Published on Saturday, January 4, 2025

By Victoria Torley

Remember Hobbits from “Lord of the Rings”? Hobbits had the right idea about food. They had breakfast when they got up in the morning then they had a “second breakfast” later on.

That’s kind of like what I do. In the morning, there is coffee and toast and then I head to the garden and get to work.

Coffee and toast don’t last long when you are gardening but once you start a project, you have to finish so it can be two hours before you want to go into the house again.

Especially since going “into the house” usually requires a shower and a fresh set of gardening clothes (which means more laundry), but, as I said, coffee and toast don’t last long, so a shower it is. Then comes the second breakfast.

Second breakfast has a lot of options. Cereal and fruit (and more coffee), eggs and gallo pinto (and more coffee), oatmeal with walnuts (and more coffee), and lots of juice.

Me? I am very fond of eggs and gallo pinto because that particular second breakfast has a lot of staying power. Eat cereal and you are good for an hour. Have my breakfast and you are good for three or four hours which is important if you have a lot to do.

And when do we not have “a lot to do”? If you have a large yard, gardening never seems to end and even a small garden is a lot of work and nobody wants to be interrupted by silly things like stopping to eat.

One of the nice things about a vegetable garden is that you don’t have to stop gardening to have a snack. Snacks are all around you. Feeling peckish? Grab a tomato, munch a sweet pepper or pick some string beans.

They are all good for you and you can tell your non-gardening spouse that you already ate your veggies. After all, they are better raw than cooked.


Lunch. Throw out your old ideas of a sandwich for lunch. Sandwiches are over-rated anyway. We found a baker who makes an amazing rye and seeded bread. Instead of a thin sandwich, cut a nice thick slice and top it with avocado and strawberries – or whatever your favorites are. Yum.


Snack? Hey, it’s hot out there. Make a nice fruit smoothie with pineapple and mango. We found some wild grapes and I made a thick juice with them to throw into smoothies. And granadilla, and strawberries, and soursop, and dragon fruit. Wow!


Back to the garden to pick veggies for supper then another shower, a dip in the pool, and a light supper of salad, fresh veggies, sweet potato and fish.


You are done for the day, the Hobbit way.




Plant of the week. Well, it’s been a long time since an orchid was the week’s plant, but now that the orchid greenhouse is done, I think it’s time. Here is Prosthechea fragrans a lovely little native orchid that will fill a greenhouse with scent. Fragrans is an epiphytic orchid that enjoys bright light. It is unusual in that the floral lip is at the top of the orchid.


Prosthechea is an enchanting orchid known for its sweetly scented flowers, which exude a rich fragrance to attract pollinators. It exhibits clusters of blooms (complete with a distinct three-lobed lip) in shades of green, white, and lavender, typically against a backdrop of long, slender leaves. Thriving in moist, tropical climates, prosthechea fragrans often grows epiphytically, using trees as support without harming them, a testament to its adaptive resilience.


The plant likes sun. Plant it in a place with plenty of light, but not direct sunlight. Provide it with more than 6 hours of sunlight per day. Remember that insufficient light results in poor quality and may lead to reduced or no blooms.




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Find more amazing stories about gardening in Costa Rica on the AM Costa Rica Garden page. Questions on this article, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached by emailing victoriatorley1@gmail.com
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