Grapes in the tropics!

I bought three small grape vines back in October 2017 and frankly my expectations were pretty low.

Of course I planted them anyway and kept an eye on them (and kept watering them regularly too).

They grew super-fast, which was only half a surprise, considering almost everything grows fast here given regular water. The huge surprise was that it started showing promises of fruit. A lot of fruit.

It seems to need to hide somewhat under the leaves, or maybe I'm wrong? I really don't know how to care for grape vines in the tropics. Someone told me they would give small, but tasty fruits. I can't wait.

Isn't it the prettiest thing you've ever seen?

The vines have reached the roof. And then some. Actually they are starting on the cables stabilising the antenna on the roof. I'll have to do something about it, soon.

Now which variety is it? I don't have a clue. I don't really care at this point. I just hope it'll mature nicely and be tasty. 

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Moringa oleifera

It shocks me that I don't seem to have ever posted about Moringa oleifera here. Another miracle plant we know too little about here in Africa. We do eat the leaves traditionally, but mostly, it's become fashionable when it was 'discovered' as a superfood in the Western countries. It's now grown as a cash crop and moringa leaf powder is sold in the West as a food supplement at prices that would shock the local growers.

Here is how it grows. The long pods are left to dry (if not used green as food - quite heavy on the fiber side in my non-expert opinion) and the seeds inside used to sow a new crop.

The flowers are quite pretty and have a delicate smell. I read you can do a jelly with them, but I haven't tried (yet).

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Ginger (ornamental)

A few months back I acquired this plant which I discovered is some variety of ornamental ginger. The nursery had a lot of them with bright red 'tips', which I hesitated to identify as flowers: they looked as much like painted pine cones as any kind of flower I had ever seen. I looked it up on the Internet and found a probable scientific name for it: Costus woodsonii, and many English names, among which Dwarf French kiss, Red button ginger, Scarlet Spiral Flag, Red Cane, and Panamanian Candle Ginger.

It seems that the next stage is for the cone to open and allow yellow flowers to emerge. The most interesting part is that these flowers are supposedly edible. Now we have some new experience to be looking forward to!

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Noni

I got two seedlings of noni (Morinda citrifolia) which I started in pots and then transplanted in my garden. Although noni is supposed to be (yet another) miracle plant, I find the fruit's smell and taste close to revolting. Why did I plant it in my garden? I guess part of it is hoping I'll some day get over the smell/taste and do something good for my health. In the meantime, it's very quick and easy to grow and is rather good looking.

This is how the fruit starts: you first see a cluster of white flowers, then the flowers fall down and the base grows into the fruit itself.

I'm told it's ripe when it's white, which feels somehow counter-intuitive to me, but I'll give it another try. In the meantime, it looks good, which is rather important for an ornamental garden.

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An unusual flower

Did you know that Vernonia amygdalina (ndolé in Cameroon, aloma in southern Togo) has flowers that smell heavenly? 

I only discovered that this week, because we haven't cut them for a while (we eat the leaves), which is quite unusual for us. 

 I can't convey the smell, but at least I can show you the flowers.

The pictures are of less than average quality, because I have a problem with the card reader I use for my camera, so these are taken with my tablet.

I trust it gives you an idea of how they look like though.

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This morning in my garden...

I love hibiscus. These ones are ornamental only, as far as I know, but I fully intend to add Hibiscus sabdariffa (Bissap, Karkade, Roselle, etc.). In the meantime, enjoy!

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Ground cover

This is what my ground cover (Purslane / Portulaca grandiflora / Pourpier à grandes fleurs) looks like in the morning. The flowers don't remain open all day but the magic repeats itself every day!

I only planted about 50 out of the 200+ I bought, to check spacing since the information I found varied greatly from one source to another. After a month or so, it looks like they spread just fine when planted about one foot apart. I can now work at putting the rest of them in place. They came in several colours, 

but somehow the hot pink ones seem to be stealing the show.

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Garden in the making - Day Four

Weekend means gardening. Another 100 ficus benjamina went into the ground for the path to the guest bungalow, which is being renovated. The araucaria finally found its place too. Humans and dogs seem appreciative.

The "dry" garden is almost finished. A lot of cacti and agave-like plants were added to what was already there. The surface needs to be raked nicely. Work for tonight maybe.

We bought goava plants and some of the flowers went in too in the part between the gate and the house and along the west wall, but no pics yet. It's still a work in progress.

Future garden loading - Day 5

10 pink and 10 white Catharanthus roseus (? not completely sure):

Another 100 or so Ficus benjamina (can you picture more hedges in the making?):

And about 50 Euphorbia milii:

Any idea for a weekend pastime? I told you gardening is growing on me, didn't I? There are worse addictions...

Garden in the making - Day Three

This is my soon to be vegetable patch. You've got to imagine lettuce, okra, sweet peppers, red sorrel and spinach here.

I have my caretaker to thank for this part. Tilling with a traditional hoe is not something I can easily do with an 18-month old baby on my back. She doesn't seem to want me to put her down while gardening. (And no, there is nothing like rotovating here).

Future garden loading - Day 4

More plants... Here is today's pick:

Two more plumerias, supposedly white:

About 30 hibiscus:

A dozen orange flowers Lantana camara supposed to repel snakes:

A dozen crotons:

And three spiky two-tone plants I can't name, for the drought-resistant corner:

I'll try to get all in the ground after 4pm when the sun is less scorching.

Garden in the making - Day Two

I'm getting more and more motivated to work in the garden despite the obvious (blisters in the hands, sore muscles, sweat, and young children distracting and/or undoing what you've just done). Again, it doesn't look much, but it's mine, and it's a beginning.

The ficus benjamina went in from the main gate to the small gate:

And the philodendrons now frame the main gate and the small gate:

A supposedly yellow plumeria is given pride of place on the curve leading to the house:

This is a decorative pineapple (it will give small, inedible pineapples):

A few crotons (not sure the tall red leaves are crotons though) with a Cordyline terminalis and miscellaneous, still unnamed flowers:

And the first of hopefully many hibiscus:

Overall, it's still a bit sparse, but I think it will look good when we fill the gaps with low, fast-growing flowers.