Correction: This tree is called Bauhinia forficata not Tulipan and is commonly known as Brazilian orchid tree or Pata de Vaca (foot of the cow because of the shape of the leaves). It is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. Thank you Esthela Deleg for finding out the correct name.
Outside the wall at Palmazul I see this beautiful tree. When it is in bloom the flowers are just so lovely I could not pass without taking a photo.
Makes my day!
Flowers have always been a part of my homes, fresh cut flowers to flower beds and pots overflowing with whatever is available. Here I am not having as much success as back in the states but I still continue to plant to find what will thrive in our area. This is what’s blooming in the garden now:
Hope you have a wonderful day!
Our friends Mary and John MacDonald shared some sunflower seeds with me. I got them started and ended up with these beauties.
Now here are the seeds after the flower has dried.
The beach here has almost no beach at high tide so I walk on the road when the tide is high which is often. My walking routine starts at 6am because once the sun come up I find it too hot for a brisk walk. I have taken these walking opportunities to take some photos of the beautiful flowers around town.
Enjoy!
Happy New Year, Feliz Año Nuevo to all our family and friends.
Yesterday afternoon while sitting out in the yard I looked up to see several almost ripe star fruit just staring down at me. My friend Eva said to add them to a regular salad for a special kick. That sounds like a lovely way to eat the bounty from our yard.
There are several bunches of little pink flowers along with a few very tiny little fruits. It is so much fun to search in the branches to see if any of them contain fruit. It looks like we will have five very nice ripe fruit in the next several days and then several more over the next month.
What a treat!
Hope your Mother’s Day is filled with love, joy and peace. Below I am sharing some flowers from my garden with you. Make it a beautiful day, it is in your hands to be happy today and every day. With much love, Nancy
I wanted to share with you a few plants that have started to spring up in my garden. First and foremost a special thank you to Liz for bringing a horseradish root on the plane with her when she visited a few weeks ago. I cut it in half not wanting to ruin the entire root and followed the instructions I found on the internet. I planted it on an angle and it has started to grow. Now I am not sure that it will continue to thrive here because of how warm it is but I have faith that I am supposed to have a horseradish plant.
Next to the horseradish plant I planted several cloves of garlic. They are springing up but again I am not sure they will do well in this heat so I am going to clip the tops and add to salads for a nice garlicky hit.
I have also planted a few knobs of ginger and again they are starting to sprout so keep your fingers crossed that they will grow for us.
I also planted the seeds from a Hawaiian papaya – they tend to be a bit sweeter than the big ones. I know they need to be thinned out but I just cannot make myself destroy these little babies just yet, maybe next week I will be ready to pull them up.
I have several dill plants that are doing their best to make it. We could sure use some fresh dill for my mother’s chicken soup recipe.
Now here are the bouganvilla plants that I cut from beautiful red-flowered plants growing on the fence of Vista Azul. I planted them months ago before the rain started and they did nothing for so long I thought they were dead. Look at those beautiful red flowers, these have the long spikes and will be added security on our wall on the street side of our property.
Well, off to re-pot all my potted plants. Max our neighbor brought me two huge sacks of soil from his farm. It is so black and rich I know my potted plants will just go wild for it. Now all I need is that old straw hat my Dad would wear in his garden…………….
Finally with the house and yard in some sort of order we are making an effort to have our new-found friends over for dinner. This past Friday evening Mary and John MacDonald, folks we met while visiting San Clemente back in May came over for dinner. They have the most beautiful garden spot in all of Clemente. Both of them spend hours with every little detail of their patio garden from the placement of the tea roses to the addition of a bird bath for their feathered friends. So when they showed up at our gate bearing gifts of plant cuttings we were most appreciative.
A lovely time with lovely people.
It was great fun enjoying our garden with this special couple. If you want to read about their adventures living in Ecuador go to: http://johnandmarylivingitupinecuador.wordpress.com/ where they give their perspective on life in Ecuador through pictures and stories.
So yesterday I took the great photos of the bush in bloom next to our porch, this afternoon the gardener came in and cut it down to around three feet…Almost all of the flowers are gone and it looks a bit sad to me.
Well it did need a trim, you need to have a good outlook when you are renting. Yet another reason for us to find our own home soon!
There is a big bush next to the porch at the front of the property that I could take or leave. It is just big and bushy but actually would not have been my choice as a plant for this yard until yesterday. It is covered with these little white flowers that smell like jasmine or honey suckle. It wafts into the house and envelopes you with this unbelievable aroma, it is sweet, it is flowery and it is wonderful!
There are even more blooms today and the house smells absolutely wonderful.
I am actually trying to get a few cuttings to root, wish me luck as this would be a great addition to my garden.
Finding our Paradise in South America 