For quite a few weeks the weather has been blisteringly hot, and no one should be surprised that their bougainvilleas are flowering prolifically. They love hot, dry weather and endless sunshine. Ixoras are the same. Mussaendas are suffering everywhere, as far as I can see, and also many foliage plants like Acalyphas. Crotons belonging to the great family Euphorbiaceae have thick shiny leaves and do not lose so much moisture in the ‘dry.’ When plants in my garden are obviously suffering in dry weather I always prune them lightly which helps to reduce stress without ruining their shape. During periods of drought I thank my lucky stars that I have saved enough compost to allow me to mulch fairly heavily at the end of a rainy season, and if possible several inches thick. This helps the soil to retain as much water as possible as the ground dries out. Worms are also encouraged and they carry the decomposing compost well below ground level. Furthermore they carry nutrients and encourage the development of roots.
In Georgetown there has been an increasing interest in ornamental plants over the last twenty years or so, confirmed by an increase in nurseries and the number of people selling plants as you travel along the streets. The value of properties increase as the quality of its gardens are improved. It pays off in the end.
In a few weeks time it will be Remembrance Day, when we remember the millions of men and women who gave their lives in war. This commemoration started after the Great War ended in 1918. Originally in France and England everything came to a stop for a minute: cars, buses, women pushing prams and pedestrians. This year Remembrance Day falls on November 9, but many years ago it was always on November 11 at 11am, which was when the First World War ended and during which over two million men died.
Wreaths of Flanders poppies are laid at the Cenotaph in Whitehall by the High Commissioners to the UK and in the evening after the service at the Royal Albert Hall over a million scarlet Flanders poppy petals flutter down from the roof onto the heads of the servicemen and servicewomen below, to remember over a million troops who died on Flanders fields including Guyanese. To this day the battlefields of Flanders are covered with scarlet poppies in the summertime.
As you go about your business, or shopping take care, and may your God go with you.
