Making it Paradise...bits of Bajan life

NOOO, not that kind of pot. 😄 Listen, you don't need a big yard to plant a "garden". All you need are some pots. In fact any container will do, they don't even have to be pretty. Don't believe, me? Just watch.... Although I have a little bit of earth to work with, I love to pot certain things. Things like lettuce, kales, well any greens really, and herbs. Over the years I have found that they actually grow better in containers and are super easy to care for.  From the normal plant pots to old recycled tubs to buckets, to even used bath tubs, I think an eclectic blend of pots adds character to any garden! Because of this, I hardy ever purchase pots. I am always on the lookout for items to repurpose. Hope the following pics give you some inspiration to pot something. Pots are a part of the planning stage every time I start a new garden. Washpans, Buckets & Pots   Notice how I even plant in an adorable decorative bl...

Having a garden is so very important, and not just for beautification purposes. Home gardens are such a vital part of the ecosystem in our increasingly populated environments. Could you imagine your street or neighbourhood without any gardens? Exactly! So, here are five great reasons why everyone should have a garden. Number One Plants of all kinds are oxygen producers for our planet. Even seven year olds know that plant use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in return produce and release our much needed oxygen. The air quality of a house with an ample supply of plants in and around it is sure to be better than one surrounded by cement. Due to a process called photo-remediation, plants are able to mitigate pollution from the air by absorbing them through their leaves and roots. Here are some houseplants which are purported to improve air quality. Number Two Gardens provide a home for many small animals which would otherwise be displaced by human invasion. When we cons...

Anyone out there who wears prescripton glasses knows oh too well the immense cost associated with them. Every two to three years you can end up spending close to $1000.00 on new glasses. My last pair set me back $900.00 and I was not looking forward to my upcoming trip to the optamologist. But fate stepped in by way of my girl Malin who bought about ten pairs of glasses online at this site zennioptical.com. I mean she got her prescription in every shape and colour! Needless to say I was hyped..lol.....bargain is my middle name. Someone close to me often says that I can spend a fortune on bargains I don't even need...hahaha. Well I hopped online and let me tell you. IF you are a LIBRA like I am and cannot make choices easily when presented with options, you are going to need some time to go through this site. The site itself is extremely easy to navigate and the prices are redonkulous. Seriously, frames start at USD $6.95!!! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR and GET OUT OF HERE! I was overw...

The need to plant and grow some of what you consume is a lesson I learned at a very young age with a father who believed that we children (all 8 of us) should be able to find snacks and food in and around our yard at any given time of year. I grew up on a sizeable plot of land in the heart of the country which was home to at times, sugar canes, ground provisions, herb beds and all manner of fruits. As the years progressed, the land was used up for housing an aging and visually impaired relative and after the death of the gentle man Mr Philip (so many funny stories I have of him) who helped my mother with much of the work on the land, we resorted to just growing fruit trees. And we nurtured a beautiful orchard around us. I recall picking; limes, cherries, gooseberries, shaddocks, soursop, avocado, pomegranate, golden apple, coconuts, ackee (not the Jamaican version), mangoes, plums, bananas and passion fruit, and as the years went by things were added, removed and the cycle continued....

So a few years I purchased a thorny vine from Agrofest and was told it was called Asian gooseberry, however, as with everything I plant,  I was online searching for this plant to find out about its growing requirements, history etc and could find nothing. Well, as is usually the case after Agrofest, I decided on which saplings to keep at my urban home and which to plant on my parents property in the country and the gooseberry went off to my brothers house. After about a year and visit after visit I realised  no-one was eating the fruit, so I dug up the entire thing and returned it to my yard. I recalled having a similar fruit at Champers with my desert and was not about to let this fruit go wasted. So, it's back in my yard and I decide to conduct an image search of gooseberry vines, I finally found my vine and low and behold the Pereskia Aculeata is better known as "Barbados Gooseberry". I swear Barbados never ceases to amaze me but this had me baffled. I have never see...