A Gardener’s diary
I had a plant in my garden called Blue Wings, which had the Latin name Torenia fournieri. It is an annual plant (it produces deep blue flowers, seeding and dying in one year) and makes an amazingly attractive pot plant. It has a fine pedigree, being a close relative of the Foxglove, Mimulus, Antirrhinum, and Calceolaria, and is worth a place in anyone’s garden. I had a seedling on a patch of gravel which seems to be an ideal place for it, and am forever thinning out the young plants. If you get half a chance get hold of some seed and throw it about the wilder parts of your garden that have a little shade.
Not too far away from the patch of Torenia Blue Wings were some plants of another annual called Black-eyed Susie, which is properly called Thunbergia alata. Scrambling (but not choking) over the Costus and Bougainvillea it is also a plant demanding little enough in the way of maintenance, but gives masses of pleasure by producing thousands of golden yellow flowers, and seeding fairly freely. It’s gardening without the worry and the backache.
The travellers’ tree, rejoicing in the name of Ravenala madagascariensis, was once upon a time classed as a member of the family Scitamineae, then in the Musaceae and the latest shift in this long-running comic opera of botanical indecision places it firmly (for the moment) in the family Strelitziaceae. Don’t try and remember any of it. For the ordinary gardener none of this should cause sleepless nights. Suffice it to say that this plant would be a precious acquisition in anyone’s plot of land, and will grow to a height of 40ft and look like a giant fan. The leaf bases form a receptacle for a great deal of water of the greatest value to the traveller, be that man, smaller mammal, or small bird. Plants are on the market at the present time, and are likely to be snatched up fairly quickly.
You wouldn’t think that people were thinking about Christmas at this moment in time, but they are. At least the people who are in the business of selling Christmas trees, which appear to be quite plentiful. At present these are about a foot or so high, but in a few months in this climate they will be double that size I suspect. The Norfolk Island pine (for that is what is mainly used in Guyana) will grow to a considerable size here – some forty of fifty feet – and is quite tolerant of conditions along the coast. When they are youngsters they prefer an open compost with good drainage, and a high level of humus. And they are quite good in small containers for use in the home at the festive season. They do appreciate regular light feeds of weak fertilizer to keep them growing, and at the first chance should be taken outside into good light. Don’t allow them to dry out, for when they are young this will finish them off quickly, and their leaves will start to lose their beautiful green colouring and turn brown.
Large patio plants sometimes need to be potted into a larger container, and sometimes into very large containers. After selecting the right-size pot, barrel or whatever you decide is the most appropriate container, you must first make sure that the drainage will be right, and the best way to do this is to cover the base of the pot with a layer of ‘crocks’ (broken pieces of clay pot). After knocking the plant out of the old container, it is always a good thing to remove some of the soil from the side and the base of the plant, so that the new compost which will be used can come into contact with as much of the root system as possible, and as much of the old soil as possible can be removed.
The next step is to put a layer of fresh compost into the base of the new pot, place the plant into the centre of the pot, and then work new soil around the space at the sides, using something like a ruler to work it down and firm it. This firming is very important to prevent the plant rocking about. The level of the soil once the repotting is finished should be not more than an inch from the top of the pot. It may sound a cumbersome sort of job, but it is really very easy if you take your time and make sure that each part of the job is done properly. Now take heart because it is nowhere near Christmas yet. Until I talk to you again may your God go with you wherever you live in this country of ours.
