Many new gardeners (and quite a few older ones) get confused about the terms ‘annuals,’ ‘biennials’ and ‘perennials.’ I hope what I am about to say doesn’t worsen the situation for any of you, for these terms have a certain elasticity in Guyana because of the climate and the fact that there isn’t the low temperature of winter to make growth stop. There are only the dry or wet seasons, and if there is water available in the ‘dry’ then one can grow all the year round.
Annuals are those plants which complete their life cycle within a growing season of up to a year, such as the garden pea, the kidney bean and the cucumber – their complete life cycle being from seed germination to producing flowers, seeds, and then death.
Biennials are plants which complete their life cycle within a period of two years. That is they are sown, grow, produce flower and seed and then die after two years.
Perennials are those plants which have an unlimited life span. Of course they include trees and shrubs, and herbaceous plants (that may die down periodically in prolonged periods of dry weather) and also many of the grasses that make up our lawns.
The bottle garden
(The fancy name is terrarium)
You have to be of a certain vintage to have heard of a bottle garden. In what my children call the ‘olden days’ (my younger days), bottle gardens were a bit of a rage, an interesting leftover from the Victorian/Edwardian eras. They were made by utilizing large glass bottles called carboys, used originally to carry about five gallons of acid.
Bottle gardens are now enjoying a revival, and in my time I suppose I must have made a few dozen of them. The making gets easier with practice and a few basic tools. Having got your carboy or very large glass container, you will need a funnel rolled from a piece of cardboard to fit into the top of the bottle, a dessert spoon secured to a long stick, and a cotton reel or bobbin ready to fit on the other end of the stick.
You will pour the compost through the funnel, use the spoon as a trowel to make the holes in the soil, and the bobbin to firm around the plants. The only other thing you’ll need is patience.
The first thing you have to do is to get a layer of charcoal into the base of the bottle – essential to keep the whole thing sweet. You then pour in slightly dry compost. In practice the compost makes a bit of a mound when you pour it into the bottle, but this is easily flattened out by giving the bottle a bit of a shake. The charcoal and compost should fill the bottom quarter of the bottle.
The plants you select will be chosen because they will not grow too quickly or get too large. They must be small enough to pass through the neck of the bottle. Having selected your young plants (half a dozen will be more than enough), watered them and taken them out of their pots, you have to start making the holes into which you will drop them. Complete the planting and firming as you drop each one into place, and after the whole operation is completed, trickle a little water into the bottle down its side. Remember though, the plants already have had a good drink before planting, so really all you’re trying to do is lightly moisten the compost. .
If you have a stopper for the top of the bottle then use it. It will mean that your plants will not lose water so quickly. Do not place your bottle garden in direct light because it will just mist up; put it in subdued light.
Until next week may your God go with you wherever you may go.
