that ingredient. What about lemon marmalade? I quickly sought out a recipe from one of my English cookbooks.

It called for 3 lb of lemons which required me to pick just one more to make up the weight. One of the great things about the Meyers is their thin skin with very little pith. The recipe called for juicing the lemons and removing all the flesh and pips and tying in a muslin bag. I decided just to follow the same procedure as when I make Calamondin marmalade. I halved and juiced the lemons into a bowl saving the pips and tying in a muslin bag.

Then I sliced the remaining peel and flesh.

I measured the mixture into a large pan adding 1 cup of water for every cup of mixture. I tied a string around the bag of pips and lowered into the pan, then boiled down until the peel was soft- about 30 minutes. When cool the pan went into the fridge overnight to develop the pectin.

Next day I remeasured and added 1 cup of sugar for every cup of mixture and boiled until the temperature reached 220.

I sterilized the jars in the oven and then allowed them to cool slightly before adding the hot mixture, capping immediately.

Breakfast wouldn't be breakfast without marmalade on our toast. Now to look for a recipe for preserved lemons.

A NEW APPRECIATION OF OLD TREE STUMPS

With news of the California wildfires on everyone's minds I am reminded that a serious wildfire passed through our lot in the 1950s. It was long before there was any development here, when only rough tracks ran through the acres of ranch land. It burnt cedar and oak to the ground leaving only their burnt-out stumps. In the past we have often re-burnt the stumps that were left in our fireplace. They burn really well and are long lasting.
This one was completely destroyed.

And yet only one side of this tree was burnt.

While rooting around on the lot a couple of weeks ago I picked up several smaller stumps, now bleached white by the sun, but still bearing the charred marks of that fire.  Rather like old pieces of driftwood they had character. I had already used one as a perch for a ceramic anole in one of my hypertufa troughs.



Maybe I could do something more useful with them. Maybe drill out a place to plant a small succulent. I was thinking of using the succulent that Matt Shreve gave me when we visited his gorgeous cactus and succulent garden.
Drilling out that hole was easier said than done. My first attempt resulted in the wood slamming against my ankle and tearing off some flesh. I called on David for assistance. I don't know if our drill bits are just dull or this wood is fearfully hard. The wood was smoking! In the end we managed a big enough hole to plant the succulent. I hope it likes tight spaces.

Now more more drilling and more succulent planting.

I am also gathering up a pile of larger stumps and thinking of making a small stumpery in the woods.

FEELING WARM AND COZY?

I'll bet the little mouse was warm as he snuggled down for the winter in my car. He probably enjoyed the odd ride out and about as I drove him here there and everywhere, in style, maybe even as far as Dallas on occasion.

David found the two nests purely accident. I was complaining about a strange sound coming from the steering; a sort of whining sound. After I did a little research on possible causes I decided it was either transmission or steering related. David checked the steering fluid. It was low. He then went to check the transmission fluid and came across this mass of finely shredded material. Among it a few acorns, a paper napkin, some finely shredded pieces of one of my frost cloths. But the bulk seemed to be a pale colored insulation. I recalled how some years ago I had had to replace the insulation on the hood of the car. Is that were it went? Or had he removed it from the walls.
We decided that the nests were old ones. No scurrying sounds or the hasty retreat of a mouse. Maybe made some years ago so I am not packing him off into the cold. If he is still around he has probably found another cozy corner in some other part of the garage. Once time, it was in the back of a refrigerator-long gone. Then there was the mouse that shredded all the top fuzzy material from a self watering tray. He then made a nest in a plant pot on the shelf. Industrious little devils but I have to say I don't like them doing their business in the corners of the wall and they are also carriers of the Hanta virus, so we don't encourage them to come inside the garage.
If anyone has not seen the movie Mousehunt I thought it was good for a laugh, although it didn't get the best ratings.

BRRR!

What do I, as a gardener, dread most of all? When the weather forecaster says that the temperatures will drop below freezing. Living as I do in zone 8b it is just too tempting to grow plants that do well in Zone 9 and 10. Further more we live just west of the city, where temperatures are frequently about 5 º colder due to fewer roads and buildings. And we live on the slope of a hill where frost rolls down into a frost pocket. It doesn't deter!

I think we all knew we were in for a cold blast last night but the precipitation was a surprise. The chatter of my gardening friends on Facebook was as though no-one had ever seen snow before. It's pretty, yes, but listening to our pool pump at 4 pm really did have me worried and rightly so. This morning there was solid ice on the birdbath. Or at least one of the 4 that are positioned in different spots around the garden.

A weather event like this is a good time to take a walk around the garden and make a note of different microclimates. All the other birdbaths had ice on them but just a thin layer, easily broken with the tap of my finger. Those areas of the garden don't get quite as cold. One is closer to the house and another, even in a place that gets no sun, is sheltered by a high wall. These are places to plant marginal plants for your zone. I risk some marginal plants in these areas-the rest have to be protected in some way.
Most of the snow had melted by the time I got out there this morning.

The greenhouse, potting shed and garage are packed to to the gills. I added a shelf this year when I came across the 4 supports for the spare window box. They were easy to attach to the wall and a piece of wood, painted makes for a sturdy shelf-and more room for plants. In the greenhouse the sides are ringed with gallon jugs of water. A small heater keeps the temperatures above freezing.

More tender plants go in the potting shed. All the citrus are in there.

Brugmansias, plumerias and various cactus and agaves are in the garage.

And something is out in the cold. It's been a long time since we had to run a car to get the ice off the windscreen. The snow, falling on warm surfaces and then freezing made for an icy sheet.

And a few came into the house. They were the ones that were on the patio near to the doors.

Lots of blankets and blankets covering outdoor plants. Last year I purchased these from Gardeners' Supply using them in the early spring.  I am really happy with them. They fold flat for storage and seem to be quite sturdy. An early planing of peas were covered with one last night. They come on packs of three and you can browse their season extenders here.

The top on this model unzip for flat folding.

I have a multitude of covers, all picked up at garage sales, from packing blankets to the real thing. Most of them were out last night.

One of the things I didn't think about was the two small fish and water lily ponds. Both were iced this morning. I am concerned about the fish in there. I boiled up some water and added hoping the fish would come to life so zi can see if they survived. Later this afternoon I will empty the containers and transfer the fish to the large tank which has a fountain. I hope I won't be starting a war.

Another 2 nights until we are in the clear but at least the sun is shining today. Some damage takes a few days to show up so I will be out checking over the next couple of days and recovering again tonight.

But what are a few frozen plants when so many have last everything they own. I am thinking of all those folks in the fire-stricken areas of California. So sad for the residents, birds, animals and plants. Hopefully the winds will die down and the firefighters will manage to control a further spread.

AT LAST A FOGGY DAY

There was a welcome change in the weather today. After weeks of rainless, sunny skies we woke up to a foggy morning. Water, from our metal roof, is dripping into my empty stock tanks. Maybe we will get some rain this week. The garden loves this moisture laden air and I love it too because I have things to do in the house in preparation for Christmas.

I had some friends over the other evening and served these little cookies.

They were quite a hit, with requests for the recipe. So I decided to share the recipe and method on my blog. The original recipe is from an English cookbook called Cooking for Company, hence the weight measurements, and is for brandy snaps, those delicious, crispy gingery rolls.

But the recipe is very versatile; leave out the ginger and make the little wafers trimmed with chocolate and chopped almonds, or make a lacy basket which can be filled with fruit. Serve them with ice-cream or as a tea-time treat. You are sure to have all the ingredients in your pantry.

2oz butter (half stick)
3oz castor sugar(our US sugar is just fine)
2oz Lyles Golden Syrup ( substitute 2T of light corn syrup)
2oz plain flour ( heaping 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp ground ginger ( leave out if you prefer when making the wafers)

Preheat oven to 350º
Spray cookie sheets

In a small saucepan heat butter, sugar and syrup on a low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and add sifted flour and mix well until combined. Take half teaspoons of the mixture and drop onto the cookie sheet, spacing well apart. Pat down with fingers to spread. No need to make them too exact. The larger you make them the more room you must leave to spread.

Place in oven. They will start to spread hence the reason for giving them plenty of room.

Keep a watchful eye on them and remove as soon as they turn a golden color.

Don't worry if they run into each other. Just take a knife and separate them while they are still soft.

In order to remove them from the sheet have a palette knife handy. You have to wait a little until they cool. Test by sliding the knife underneath one corner. I like to release all the cookies as soon as possible and then wait a little before transferring them to a wire rack. You can always put the rack back in the oven to soften again if you have trouble. Someone asked me if you could use a silpat sheet. I would give it a test try to see how easily they come off before doing a whole batch. Let me know if you try using the silpat- I might treat myself.

Once cooled, decorate them with melted chocolate and chopped nuts. Pop into the fridge to harden the chocolate before storing in a tin.

I made a double batch this time and boxed them to take to our little neighborhood gathering tomorrow evening.

To make the brandy snaps, just add ginger with the flour, bake the same way and with the cookies still pliable, wrap carefully around a wooden spoon or dowel. You will probably need to pop back in the oven several times to keep the cookies pliable. To make the fruit baskets make a larger cookie and while soft place over a glass and bend into shape. Your guests are sure love these dessert treats and they make a great hostess gift.