This Week in a Tropical Garden

[iLander]

I wanted to post some of the tropical stuff in my garden, since it is my only compensation for putting up with the heat. And the humidity.

This week one of my Barbados Cherry trees "went off", as I call it. One week it has little pink flowers, then a couple of weeks later it explodes into a pile of cherries, too many to eat at once. It does this several times a year. The cherries are not sweet unless they are extremely ripe, so you are actually best off picking them up from the ground and eating them. Otherwise, a bit tart. Each one has over 1,000 mg of Vitamin C, and vitamin companies use them to make Vitamin C tablets. In Japan, they are more popular, and generally called Acerola, and used in juices. Not well known in the US. (Yes, those are my pink flamingoes )

This is my favorite Mango tree and it produces Mangoes with a tangy/sweet flavor. When it finally ripens, the fruit will be orange with bright red blush. Each one is about 8-9 inches long and delicious! I'm hoping to eat hardy in August. DH, who planted this (one-just this one) mango tree, loves to take credit for it. I have another tree that is ripening now, a different variety with mostly green fruit, but they have the usual all-sweet mango flavor.

Have you ever seen baby starfruit? Aren't they cute? At this point, the longest one is about 1/2 inch long. It's a lovely tree, with pink flowers and great fruit. It is also a pain in the a$$. The tree actually does not like WIND. Seriously. What is that about? Did it not think it would be outside? So when we have windy days, I have to go out and water it, and scowl at wilty-looking leaves. It's always threatening to die, and some random branches do die every year. The thing is over ten years old, and it's not even 12 feet tall. And this is in a very sheltered part of the yard, that is also in full sun. Trying find that spot in your yard. But the fruit is great, and annoyingly slow to ripen. It won't be ready until Thanksgiving, when I usually use it to garnish the turkey.

So, just thought I'd share.

 

[Enerchi]

AMazing!!! iLander, do you live in Barbados?
I love the mango tree credit your DH is taking --- yeah, 1 thing in the garden, does NOT make you a master gardener...

Gorgeous garden - really, are you in the caribbean??

 

[minousbijoux]

Thanks so much for the post! I've been thinking about you and mangoes ever since your last post. I have bought a bunch of the big ones - look like the type you are growing - and I can't tell if they're ripe. I try to get them when they're not rock hard and not too soft, and hopefully, with some yellow and some blush color. But frankly, its hit or miss when I cut them open Tips gratefully appreciated.

I love the photo of your mangoes growing; I didn't know they grew on those long leashes!

 

[minousbijoux]

Oh, and try not to scowl at the baby starfruit; maybe that's the problem!

 

[iLander]

@Enerchi; Nothing that exotic, I'm still in the US, but really pretty far south.

@minousbijoux; When you buy the mangoes, smell the end where the stem was. If it smells slightly sweet, it will taste good, regardless of how hard it is. Then, when it is pretty darn smushy, on most of the mango, it is ripe and ready to eat. In grocery stores, they tend to sell mangoes that are green when picked, and they don't ever develop much flavor, but the sniff test will reveal that. To hurry things along, put them all together in a cardboard box, not the fridge.

Sometimes I still have trouble being able to tell, so I just cut a half inch off of the stem end, and look inside; if it doesn't look like all the flesh has the melty (bright orange) mango texture, I set it aside and try again the next day, cutting a little more. I never put them in the fridge, they just sit in a fruit bowl on my counter. Color doesn't help much because there are so many kinds of mangoes, many of which are bright green when ripe.

The really good ones will be in the stores in July-August.

For anybody that missed the mango thread; [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/how-to-pick-a-great-mango.174924/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/how-to-pick-a-great-mango.174924/[/URL]

P.S.; You know, maybe you're right, maybe I am giving the little guy a complex!

 

[artdecogirl]

ooooooh Ilander, I am green with envy! Those cherries look gorgeous, and so scrumptious! please share the rest of the garden!!!

 

[iLander]

ooooooh Ilander, I am green with envy! Those cherries look gorgeous, and so scrumptious! please share the rest of the garden!!!

Thanks! I don't really have many pictures, but here's one of an interesting hibiscus that I grow. It's called Chinese Lantern, for obvious reasons. The branches swoop out, then the flowers dangle down, and they open all the way until they fold backwards, just like you see it.

The story behind it is that I bought a small tree of this for the first house we ever owned, 20+ years ago. My aunt took a cutting, and she's been growing it for years, first at one house, now at her new house. I went to visit a couple of years ago, and took a cutting, and I have it in my garden again. I'm thrilled, because I have been looking to buy it commercially, and have NEVER seen it for sale. It grows hanging upside-down just like the picture.

In the background is a purple leaved plant, and a begonia with giant round leaves and hairy stems. We have some odd stuff here.

I'll post more pics!

 

[iLander]

My family doesn't pay much attention to my gardening (except for "Where's Mom?", "Outside."), so I'm having a great time with this thread!

First is an orchid seed pod, which I've only seen twice in all my years of gardening. The seeds are literally microscopic, and the pod holds millions. All the vanilla that you eat and use in cooking, is the seeds and pod of the vanilla orchid, in case you ever wondered.

Next a bromeliad. Spread your hand out wide, that is how big the flower is. Usually there are little blue flowers in between the pink bracts, but that was last week and I didn't get a pic.

Last is my patio, the stones were my birthday gift a couple of years ago. Yes, that is a real shell on the blue and white porcelain garden seat, and a giant clam shell on the left behind the chair. I bought the clam at a yard sale many years back for $10.

 

[minousbijoux]

Really, really pretty! I don't know how you garden in the heat, though. It would do me in

I love the "Where's Mom?" "Outside." That is just the way it is at my house too! I find great peace in my yard and garden. What I've noticed lately is the great variety of bird calls. Sigh. So calming - until the kids (and dogs) figure out where I am...

 

[junebug17]

Beautiful pics iLander, your garden is so pretty! I love your patio, it's a very relaxing and inviting place - would love to just hang out there with an iced tea and a good book!

 

[Sha]

Lovely! thanks for sharing! I live in the Caribbean so have had the Barbados cherries, star fruit and of course mangoes... I laughed at your description at the starfruit tree.. I have one in my yard which does pretty well - it is in a full sun location, incidentally. Maybe it's the shade and slightly cool wind that it doesn't like?

The hibiscus and orchid are beautiful!

 

[monarch64]

Awesome pics! Love that hibiscus, so unexpectedly beautiful!

 

[hoover]

Awesome pics, iLander

Do you have any lychee trees by chance? I know they can be grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii and I've always wanted to see what they (the trees) look like

I love your garden and I'm so jealous of all the tropical fruit that you're growing!
If it was me in your shoes ( and garden) the answer to where I am would be "outside. In the garden. Eating."
I wish i can sneak in and snatch one of your mangoes for dessert now mmmmmm.....

PS. That chinese lantern is very cool!

 

[marcy]

Terrific pictures!