We take you inside one of our members gardens each month, they offer a world of ideas, intriguing plants and design, enjoy it! Here is the Palm Garden at Rotten Hill, Antigua.
Rotten Hill Palm Garden
Hello Gardeners!
It is the rainy, stormy season, protect your plants and pots, this is the result from Hurricane Earl on September 30th 2010, it blew over many small trees and we lost most of the bird nests.
Time to plan for all the new growth, ‘digging dirt’to make new gardens, lets all think about those vegetable and herb gardens we have been reading about, start it from seeds, or cuttings,if you recently bought basil take a piece of the woody stem and put it in water and watch the roots grow.
Antigua’s National Flower – The Agave
Other Names: Dagger Log or Batta Log (Barbuda). Agave Karatto, Century Plant
Family: Lily Family
Description: This plant of the Lily Family is very majestic and noble to look at; it is well named as the word “Agave” is from the Greek “Agave” meaning “noble”.
Perennial: It flowers once in 10- 20 years then it dies, hence its other name (Century Plant)
Soil: dry
Sunlight: Sun to part sun
Uses: the dried logs are tied together with a wooden stake for fishing inland waters.
Propagation: Agave can be propagated by seeds, and they will put on pups, but will not root from cuttings.
Clerodendrum
April 2010 Featured Plant
Clerodendrum
Other Names: Glory Bower, Starburst, Shooting Star
Family: Lamiaceae
Description: Blooms are huge, most are 8-12 inches in diameter. Each flower is made up of scores of smaller 3-4 inch long flowers bursting from the center. plant Clerodendrum quadriloculare as a focal point Likes rich loam and moist plant in zone 10A-11
Perennial: Blooms in Antigua starting January or February, then blooms continuously for several months.
Soil: Well drained, moist, fertile humus
Sunlight: Full sun to Partial shade
Uses: Accent bush — show piece
Propagation: Cuttings, suckers, seeds
Agave
Petrea, Sandpaper Vine
March 2009 Featured Plant
Petrea, Sandpaper VineFamily: Verbenaceae, also relative to Verbena
Description: Long plumes of violet star shaped flowers
Perennial: Native to West Indies, Mexico and India
Soil: Not Fussy, likes it dry
Sunlight: Full sun
Uses: The purple plumes of blooms are a real show stopper, easy to grow and propagate by cuttings, or self seeds, leaves does feel like sand paper. Flowers after the rain.
Propagation: Cut back to keep in shape and encourage new blooms.
Thunbergia battiscombei
Thunbergia battiscombei
Family: Acanthaceae
Description: Purple, violet trumpet like flowers with a yellow center
Perennial: Flowers Year round in the Caribbean profusely
Soil: Tolerate dry conditions once established. Not fussy about soil, must be well drained
Sunlight: Full sun
Uses: Structural support Very decorative on a trellis, fences, great back drop to any garden
Propagation: Easy by cuttings