Inspired by plants that LOVE the sun!

Gardening has been a passion of mine since I was knee high to a grasshopper and on every trip to Mexico I always marvel at the beauty of the flowers and plants, wishing I could grow these magnificient specimens! Now I can and as my daughter says, woot! As we prepare and plan all aspects of the Inn a definite focus for me is MY garden! So, I thought I’d share with y’all my research thus far.

Blue Agave is the plant that tequila is made from ~ such a beauty!

I chuckle when I imagine the 1st person who came up with the idea to make the wicked brew. You see it is made from the stump of the plant, the ‘chunk’ just above the roots and under the blue leaves. What has me chuckling is to make tequila they first burn that stump, then mash it, then distill it! Who thought of that? The Aztecs, that’s who. For more info;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila

Wahoo!

Living in Mexico I drink my share of and now know that some tequila is really, really good and it’s nice to sip – who knew?

This is Agave margenata, a glorius plant!

I’m so looking forward to having a cactus area. Note to self; find out the name of the one that bursts into red flowers… I can barely contain my excitement.

Some friends told me I have an evil side as I told them I’m planting these at the edge of the property so that if anyone tries to crawl up and in, let’s just say, they’ll be redirected. Their spikes are like needles. Evil? I think not, prudent, si!

Then there’s the palms! This is a cycad.

I’m told this is called a Traveller’s tree palm as it always grows east/west and travellers used to use it for navigation.

Fan palm.

Pony tail palm.

Imagine me picking from my very own fruit trees!!! How decadent! I’m getting a papaya like this one.

AND I’ll have a couple of mangoes, an avocado, lemon and a lime tree ~ pronounced lee mone in Spanish (spelled limon). Someone said I have to have lichee tree too but I haven’t decided on that yet.

Then there’s the flowers… oh my, they take my breath away!

This is a Datura plant, which I failed at growing in Richmond!

It grows into a tree here! At night it has an enchanting aroma.

This one stopped me in my tracks and I declded right then and there “I must have this in my garden”. Again it grows into a tall tree. I bought one and mine is about 24″ high presently. I’ve been told buy small as everything grows quickly here. It’s called a Pink Bombax or Pseudobombax ellipticum, I prefer Pompom.

The poinsettia originated in Mexico and is stiill a huge export at Christmas time. I planted the one I got at Christmas in a pot on my deck. No fussing it just grows the red bracts/leaves.

I LOVE Dahlias and this one is Mexico’s National flower ~ Dahlia-pinnata-red.

I just learned this is a ginger plant.

I must have MANY Hibiscus!

This is called a Desert Rose. I have one on my deck and it grows with no effort so I will definetly grow more, I’m thinking around the base of the Pink Bombax tree, just have to check that they’re compatible.

To close; what tropical garden would be complete without a Bird of Paradise??

In case you’re wondering… I do know how lucky I am!

Please share your thoughts on plants I may have forgotten and/or tips and tricks for success. Also, have you had any problem loading the blog? Someone thought that possibly too many pics would slow it down. I always LOVE and RESPECT your feedback.

Happy Easter everyone.

 

Inspire someone today!

Not feeling it? Be kind, be generous… be love!