Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Happy Valentines Day!
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"Be the person your dog thinks you are" - J.W. Stephens "Chess With Carrizo"
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PeopleCats Singing Club
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Just find that song!
🎙 "Those who wish to sing always find a song." - Swedish Proverb
🎥 Niki is sharing her song. More: #SingingCats
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Sing away to feel happy!
🎵 "When I sing, I feel happy. When I stop singing, I feel like I should have kept going." - Minnie Mouse
🎥 Bob is singing and feeling happy
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In Loving Memory of Mr B
Mr B, the Founder of the B-Farm
"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." - A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
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Date:
The Magic of 3
top tropical trees
from the legends of Caribbean
Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana:
Three happy colors of the Tropics
While traveling through the vibrant and diverse Caribbean, we acquired three exquisite local paintings. Two of these are masterfully rendered on jacaranda wood plates, and the third is beautifully crafted on a calabash. These stunning pieces of art celebrate the three most spectacular and revered flowering trees of the Tropics: Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana.
These trees are not only visually stunning but also deeply embedded in Caribbean culture, legends, and folk remedies.
The Yellow
Poinciana, with its bright golden blossoms, is often associated with joy and
sunlight, symbolizing the warmth of the Caribbean spirit.
The Jacaranda,
known for its striking lavender-blue flowers, is a symbol of wisdom and
rebirth, often blooming in a breathtaking display that signals the change of
seasons.
The Royal
Poinciana, with its fiery red and orange flowers, is a symbol of passion and
energy, often referred to as the "Flamboyant" tree due to its bold and dramatic
appearance.
These trees hold a special place in the hearts of the Caribbean people. They are featured in numerous local stories and songs, and their flowers and leaves are used in traditional remedies and rituals. Owning these paintings feels like possessing a piece of the Caribbean's soul and its natural beauty.
Now, we are fortunate to have not only the paintings but also the actual trees. Watching them grow and bloom in our garden brings a piece of the Caribbean to our home, a constant reminder of our travels and the vibrant culture we experienced. These trees and their representations in art are a testament to the region's rich heritage and its enduring connection to nature.
Get them now while we have them. No need to go too far into Caribbean!
Peltophorum africanum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana. An excellent garden shade tree, beautiful in flower. This variety starts flowering at young age, in 3 gal pot.
Jacaranda mimosifolia - Hypnotizing bluish-purple, trumpet-like flowers create the magical image of the tree. Incredible, long-lasting purple blooms. When the trumpet-shaped blooms finally fall, they form a lilac carpet beneath the awe-inspiring Jacaranda for luxuriant curb appeal...
Royal poinciana, Flamboyant tree, Delonix regia - "One of the most spectacular flowering trees in the USA, and probably among the top 10 on this planet. In full bloom, it is like a regal elephant caparisoned in red and yellow brilliance." (Larry M. Schokman, The Kampong, National Tropical Botanic Garden)
What is the most useful tree in the world?
Moringa oleifera - Bridal veil, Horseradish tree, Drumstick Tree, Ben Oil Tree
Moringa oleifera - Bridal veil, Horseradish tree, Drumstick Tree, Ben Oil Tree
Moringa oleifera - Bridal veil, Horseradish tree, Drumstick Tree, Ben Oil Tree
- 💚 One of the most versatile and valuable trees known to humanity is Moringa oleifera, also called: Horseradish tree, Bridal veil, Horseradish tree, Drumstick Tree, Ben Oil Tree. It is indeed considered one of the most useful trees in the world. This reputation stems from its wide range of nutritional, medicinal, and practical applications.
- 💚 Moringa is a beautiful flowering tree with fragrant white flowers. It produces long green pods (looking like drumsticks!) and the seeds have been compared to a cross between peanuts and asparagus.
- 💚 Moringa leaves are rich in vitamins (A, B, C, E), minerals (calcium, potassium, iron), and amino acids, and have strong antioxidant properties. they are used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation. Moringa can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
- 💚 Almost every part of the tree is edible, including the leaves, pods, seeds, and flowers. Each part has its unique nutritional profile and culinary uses. Used in teas and cooking.
- 💚 The roots are used as a substitute for horseradish and the edible leaves make a highly nutritious vegetable. The roots have also been used in many folk remedies.
- 💚 Many Moringa products produced commercially: leaves, powder, oil. Moringa oil, extracted from the seeds, is used in cosmetics, skincare products. Seeds can be used to purify water, making it safer to drink.
- 💚 The plant can be used as a natural fertilizer and pesticide. Leaves are used as a nutritious feed for livestock.
📚 Learn more: How to grow a happy Moringa Tree
🛒 Plant your own Moringa Tree and save the Planet
#Food_Forest #Remedies
🏵 TopTropicals
What is the most delicious Annona fruit?
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
- 🍐 Annona muricata - commonly known as Soursop, Guanabana, or Graviola, is widely regarded as the best-tasting annona fruit.
- 🍐 This tropical tree, native to Tropical America, produces large, unusual-looking fruits with a unique blend of sweet and slightly sour flavors. The custard-like pulp is fragrant, smooth and creamy, making Soursop perfect for milkshakes, desserts, or simply enjoyed fresh.
- 🍐 Soursop is evergreen in warm climates, though it's highly sensitive to cold and requires temperatures above 50°F to thrive. However, it can also be grown indoors in containers, making it possible to enjoy its delicious fruit even in cooler regions. The tree itself is medium-sized, fast-growing, and relatively easy to manage in a pot, offering a wonderful option for indoor fruit growing.
- 🍐 Soursop is one of the largest of the Annonas, and its quirky, bumpy fruit shapes make it a fun conversation starter. We even have an interesting article on how to grow, hand-pollinate and fruit Soursop in an apartment - ideal for plant lovers looking to bring a taste of the tropics into their homes!
- 🍐 Soursop leaves are superheroes in the world of natural remedies. Known for their potential to fight cancer, these leaves are packed with compounds that may help keep rogue cells in check. Whether brewed into tea or turned into extracts, they've become a popular go-to in holistic health circles.
📚 Tropical Treasures Magazine:
Growing and fruiting Soursop in apartment (PDF download)
Spoiler in the next post ⬇️⬇️⬇️
More about Anonnas in previous posts:
Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #1. Annona
Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?
The best tropical fruit tree for container growing, and the fastest to fruit: Annona
Spiny Hedgehog fruit: what does it taste like?
🛒 Plant your own Guanabana
#Food_Forest #Remedies
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Why do the Chinese drink tea?
🍃 It actually has to do with the Chinese theory of the five elements - wood, metal, fire, water, and earth:
木 金 火 水 土
🍃 Tea comes from a plant - Camellia sinensis - the Tea Leaf Tree - that is used to make all true teas: green, black, white, and oolong. The Tea Tree contains the element of wood (木) 🌳
🍃 When it's roasted in a cast-iron pan, it gains the element of metal (金)
🍃 Then it's dried over fire, adding the element of fire (火) 🔥
🍃 When it's brewed with boiling water, the element of water enters (水) 💦
🍃 Finally, tea is poured into a clay vessel, symbolizing the element of earth (土) 🍯
🍃 In this way, all five elements - wood, metal, fire, water, and earth - come together in a single cup.
🍃 The plant grows slowly and can thrive in containers or frost-free gardens with sun to semi-shade.
🛒 Grow your own tea
📚Learn more from previous posts:
Tea facts
How to grow your own tea?
Where does the tea come from?
Instructions how to make tea from tea leaves (PDF)
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Fun_facts
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Date:
What is the easiest, prettiest, and most practical plant?
A plastic one?
Believe it or not, there is a different answer:
Plant of the month: Callisia Variegated Golden Tendril
Callisia fragrans x soconuscensis Melnikoff - Variegated Golden Tendril
An ultimate plant:
- perfect low maintenance house plant
- easy to grow
- has multiple holistic medicinal properties
- can grow fast as grownd cover
- needs almost no water
- sun or shade
- no fuss, no kidding!
This is an extremely rare variety of the European Holistic Medicinal Plant - Golden Tendril. It has showy variegated leaves and makes a beautiful houseplant on top of its medicinal value. It tolerates wide range of conditions and requires very little water; takes both bright sun or shade and is very fast growing and easy. The plant has wide medicinal use in Europe, literally every household uses this plant as a home remedies... just like Aloe Vera! According to scientific research, active biological substances from steroid group contained in this plant can struggle with any types of infections, stimulates metabolic processes, strengthens immunity and circulatory system, has a positive influence on growths and much more... some people consider it a virtual panacea. Whether it works for everybody or not, it is definitely fun to own such a legendary plant!






