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The Getaway By Victoria Torley It’s amazing how quickly things can go wrong in a tropical garden. Go to the U.S. for a couple of weeks or on vacation a bit longer and things are a mess when you get back. Company? Friends who want your attention to go places and do things? Oh dear. Oh, and don’t get sick or be laid up with a sprain either. All of those things are b-a-d. The truth is I haven’t been very attentive to some things that need my attention. It’s fine to have a gardener, but everyone needs instruction on what to tackle next. Yesterday I visited a part of the yard that I hadn’t seen in a while – it’s a big yard - and was blown away by the mess. I couldn’t even find the cacao seedlings I planted under some shade trees, and I imagine that the leaf cutter ants got them. Let’s not talk about leaf cutters. What was the worst? The black raspberry plants – definitely the worst. Black raspberries are plants that will self-propagate and take over the world if they can. Delicious and invasive are both apt descriptions. It’s those long canes, propagation canes, that have to be caught early and cut to the ground. If they touch down, they take root and spread the plant somewhere where you don’t really want it. Now, I love my black raspberries, and the pie? Heaven. However, I don’t want the plants to spread throughout the yard. The birds are helping, too. Raspberries seem to be a favorite food, and I have baby plants coming up everywhere. Giving them away sounded like a good idea, so I let friends and neighbors know that they were available. The following year my friends and neighbors had so many plants that they were trying to give them away. We had quickly reached the saturation point. At least berry bushes are in the desirable column. Yes, they spread, but you can eat the berries. Let the weeds get ahead of you, and you are in big trouble. We have what I think is a variety of crab grass here in Costa Rica that absolutely amazes me. I started pulling on an isolated sprig of it rooted in a path and ended up at the base of the plant about two meters later. Along the way, I had to contend with a dozen or so separate sets of roots and that was just one plant. The little monsters are everywhere. Sometimes it makes me think I need a smaller yard. Plant for the Week
 Crepe myrtle bushes can grow into trees if you have the right conditions. Just back from Texas where I saw one a good 10 meters tall and at least as wide. Colors? Amazing. Easy to grow? Yes. Full sun but less rain than we get in Aguacate. I think they would do well in the Cartago area and Central Valley. Since they propagate from cuttings and seed, they can be shared with friends. Something
new for the week
 My first novel is out on Kindle/Amazon, so here’s a picture of me at my book signing in Texas. For more information on this article of request for information about gardening, Ms Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached at victoriatorley1@gmail.com |
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