GARDENING WEEDS AND YOU

OF ALL THE CREDIT hours taken in the NY Botanical Garden for the Commercial Horticulture Landscape Management Certificate, 18, to approve the Turf Management course, were the most exasperating or enlightening. The text book:
'Turf Management Handbook,' by Charles B. Schroeder and Howard B. Sprague could not be more boring and dull. Even if the information is useful the photos and format lack imagination.

If you are the type of inquisitive gardener/person, you could not help but wonder how much stupidity regarding, lawns, grass, turf , planting and management has dominated the whole world for the last 100 years.

Think of turf or lawns, playing fields and parks, golf courses, private residences all around you. I accept that some sports require/demand turf: baseball and cricket to name two. Besides that, I can not tolerate the waste of resources, energy and money required to keep up grass, unless by goats, sheep, cows or horses. Or perhaps a push mower.

Turf management involves growth, health, diseases, insects, shade, sun, heat, cold, soil acidity and liming, fertilizers, weeds, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and irrigation. The majority of these activities require fossil fuels, gas/oil/diesel, propane or electricity. That means pollution and C02, ( Global warming comes to mind), smoke and the annoying irritating noise of trimmers, blowers and lawnmowers.

Is there something more senseless than using drinkable water to irrigate anything, grass on top of it? Imagine for one second the billions of gallons of water wasted in turf, golf courses around the world. In Nevada, USA, a desert, there are 35 golf courses! These are the people, crying wolf for lacking water for development. Now they are trying to divert/rob water from the environment and communities one, two hundred miles away to waste in residential turf, new housing projects.

The opposite of turf, weeds are often seen as a hindrance rather than enhancing. Weed are defined in this context most of the time. A nuisance, unsightly and unwanted. I have embraced some in my collection for their beauty, being uncommon or rare, in the garden, aesthetics. But also for pragmatic reasons, since I keep the connection between fauna/flora when I plant.

Many, lots of creatures depend on weeds. They provide food, shelter and protection to many species, besides protecting the soil against erosion. Some weeds grow in the most unimaginable places, including cracks in concrete, rocks, asphalt.. There are seeds
and grasses for everyone. Is there anything more attractive, stimulating than watching a bird balancing on tall weeds against the wind to grasp some seeds?

WEEDS IN ME GARDEN

Commelina elegans
with elegant intense
blue indigo flowers,
a favorite of chickens
and rabbitts

Datura stramonium
Jathropha gossypifolia
Merremia quinquefolia
Clitorea ternatea
Trimezia caribea
Urena lobata

Dipterantun prostratus with one
of the most attractive pure white flowers in the Caribbean wild.
I learned the botanical name from a fellow blogger in India,
'In art lies my life'
who happens to own similar plants in his collection.
I have also a light purple variety. Discovered while
taking Diva, our pet in residence to her fetch training.

These plants have a funny habit for self seeding.
In the afternoons, when I irrigate the collection I can
hear them popping, cracking open, when the water
hit the seeds, a real trip.

Enhance your garden. I have vines, trees/bushes, plants and climbers
Embrace the weeds...Time to go...

NEW PASSENGERS ENVIRONMENTAL BANDWAGON GUERRILLA GARDENING UPDATES

EARLY BONUS
For the last week, I was noticing this intense
feeling in the sweet subtle side of attractive fragrance.

Could not figure it out, until today. I look up, and there
it was, the yellow flowering Pterocarpus in Sagrado Corazon property.
Another fragrance
in the top five.

THERE IS A LOT, to go through. If you are in a rush move on. Lets start with Feisbuk,

with the Spanish, pronunciation. Taco the Clown, a contemporary character from Savarona. He grew up among Baptists, while yours truly was a Catholic crusader.
Taco shot from the hip recently in that forum. As some readers may have noticed, I do not have much reluctance to express my views, mostly on environmental issues, the whole court, if I may.

PAYASO TACO, somehow thought/expressed that I should not throw pearls to the hogs, in that forum. Considering the line of work/vocation I follow, and I am willing
to accept any duel with words, sword, fist, sticks as in EL TIO LA VARA, a new superhero from Spain. I found the comment irritating and unnecessary since every hog deserves an opportunity.

To end this subject, I wondered if HIS hogs, went to some refinement school or academy, considering that he does try to educate with his out of context inspirational quotes from esoteric philosophy, budism, and god knows which other sources. This is for you: Throwing pearls to hogs may/may not be useful as some figure of speech. But check this out mate, if you throw them pearls to some Iberian Hogs, the result could not be surpassed. The best probable ham on earth.

Moving to more terrestrial things.

Guerrillagardening activities.

After a pleasant trip to Fajardo City, a couple of purple Bouganvillea
stems were collected, along some Thespesia populnea seeds.
The ten Thespesias were planted in the former Hospital San Carlos
Guerrilla theater on Ponce de Leon Avenue.

IINVENTORY AT THIS SITE

\Pumpkins 2
Cosmus sulphureous 10
Suculents 2
Sanseveria
Agavacea
Tabebuias 2
Tartago 1
from Thailand,
sweet Tamarindus indica 10

Most are planted from seeds except
Tabebuia, Sanseveria, Agavacea. Alive and kicking.

If you are to practice guerrilla in Puerco Rico, USA
do not plant anything not resistant to heat/drought
particularly if not available to irrigate. Plant what is
available in the surroundings, do not buy crap from
nurseries.

BANDWAGON ENVIRONMENTAL
NEW ARRIVALS
Agrochic
Arboles de Puerto Rico
Boricuas identificando y reconociendo
Arboles de Puerto Rico
Mercado Ecologico de San Juan
and my favorites
THE DUNES SAVIORS FROM
ISABELA CITY

To all the above I wish you the best.. and character
to take what I will certainly will say from my observations and what I may have said/written already.
If not mentioned, do not worry, I will
keep you posted, later.

Critics criticize...

GARDENING AT HOME NEWS

Perhaps you remember that I mentioned in an old post
how Phd Alberto Areces Mallea and Gabriela Ocampo,
those yellow bellies trash, children of beaches stole some rooting
hormones from my storage area, some time ago when I was
a trend setting groundskeeper with
the Luis Munhoz Marin Foundation.

I did not have the chance to propagate with hormones since then.
Well, I just got some rooting gel in the mail. It is much better than the previous
dust rooting ones. Four stems of Guaicum officinale,
six of yellow and orange Hibiscus, collected in the UPR and calle
Sagrado Corazon and the two from Fajardo mentioned in the beginning
have been planted.

That is that..Time to go...

THE ONCE AND FUTURE FOREST....the end

WE undertake to restore indigenous communities and ecosystem function in the face of great uncertainty. We do not know very much about how natural systems work, and we do not even have all the component pieces.
The concept of restoration, taken literally, might presume that we can replace missing parts or remove added ones. But while we can eliminate invasive alien species on a specific site, we cannot necessarily take away all new elements. How does the restorationist, for example remove the large amounts of nitrogen raining down the landscape from air pollution, seriously modifying one of the most basic processes, the nitrogen cycle?
Not is it any easier to add the lost pieces. Where do we find the huge flocks of migratory passenger pigeons whose numbers collapsed from billions to extinction with the first great wave of deforestation or the once numerous but now extinct Carolina parakeets of the eastern forest?
We simply do not know enough about our ecosystems; nor are we yet
able to modify our lifestyles and land use to recreate those conditions necessarily to truly restore a prior state, extinctions aside.

The management of complex living systems necessarily involves many
interrelated natural processes and functions. Some of these natural processes and functions we may seek to replace or emulate; others we may try to rehabilitate or reestablish. The cumulative result is intended
to more toward restoration. This is a heuristic process in which we will
learn as we go along. If we are committed to sustaining indigenous plants and animals, we will, over time, discover new approaches and techniques that cannot be implemented or even imagined, today.

We have written this guide book primarily as a stimulus to those individuals and groups who want to do something constructive about our deteriorating forest patches. We hope it will assist in this restoration process providing an approach for assessing each site, guidelines for determining management goals and an overview of appropriate management and restoration techniques. The objective

is to provide a framework for action rooted in the idea that those who use and care for a landscape should be responsible for sustaining its value over time. The goal is to develop programs to ensure that most of our actions will be restorative and not destructive. We have set ourselves on a critical path and the direction will be shaped by our goals.

The Once and Future Forest
Leslie Jones Sauer
Introduction

Perhaps now that once again the horses have been taken to the water stream, they will taste the water. Maybe not in Puercorico USA, but in your country far away, things will be put in the correct perspective. Every jerk/jerkette bored to death decides to 'restore', plant, reforest,
save this or that in this concrete/asphalt isle.

The result is tens or hundreds of ignorant fools with good intentions, without information, credentials or experience doing at will, what they think is correct or helpful to the environment.
In the case of Alberto Areces Mallea and Gabriela Ocampo is the contrary, people with college
degrees making the most stupid mistakes in the name of the "species in danger of extinction" or
endemic ones. They are not the only ones, the municipalities, government agencies: 007 Recursos Naturales, Fideicomiso and Parques Nacionales are under the direction of ignorant
fools, with similar employees destroying with foolish management practices the whole environment, but with futile attempts to protect, save, enhance it. Even worse, spending such
amount of money as in Parque Donha Ines, is a real waste considering that soil, Flora and Fauna was totally destroyed without any serious inventory, soil analysis, plan, or vision to protect the land and living creatures. That is that.

BALL/BURLAP REPORT

I want to inform that the Calliandra has officially
survived the relocation, the Guaicaum officinale is still
under observation, but not in danger of passing away.

The Malpighia is also doing great, not mentioned before.
This one went from a pot in the north side to the ground
in the south.

THE ONCE AND FUTURE FOREST...PART ll

Human induced disturbances to the landscape are now of such great scope and scale that they overshadow the patterns of natural disturbances. Natural disturbance is,
of course, part of a natural cycle, the result of climatic extremes, fire, the death of a tree, a flood, or countless other phenomena. Indeed, these cyclical events are a vital
stimulus to change and integral to sustaining regional diversity within great forest
expanses. What most distinguishes natural disturbance from human induced disturbance is the extent to which it falls within the historic range of its occurrence.
Events at the limit of the natural range shape the landscape profoundly, such as the
blowdown of 1938 in New England or the fire of 1963 in the Pine Barrens of the New
Jersey. Events that extend well beyond their naturally occurring variability, however, exceed the recoverability of many plant and animal communities.
Complex, long established ecosystems are collapsing after repeated disturbance.
For example, repeated clearcutting inflicts far more serious and long term impact
of natural forest regeneration than was previously recognized. At the same time,
a few supercompetitive and generalist species are thriving at the expense of almost all others in the landscapes created by human settlement. Now unchecked suburbanization and resource extraction are consuming ever more of the remaining wild and rural lands. The living systems around us are losing their
richness and resilience, and we sense the implications for own lives.

Few of us can fully imagine or appreciate the grandeur and intricacy of the original forest encountered by the first settlers. But mos of us remember a forest we knew once that we have watched decline or disappeared all together. The lands we saved for their rich landscapes are changing before our eyes as the impacts of the last few centuries become more visible.

While park users and land managers are becoming more aware of the urgency of the problem, they are hampered by lack of information and experience in dealing with the management and restoration of disturbed landscapes. Natural resource
managers typically study intact ecosystems and may have little experience with disturbed landscapes, and horticulturalists are usually inadequately trained
in large scale natural systems. Ecologists and biologists in the past often devoted
relatively little energy to solving on the ground management problems and sought
instead to find and document the most pristine sites. Today the scientific community is shifting its focus toward restoration, but there is are no consistent policies or proven methodologies that reliably result in restoration. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of all is that restoration is a long term effort requiring a high degree of expertise and commitment rather than a quick fix.

Despite the challenges facing them, many landscape managers are attempting forest restoration and getting some good results for their efforts. These concerned
managers are developing the art and science of caring for fragmented forests by monitoring, studying, maintaining, replanting, and experimenting in woodlands and forests. They are aware that restoration is an going job and that natural systems are often so compromised we cannot expect them to recover if they are simply left on their own. Progress is not necessarily smooth and transformation
are not instantaneous, but these landscape managers are monitoring the landscape, limiting further impacts, and initiating improvement in the management of the natural systems under their care.


I will leave it here. There is one more part of the introduction left. In Puercorico USA, any jerk
with/without academic titles, politicians, community leaders, and jerks/jerkettes, opportunists of all kinds, banks, public/private agencies believe that taking care/respecting the environment is just: collecting garbage, recycling, or digging holes like mentally retarded without supervision and planting trees without much else, any
thought about maintenance. That is my stance. and that is that....

THE ONCE AND FUTURE FOREST

SOMETIMES, I wonder when will this prevailing anger, intolerance at the insular feeble mindedness will subside. Now in Feisbuk, there are some
environmental DUNE SAVERS, in Isabela. The ignorant savers announced
with great fanfare their great endeavor, but I noticed a remarkable error.

Dunes need something to grab, hold the sand in place. Ground covers and/or grass. Their selection? Cocos Nucifera. The retarded ones, instead
of doing research, under erosion, sand, decided to plant palm trees where there were none. These not only will not stop/decrease the erosion, the DUNE SAVERS fucked up the landscape scenery/view, obstructing it with the vertical barriers. JERKS!

The tittle of the post is also a must have book. If you are into the offering unsolicited opinions as I do, you have to read and have references available for the ignorants, illiterates, and Phd's, as ALBERTO ARECES MALLEA, and his aboriginal Mexican Olmec wife. If they had taken the time to read the essential chapters on forest/habitat restoration, the eco-environmental crimes against FLORA/FAUNA/WATER/SOIL, committed in Parque Donha Ines, would not have taken place.

The Once and Future Forest
Leslie Jones Sauer
and
Andropogon Associates
Island Press, 1998

For many of us, urban and suburban forests are the closest we can come to nature. Sadly, these beloved places are deteriorating throughout the country. Some forests are destroyed in a moment--cut over and built upon. Others, especially urban parks and remnant woodlands, die more slowly, their destruction is caused not by a single act but by an accumulation of daily assaults--by public use of the landscape as well as by the public agencies responsible for their care.

Protection of the land has not necessarily protected the landscape. We all contribute to this deterioration--from the mountain biker gouging a
rutted trail up a steep slope to the birder who steps of the path for a better view. Damage occurs when a police car, for example, compacts the soil on either side of a woodland trail meant only for pedestrians or when uncontrolled stormwater careens downslope, eroding the forest floor. Less visible but no less serious is the damage done daily by atmospheric pollutants from vehicles, industry and other energy
consumption.

For many species of wildlife, these forest fragments are habitat vital to their survival. In our sprawling, developed landscapes, every patch of green has become an increasingly important remnant in an ever more tattered fabric. Today
those responsible for the care of protected landscapes are expressing growing concern about the accelerating deterioration of this resource. The negative impacts of use and abuse, already apparent in urban parks, are becoming more visible in suburban and rural areas as well. For millions of people, contact with
the natural world is a progressively diminished experience. Our own observations
confirm the gravity of our environmental condition: We are losing the rich variety
of native plants and animals that once typified our regional landscapes. The biodiversity crisis is here in our backyards and parks.

Biodiversity is the variety of forms of life. In addition to the 30 million or more species of plants and animals on Earth, the term "biodiversity" embraces highly specialized subspecies which may be far more numerous as well as more suited to
a world that is becoming increasingly homogenized. Indigenous species, those that were native to an area before the European settlement in this hemisphere, are
dying our at about the same rate that exotic or alien species, those introduced by
people to a region, are establishing themselves.

to be continued...

Back to this world..If you want to do something about this, verify, or prepare your own rebuttal, go to Facebook, under SEARCH, go to Luis Munoz Marin Foundation, give them a call 787-755-4506 or 787-755-7979. Or do something better by writing: info@flmm.org.

Ask for the inventory of FLORA/FAUNA before the works in Parque Donha Ines started and after the destruction of all vegetation and soil. You may also REQUEST the botanical list of ANYTHING that has been planted in Parque Donha Ines. Talk to Zuleika Vallenilla or Julio Quiros Suazo your hosts down there. That is that.

BALL AND BURLAP

IF YOU COVER the whole horticultural court, once in a while you will have the chance to practice it with expected results. There is no more difficult task in gardening than Ball and Burlap. IF you are successful, not with digging or pulling out,
but with survival stats, WELCOME, you are now in the Big Leagues. If you do not, bear up.

My B/B training lasted for six hours, during 2002, in the New York Botanical Garden as a requirement for the certificate, under the supervision of an expert, Mike Ruggiero.

Ball and Burlap consists on digging around the trunk of a tree to the necessary depth to find surrounding roots supporting the patient to be removed/relocated without harm.

You need a taper mouth spade, trowel and a hand pruner. I will not get into much detail except that in the tropics, if you know what you are doing, it does not matter if the root ball brakes or not. That is why no burlap was involved here. However, let the record show that I am writing about Guiacum officinale and Calliandra haematocephala even if the theory is correct for any species. Be aware that many trees will just pass away, it is not in their spirit to be removed. Research if in doubt.

Guaicum oficcinale

This beautiful tree, was a gift from a former co-worker at four inches tall, seven years ago. It is
about six feet and a four inches diameter. It was planted in the south side, not foo far from the
wall.

Lets get to the digging. Since the space was tight, I started digging with a trowel, not a problem
in mostly sand soils. When I reached eight inches, I noticed a couple of roots the as thick as my
index finger. I cut carefully and kept digging, finding only some adventitious roots. I moved the trunk and gave away some. Proceeded with the spade to go around, deeper as in an oval to make sure no other roots were left. Once I was certain there was nothing left I pulled out the patient.

It was placed immediately in a three feet tall, two feet diameter plastic pot with my secret soil and compost formula. One third of the pot was filled. When I placed the tree it was too low. I added
some more soil, making sure it did not go over the previous depth. Watered it and put a thick string around the canopy to avoid too much movement as a tutor would.

Calliandra haemathocephala

You probably saw the picture here and read some anecdotes of insects and hummingbirds previously about this tree. I brought it from the Luis Munhoz Marin Foundation. I was probably eight inches tall then, now is six feet tall, but not as wide as the Guayacan. Like the first, it spent most of its life in pots. Both have been in the ground for the last two years.

Unlike the first, white flies and some pyramid shaped insects have been a problem, but not a headache. The roots of this tree were deeper in the ground, thin and spread evenly. It was easier to dig around, there is much more room than in the first case.

The Calliandra was dug and placed eight feet from the original spot to make room for the Guaicum. The hole was about twice the size of the roots, in diameter. Remember the depth
has to be the same or higher, otherwise it may pass away by drowning. I put some of my compost/soil at the bottom, and filling the rest with the sandy ground. A string was tied around
the trunk (not too tight) for support and around the canopy for two days.

Why now? May wonder the inquisitive reader. If you live in the tropics, the perfect time to do Ball/Burlap is after it has rained for a day or two, if in sandy soil. The ball has less chance to brake, the digging is easier. In clay is another story. However, the most important reason, is that much less stress will be inflicted in the patient.

If you have transplanted anything in your gardening life, you may have noticed that most plants look as if in agony after the trauma. With these trees was no different. The Guaicum looks like crap, but not the Calliandra. Their leaves have turned yellowish, but look healthy and recovering. The second is showing flower buds in their in their infancy, a sign of sure recovery.

Make sure you water profusely after planting. Good luck in your projects. If your trees are

taller than those here, get some help, it will make it easier for you and the tree. Time to go.

BONUS FOR THE FAITHFUL

ANYTHING
YOU
NEED TO KNOW
about the subject

PERHAPS TOO
MUCH

in Youtube.com
under
Ball and Burlap

ADVANCED GARDENING THE BALL/BURLAP POST

UP FRONT BONUS

I DROPPED by perhaps the dullest park under the umbrella of beyond feeble minded, PARQUES NACIONALES, Parque Luis Munhoz Marin,

on Pinhero Avenue. There are trees, but so sparse, that one can not write

about shade. Just grass, poorly kept, poodles, bare ground and a jerk,

illiterate with a stupid looking face in charge of the nursery.

William the illiterate, poor soul, had told el Nuevo Dia, that 3 of the employees had been fired, and he was 'alone' working in the shitty nursery with '25,000' plants. Your
humble servant left a message to work as a volunteer about a month ago...The hick almost freaked out when questioned about the number. Said that maybe it refer to the whole park.

I insisted that the article mentioned the nursery not the park.. William, a little stressed by now, indicated that maybe '8,000' plants hang out in the nursery. After looking carefully there are not even 1,000 in the whole park but such is life in Puercorico. The blind leading the blind.

The bonus does not stop here.. I found some seeds from a not particularly attractive
tree, never seen before in books, catalogs or live. I asked three employees, including
the mentally retarded William, if they knew the name of it. NO ONE KNEW. That is the reality in every context, regarding plants, trees, and else in the public/private sector. A bunch of followers of those words, Ignorance is bliss. Sorry, the burlap
for the next time. Time to go....

AEROPORTS DE PARIS DIDIER VELU

I HAVE FOUND, such an article only once in my life. What you are about to read appeared on Aeroports de Paris Magazine, March 2010. It is a bilingual edition an
it deals with landscape management, not the crappy one done in Puercorico but in
that city airport.

The height of the grass bordering airport runways and taxiways is important for air traffic safety. Mow it to a height below 20cm. and what you get is a perfect runway for birds. Leave it to grow taller than the regulation 40cm. and risk serious interference with radio frequencies. The key growing period for grass is between 15 April and 14 July. For those weeks, the 850 hectares of grass at Paris-Orly are mowed every
night by staff using amazing machines that can cut an 8.30 metre wide strip in a single pass.

Didier Velu (59) is a technical key member of the team. "Once it has been mowed, we clear the cut grass alongside runways to avoid the danger of it
getting blown all over the tarmac by jet engines. If that happened, the following aircraft wouldn't be able to take off. The cuttings are then recycled into compost in the green waste centre. Then, to make sure the engine exhausts don't destroy the grassland, we staple hessian and wire
mesh to the ground. This covering also protects underground power
cables from any soil subsidence caused by burrowing animals".

As he explains the aspects of his job, Didier Velu leaves no detail out. He
lists the species of bird - "magpies, rooks and crows" - whose droppings seed unwanted plants, which then have to be weeded out selectively.
He is also quick to add a caveat on the use of chemical weed killers.
"Their use is highly regulated".
The environment has never been more effectively protected. But the many and varied responsibilities of Didier and his team do not stop there.

During the bird migration seasons, Didier leads the hunt to prevent the danger of bird strikes and keep down the rabbit population - thanks to ferrets. Around 2,500 are caught every year. He also helps with runway
snow clearance when required, provides plants and flowers for the airport terminals of Aeroports de Paris, removes litter and keeps the joints in runway and taxiway surfaces clear of weeds over an area of 200
hectares.

Didier Velu approaches nature and the cycles it imposes on us with a mixture of humility and technical skill. Both qualities are vital to success in a job that combines air safety with respect for the environment.

What is wrong with this picture? Using a lawnmower for an hour in your residence
leaves as much CO2, as driving your car for twenty miles. In Paris-Orly is done every
night, 850 hectares! Multiply the number for every, or most airports in the world, with grass. Add all GOLF courses in the world. All the commercial/residential lawns.

The result is CO2, tons and tons....But if you read carefully they are concerned about the environment regarding chemicals, weed killers...Is that ironic or what? That is my beef with everything... The living contradictions....

Want to follow up? In Puercorico, the Scubba Doggs, (some environmental scheme that is certainly making a buck somehow) picks up garbage under salty water and sand, in local beaches with volunteers. However, my concern is the water sewage and ECHOLI thrown in every possible context water wise, salty or not in Puercorico...by the AAA. How many times these exemplary citizens have addressed this public health/environmental issue? ZERO. That is that......

MEMORIES FOR THE FUTURE

YESTERDAY, Ms. Laborde's landscape butchers, returned to the neighborhood. This time to 'clean' the front yard of the abandoned house that yours truly managed for the
last two years without thanks from the jerks who live next door. The butchers are not
her own, she just hired them first.

This hicks left the soil bare. Tecoma stans, Cestrum diurnum, Turnera, Asparagus, Alocasia, Tradescantia, and the wonderful vine, Vitis vinifera that you can appreciate in the pictures to the right. I do not understand the rush, these feeble minded characters could have waited until the many bunches of grapes were ripe. After all
eating a Puercorican grape could only happen once in a lifetime. I had the chance from this exterminated vine.

This ignorant fools were not only paid, they were congratulated for the barbaric act accomplished..with the dreadful primitive machete. They finished with golden link, a blower! In a space less than 15 square feet. And every one...happy as a clam...

Now getting into the tittle.

When I was in third grade me mom used to take me to visit her friends in town or far away. In those days houses were mostly wooden. I remember
when the first ugly, match box concrete/cinder block house was built in our street. A huge event. At least 15 guys were involved, passing the buckets in Indian file through a ramp, to the roof, with the laughter and the noise of the cement mixer of those days.

But this is about plants. There were not many nurseries then. I can not
remember one. Gardening was a women thing. Housewives, spinsters or widows. Those with the skills required to propagate, diagnose and care for the plants were the envy of the uninitiated. Only the skills and imagination counted, since you could not go to buy plants as it is done now.

From the list that will appear below, Diffenbachia and Pothos were present in 7 out of ten houses, indoors. Pots then were anything available. But mostly cement, and metal oil/cracker cans. Puercorico,
was at the time a tobacco, coffee, sugar cane agricultural society. The connection with nature, soil was still around.

Allamanda cathartica
Aloe vera
Anthurioum
Spathiphylum
Alocasias
Hibiscus
Gardenia

I am sure that herbs, edibles were also planted in many houses, but that
required more knowledge, skills and will not get into that since the memories are not there.

This period of my life was marked terribly when witnessing the abrupt fast as hell destruction of that agricultural culture in the name of progress. The connection with Nature was lost for ever.

It was the beginning of the concrete/asphalt ERA. It started with highways,
hundreds of factories moved down from USA in search of cheap labor and not paying taxes of any kind.

The shot of grace was the concept of housing projects cookie mold like that Levitt and sons had developed in Long Island, New York and other places. Pendejismo paisajista, a concept I coined, was born. The house
came with postage stamp yards with turf/grass. Palms and hedges came later, following the image of those properties in USA.

After sixty years, in Puercorico, imagination, creativity in ornamental gardening/horticulture in general are dead. Twenty species or less in every possible context, wet or dry, cool or hot, mountain, seashore.

Perhaps that is why I remember with certain nostalgia, those childhood days. Memories then should be useful for the future. And that is that.

THE AVERAGE JOE SIX PACK NATURE AND VINES

JUST returned from one of those unavoidable visits. The subject at
one point spin around a palm and tree. These are hiding the facade of a two story house across the street. The Joes, opinion, was for eliminating both. Your humble one, the palm, in a blink of an eye.

I stated that the ugly, overgrown palm was a liability, since the fronds weight between 8/15 pounds. You need a saw, a fifteen feet ladder and good luck to avoid a fall. Besides that, the mess by leaves falling from the
Thevetia peruviana is easily solved with a broom and dust pan.

However the intelligent argument that never cross the Joes minds, is that facing east, this house receives a lot of radiation heat. Eliminating both, will demand to have the cost of air conditioning on for long periods...For what?
So the fools walking or driving by, could have a better look of the shady house? The reaction to my arguments? You have too much spare time!

I thank the lord, for that. Spare time allows to view things beyond what is convenient to ME. Thinking just of a structure, without other variables, is silly. Most people seem to be in that trip, screw them...now lets move to another front...

VINES ET ALL

I do not remember if it was mentioned, but another way of learning about plants

regarding botanical names, collecting, propagation and grafting among others, is through catalogs. Some are really wonderful, to keep through the years as reference.

Today's catalog if from The Plumeria People, the 1995. A jewel. I will share a list of the fragrant
department among the offers they carried then.

Cestrum nocturnum (Shrubs) *
Crinum americanum v robustum (Bulbs)
Crinum asiaticum *
Eucharis grandiflora (Bulbs) *
Gardenia jasminoides (Shrubs) *
Gelsemiun sempervirens (Vines)
Hedychiums, especially H. coronarium (Gingers)
Jasmines (Vines)
Murraya paniculata (Shrubs) *
Osmanthus fragrans (Shrubs)
Pancratium zeylanicum (Bulbs)
Pandorea jasminoides (Vines)
Passifloras (Vines) *
Plumerias *
Polianthes tuberosa (Bulbs)
Stephanotis floribunda (Vines)
Tabernamontana coronaria (Shrubs)
Trachelospermum jasminoides (Vines)
Zephyranthes chlorosolen (Bulbs)

* In my collection
I will add Cavennala maritima (Vines)

Mirabilis siciliana (Shrub)

and that is that..until then

GARDENING NATURE REPORT

A FEW DAYS ago, I was invited to the residents association meeting. I would have been my third in two years. Your humble one stayed home. If you look at the pictures in the right side, you will notice a mutilated Bouganvillea, in the next to the sidewalk 'garden' of the president. A somewhat strange character NEVER seen in the yard or walking around anywhere.

Most of the people living around the vicinity do not WALK or tend the plants, trees, bushes with the needed care. The vegetation looks like crap most of the time, as a necessary evil.

Lets start again...The first picture is a Zamia. (Editors note: RIP. Friday 4PM.) It made her debut here sometime ago. That picture is further down if you want to compare the growth for the last twelve months.. I changed the soil recently and the trunk snapped at the base either by my clumsiness or the wind...Only one third of it is still attached. To my surprise the new
leaves are still looking healthy as if nothing has happened. I speculate that it should
pass away, I will keep you posted.

The next picture presents my Bouganvillea, contrary to anyone else, mine is not pruned foolishly. When a branch gets on the way, not following the designed intention, it is eliminated at the base in angle, to avoid the opened scars shown in Ms. Laborde's, mutilated bush, by illiterate gardeners for hire. The difference is evident.

The ugly aspect of mutilated branches is only the superficial one. The stupidity is ever lasting. Every single branch will probably produce five more branches, add and multiply..I forgot the amount of times I have mentioned the issue of improper pruning
and this will suffice at the moment.

The fourth and fifth pictures present a Vitis vinifera. Believe it or not. It grows very happily from the right side of this abandoned house. I assume it was planted more than ten years ago, when this vines became fashionable in some segments of the population. If you look carefully, you may notice a bunch of grapes growing in the middle of the picture.
I doubt very much there is any such vine growing in the concrete/asphalt isle with telephone/electricity wires as a trellis.

All this may seem irrelevant, except for one thing...If an abandoned grape vine
can grow at this length, Puercorico could have had a wine industry if anyone had thought about it. Even if the grapes are good enough just to make sweet Boones Farm or El Canario (for bums or cooking), grape juice, or raisins. After all, no one is writing about Cabernet or Pinot Noir grapes....nor competing with Australia or Argentinian wines.

Everyone knows those beautiful self seeding plants by now. They will make any
garden more complete with the bright intense yellow/orange, making bees very
happy and content...And that is that...

ETHICS LA CEIBA Y EL TITO

FORGIVE ME, for addressing issues that even if related to endemismo, are mostly on the news, and as I suspected not of the interest of bloggers that once in a while jump in the painted green environmental bandwagon.

If you are one of those fearful of God in the Christian mode, you may remember that
impressive scene (one of my favorites), when his son drops by the TEMPLE and observes it has been converted into a street market...His anger is pretty cool if I may...

Puercorico is pretty much like that temple, the whole society from top to bottom as you will soon see.

Ceiba pentandras are magnificent trees of the family Malvaceae and subfamily Bombacoideae. A Bao Bab is like a Ceiba a hundred times heftier as if in steroids,
for comparison sake. Ceibas are our endemic champion...

In some neck of the woods in the Puercorican wild west, some mayor, requested
permission from our BOTANIST/BOTANICAL EXECUTIONER, 007 Recursos Naturales, the government agency that cares and protect our TREES, SOILS, and else,
to execute the 23 year old. This one had left four hundred years left to live, judging from other ancient Ceibas around the isle. As ALWAYS it was granted.

In the concrete/asphalt isle the populace kill or mutilate trees for fun, when bored,
to avoid picking up the leaves, to stop birds from shitting on their windshields,
to annoy the neighbors, because the roots lift the side walk or wrap around the pipes, and they are living creatures. One recent anecdote puts Ivan Sanchez, a soberanist, anti colonialism zealot, destroying without remedy a 2o year old Bucera busaris, to get a signal for a satellite dish. Believe it or not! People like to kill, or at least that is the way I perceive it.

Your humble servant wants to offer the whole show..bear up.. These are individual trees in specific urban/country conditions. But the greater amount of trees, flora and fauna are executed with permits from 007 are HOUSING/HIGHWAY DEVELOPERS,
millions of them, for the last 7 decades in the four cardinal points of the isle of concrete/asphalt enchantment and beyond our shores island municipalities.

Back to the Ceiba from my story...This one was in the city...The reason to kill it in the dark of the night when no one was watching? The roots were growing incorrectly, as
the expert interviewed declared to the news! The truth is that some building is being
constructed, and the tree was in the way.. What is the problem with this? People are
angry because they were attached to it...And they feel it should have been killed during
daylight...And I agree with them...Impunity as the one saturating this forsaken, dirty
isle would have made no difference.

NOW it is TITO TIME. He can wear a suit elegantly, a former boxing champ with the elegance/style of KID PAMBELE, just a little bit better, but not like Macho Camacho or Muhamed. Made some millions, invested unwisely and lost some with regueton, the shitty genre for mentally retarded music aficionados.

Bought some land, deciding what else? To develop. Unfortunately, this squeaky voiced
fellow, with a great people person personality, unlike myself, was denounced by the vicinity for DESTROYING the land, flora and fauna without a permit! Since he is black, or darkie, if you prefer, I would not doubt that is part of the reason why his project was stopped. The permit, historically is/has been academic.

Among other things he is accused of creating erosion, diverting water streams with pipes and destroying flora and fauna. EXACTLY what everyone else has been doing for the last seventy years in the name of PROGRESS.

He will have to pay $140,000 for the damage and forget about his development
and profit dreams, something very rare, considering the damage done by others in the
past and I promise, in the future.

The moral of the story? If you have the money to bribe ARPE, 007 Recursos Naturales, you could build a housing project on land prone to floods, close by the ocean or take public land as in Paseo Caribe. That is what the Housing Developers have been doing, making billions in profits, making the island a concrete platform devoid of flora/fauna endemic or not...Or if you are politically connected as the Mayor of Aguadilla....

Tito, the scapegoat of the environmental debacle in Puercorico, USA. What should be
done since our former champion has about .005 IQ, is to put in jail the engineers and architects involved in the project. This guy is not bright at all, I can not believe he consciously allowed such stupidity. On the other hand, MOST people do not see, perceive, appreciate nature.

Why should the village idiot become the pet symbol against environmental destruction when the WHOLE SOCIETY, has swept other instances under the carpet and never, ever had the guts to judge mostly pasty pale people with power, in the destruction for profits condoned by everyone?

These are the ethics of the game in Puercorico, USA. Time to go.

A POST ON VINES

I HAVE written on this subject, but this time I will be more specific.

FROM
Botany for Gardeners
Brian Capon
page 103

Most species are unable to elevate leaves high above the ground on thin, herbaceous stems. But not so with climbing vines that make deft use of their specially adapted organs, and the strength of suitable supports, to accomplish such a feat.

The stems of some vines grow in a spiral manner around upright objects such as a small trunks of shrubs or saplings, or fence posts and telephone poles. Stems displaying, such characteristic growth are called twiners. The higher a twining stem
grows, the more tightly it hugs its support.


Other species form special grasping organs, called tendrils, that are either modified leaf parts or short stems derived from the growth of axillary buds. Tendrils
coil around small objects with which they come into contact-the stems of other plants,
or garden stakes, fence wires and strings supports. Once anchored, the principal stem
grows upward a short distance before sending out more tendrils. Leaf tendrils are
adapted from leaflets of compound leaves (Sweet Pea, for example), stipules (Green
Briar), or petioles (Clematis).

In other species, climbing structures include short branches with adhesive disks at their tips. With such devices , Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus spp.) clings tenaciously to the walls of buildings. Or the climbing stems of ivy, for example, form
adventitious roots that penetrate and expand in cracks in tree bark, wooden fences,
masonry, etc. With age, some climbing stems become woody and bear heavy leaf
loads; but by then, they are so securely anchored it is extremely difficult to separate
them from their supports.

It is a good time to remind our far away readers that vines are under used in most installations. A good resource that could substitute wisely over used hedges. With vines one does not need to be on top of them as in a hedge.

With that in mind lets mention some issues that are pertinent based on
my experience/collection.

Do not plant Bejuco de puerco. This one will violate the boundaries day after day. Vines like this behave as ground covers if they reach the ground from above. It will grow roots even over concrete/asphalt.

In terms of aesthetics Cavalinna maritima, Passiflora edulis and Petrea volubilis, have a STIFF appearance. Very stiff. That is why I have an intense dislike for palms, hedges and turf among others.

Disease/insects are not a problem with these. They will require some pruning once in a while, particularly when they embrace other vegetation, trees.

Ipomoeas are nice looking, but prone to white flies, a pain in the rear.
However, Merremia quinquefolia, Clitoria ternatea, Antigonon leptopus,
are less wild than those above. All these have a soft look, falling gently,
like a cascade. Birds are fond of them while hiding/playing.

As they grow on the windows iron works, they become a screen reducing
the glare significantly. These vines have a bonus when the light goes trough them. The leaves form beautiful arabesques with the aid of the wind, on windows and walls. So there, go and get some. Time to go...

ECOTOURIST REPORT PLUS BONUS

YOUR HUMBLE SERVANT, had to travel to that ghost town, El Pais de Caguas, to visit the dentist. Bad news. I will have to visit the periodontist

again. I never mentioned it. But they have something in common with auto mechanics, those of New York and Puercorico. They will charge you an arm/leg for their services. Another thing is that if you could survive with a cleaning they will go for the surgery...And never, ever will stress the cleaning, just the surgery. I have a few horror periodontist stories to tell, maybe next time.

When I reached Padial St., there he was sitting in front of a ugly red/blue painted house, Eliezer Cruz. A former basketball pall from Savarona.
Always with a great smile, easy conversation. Minutes later, in front of City Hall, Rubencito was coming in the opposite direction. Not my friend. He is just the grandson of my fourth grade teacher. She used to bring him
to the elementary school where I studied to babysit. I am 58, I had not
seen this fellow in forty eight. Brief pleasantries exchanged, he works in the Tobacco Museum of the ghost town, not far....

Gardening news? The pink Frangipani is starting to bloom, a while after the yellow. The white one refuses to do much, except for a few leaves.
Every one of these trees do their thing at their pace, at home. The first,
has leaves and buds, the second just flowers, the white just leaves.

The Orchard Department is looking good. The third lemon crop is around the corner and the orange's second too. The flowers of these trees, compare in fragrance, subtlety, elegance, with that of Gardenias, Frangipani, or Mirabilis siciliana in my humble intercontinental opinion.

The Carica papaya has fourteen of these great tasting fruits. They will probably make their debut on the fruit salad by April. This tree is the only
survivor from three seeds that Crispin, the bar owner/friend from Tapia St., gave me 16 months ago.

BONUS

In Puercorico, many talentless, useless, not too bright people,
have anointed themselves as motivators, life coaches and such, to make
a buck. They are like Paris Hilton, famous for being famous. I
will give it a try mock to be a lifecoachmotivator attempt if I may. They all preach the goodness
of yoga, vegetarianism, being humble, nice, pleasant, respectfull and such.

Contrary to the scum bags mentioned, I practice gardening.
They do not do it, because they can not stand the heat or getting
their hands dirty.

• An intense June like heat in March, leaves no doubts as to what to expect in the next one hundred days. Fortunately, I was careful when choosing the collection. Salt breeze, drought and heat were always kept in mind.
  

• When plants such as Diffenbachia, Proiphys, Aglaonema, Gardenia, Alocasia cucculata, were planted under shade with intense heat they were stunted. That changed when they moved north from south, they look lush and happy lately.

• Observing the collection with a critical perspective/focus, I declare that is not really a big deal. Any juan can travel around his surroundings looking, picking here and there, reaching 120 species. Reaching a more or lesser amount.

• The magic is not in question, is not even the plants or vegetation. Nor contrasts in shape, height, texture, color, leaves form/size, fragrance, flowers, foliage and everything else.

• The feeling of accomplishment pops out when birds, lizards, bees,beetles, Diva, snails, and everybody else pays a visit. Most are welcome, some not as much.

• It increases slowly, permanently, as the growth flows in all directions, with some plants staying put, others changing neighborhoods. Then you/I look at the garden with that sensation similar to those finishing a marathon. The job is done. Time to enjoy. And that is that.
  

NOT PRONE TO PRUNE

I JUST visited one of those wonderful gardening blogs from India. Unlike this one, well written, better photos.... The subject was orchids. In my collection there are a couple of Phalaenopsis, even though I have never been a fan.

The ones I got were a present from Don Miguel, an up the street neighbor and me wife. I used to think of them plants as something fragile, but the heat they tolerate in my mostly concrete backyard, changed my view.

At any rate, if people in the tropics are so fond of orchids, how come they
never mention, think, plant BAUHINIAS? After all this wonderful tree
does not grow too big. The white, pink, orange orchid looking flowers are pretty and attract hummingbirds. One would expect orchid fans to explore the possibility, give it a try. Research.

My jihad on white flies continues... Yesterday while pruning some small
bushes growing too wild for my liking, I found some Ixora remnants hidden below. Not surprisingly, a few of these were in residence. My dislike for this damn bush gets more intense as time goes by. I pulled out every one left. Success is measured
by the amount of jumping flies when I spray. Lately it has been less than
five.

I should mention tolerance. This problem is not a big deal if you watch your plant collection daily. Some flies just spend the night or morning. It is the colony that will screw up your plants. Keep this in mind. Otherwise, pulling out every plant of their liking will leave your garden looking like Iraq.

In the San Carlos Guerrilla front, everyone is doing fine. Pithelobiums,
Tabebuias, Agavacea, Merremia, pumpkin and Sanseveria. Two vines, not mentioned before, not planted by your humble servant, Antigonon leptopus and Pothos, are already coming down from a nearby second floor. These looking odd vines in that space, is one of the reasons I chose the spot to plant.

I would like to suggest a marvelous book for those of you with knowledge

of Spanish.

El Huerto
Enciclopedia de Jardineria
SUSAETA EDICIONES, S.A.
Campezo s/n 28022

If you are into history, geography, etymology, edible gardens, you will have a feast.
It presents the development of gardening, horticulture, agriculture from the beginnings of time, with a focus on Mediterranean climate/vegetation.

Olive, wine, wheat those were the pillars of ancient agriculture. The book covers so much ground, that the first chapter on the subject, the glossary at the end are worth the cost. That I do not know, since it was a present, sent from Spain.

The book does more, it puts in context the influence of the Discovery. Potatoes, tomatoes and corn among others, are discussed. Arabs, Romans, Greeks and those before them. It is really a pleasure to find such a well written book, with impressive photos on these wide subjects..and that is that....

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

You probably know my stance on pruning or weeding.
Or gardening in general.
Hedges, turf, palms are no No's.
They look STIFF, I am into the
informal/prairie looks.
I prune as a duty, when there is no
choice, not for silly hedges.
Weeds are not fond of my gardening
habits. Except in concrete, sidewalk,
gutters...For them glyphosate.

DOWN BY THE ISLE OF THE FEEBLE MINDED PUERCORICO USA

SOME time ago, some incredibly stupid, alienated Puercorican, organized the greatest traffic jam in the history of this good for nothing island, where legislation can be bought, and the native Supreme Court, decides not on precedents but on party line$.

The retarded individual, mentioned above described the plan to all who were listening, as the greatest amount of 4X4 vehicles gathered at one time, the biggest caravan of such in the world, ever. The socially redeeming intention, wonders the astute intercontinental reader. Simple. To get in that book of records the Guinness.

A brouhaha in the printed media and other, about this heroic adventure
was all around including Faisbuk, where our hero one among the feeble announced it.

Unfortunately, yours truly saw it and could not help but to do what I do best, calling the spade a spade. He was informed that polluting the air,
in addition to the noise these inefficient gas guzzlers create was nothing
to be proud of. Imagine the havoc these fools by the thousands created for the Innocent drivers passing by. Not to get in the wasted time, fuel and the effects on the environment.

Was these the greatest stupid moment in vehicular history, in the Guinness? You be the judge...

PARQUE MUNHOZ RIVERA

EVALUATION
BONUS

THIS once upon a time a beautiful park, probably the best in the whole
island, still looks like shit with 50% of the trees sick, almost dead, with termite damage through out the years and living termites, mutilated or

too old. There is a huge one totally dead, the bark falling on the ground waiting for the shot of grace...But as usual no one notices...

Yours truly went to chat with the Super, Milagros Morales, who was not there (787-721-8416). The secretary with the appearance of one of those
battered alcoholic housewives does not know details about her education or credentials, something really natural in the isle of the feeble minded.

The supervisor was not around either.. However when I arrived to the park, two of the four employees, were on a break at 10:30 AM, in the dirty, noisy, ugly cafeteria. Later by 11:30 they call it quits, even though most of the park has not seen a rake in weeks. I confess that the employees appearance and attitude matches that of the park. The gravel is a mess, the lawn is in the same condition. The vines/trellises look like manure..The ancient concrete cute little benches pretendingto be out of wood, surprisingly comfortable are missing or cracked.

But your favorite critic has an eye for the out of the common...A couple of pitirres were hunting for yellow butterflies, one of them being successful.
A humming bird was observed looking for non existing flowers. Which
reminded me of Antigonum's Gospel, 3rd commandment: Plant trees with birds in mind. Those hanging out in the URBAN CONTEXT. The amount, variety of birds is significant considering the PATHETIC aesthetics and maintenance of this former masterpiece of garden/park.

One final good note. I was able to collect three seeds of Guiacum, one of my favorites, and four of Ceiba pentandra, our closer creature to Bao Babs, my number one tropical favorite. And that is that. From Puercorico
USA, where the feeble minds never rest...always rule....

GUERRILLA BACKYARD GARDENING UPDATED REPORTS

IT HAS BEEN a wild at heart week. It started my jihad with the White Flies in capital letters, what a pain this cute insects are. They behave just like Al-Qaeda the
barbarian Sunni islamists. I got them in both houses near by, hanging out in the
Ixoras and Tecomas. I investigated. I got rid of a DK vine, an Ipomea in front of the house. They still visit the Calliandra, Murraya, and found out they love lemons. I am
doomed for the rest of my gardening life...But is not a big deal after all I water spray
my collection daily, know where they hang out...White flies, the gardener al-qaeda, you eliminate them in the north and appear in the south. What the heck....

IN the plant living in pots department the following: lemon, orange, Coccoloba uvifera, Chayamansa and Pithelobium dulce, were pulled out and put back after the soil was amended with one third of my homemade compost and earth worms. They all look fine and happy. Only the lemon shows a little stress with falling leaves, not the first time....

GUERRILLA ACTIVITY

IN THE original installation by the train station, everyjuan is happy as clam, except the Thevetia peruviana, looking like shit, with most leaves burned. However the DK tree, the Tamarindus indica, and dwarf Cosmos are looking marvelous even without water for most of the last thirty days.

It is really impressive, not because I write it, (try it yourself) but think of a canvas with just
green/beige/brown and now add orange and yellow spots here and there... I am glad at the
scenery, even if they will fall victims of the municipal trimmer executioners squad, soon. There
will be seeds spread by the wind and birds....On my visit, a minuscule yellow butterfly came to pay respects...

On the San Carlos site, the Pithelobium seeds, Murrayas, and one pumpkin are comming along.
I went to irrigate yesterday, since they are still fragile, but considering this week end will be a rainy one, success is guaranteed.

This site is the one with graffiti. I did not mention that many wild plants grow in the strip
24 inches wide and about 75' long. Albizia, one Dracaena, Pothos, Antigonon leptopus and,
wild Margaritas are among the inhabitants. They are slowly coming back after the back hoe squashed them, thirty days ago...

As with any gardening done in this god forsaken concrete/asphalt isle, it may go away..I enjoy it while I can. However, in the back of my mind the possibility that one or many VANDALS,
will destroy the whole or parts of it... never goes away. The satisfaction will remain in photos or memory.

Doing something is still much healthier physically/mentally, than all the bullshit read about saving the environment, the 'global warming' without any mention of the concrete/asphalt heating...and that is that...time to go...

ANTIGONUM THE ISLE TREKKER HITS THE ROAD

AFTER many moons our hero left the vicinity in search of flora and fauna, some distance from home. The first attempt Parque Luis Munhoz Rivera,was closed. Botanical Garden in Rio Piedras was next.

There are no remarkable vines except the cliches, Syngonium, Pothos and
Philodendron. Organic debris was thrown in too many places, as if the illiterates machete yielding employees, (not seeing anywhere), were too busy to collect it. Evidence of trimmer maneuvers was everywhere, grass,
dust, dry leaves on sidewalks, gutters and roads. To make more interesting, right after the entrance.

The 'Japanese' pond, (what the ignorant fools think it is) just because there are some water plants and DIRTY muddy water with a painted red wooden bridge, shows that some weeding took place, with the product thrown by the edges. A couple of ducks, turtles and a few endemic birds
were observed around the dirty water in the bigger pond by the 'Manet Garden', what in their wild, maybe on ACID, may remind one of that late painter work or any of his portrayed landscapes.

All the space, the paths look abandoned. Even when something is constructed to improve, as a couple of wooden handrails seeing by the
restrooms area, the flimsy, unsteady result is pathetic. It gives the impression of total improvisation, lack of interest, absence of intelligence, as if those in charge are mentally retarded. I know
in USA retarded and nigger are illegal, politically incorrect.

Moving on our next target. Parque Central. Closed. With an unemployment of over 30% (perhaps more) these impossible to reach
on foot parks should be open daily, even if dirty, as the Botanical. Nobody
cares or notices the garbage. A depressing feeling started to invade your humble servant. What a shitty place to inhabit.

Last move. Parque Marti Coll. Right by the failed Aguaguagua, an
attempt to transport islanders and tourists by waterways. Believe it or not. What could have been a marvelous, intelligent option to get places,
mothballed. At any rate, this park is probably the only one in the WORLD, with an elevated concrete path over sewage waters. Surprising it is not yet the EIGHT WONDER of the world, I think the concept is original.

The entrance is a strip, probably forty feet wide, half a mile long, trapped between the Aguaguagua parking lot, huge and empty (visitors can not use it) and the the train station. The tree collection? Thespesia populnea, Coccoloba uvifera,
Bauhinia, Royal Poinciana and that is that. As a bonus, you will observe that fifty percent of the trees have or have got termites. They look like shit. I will not get into the other vegetation since it is not worth it. Palms and other cliche ornamentals, looking even worse and totally out of place.

The bonus? 17 nests of imported green/grey Iguanas 9 (abandoned former pets). Seven of them, between 1' and 3' gave me a standing ovation for being the only visitor, in addtion to four employees doing nothing. Even though the barren SOIL could use some aerefication, since it looks like concrete.

Across this wonder of park, there is the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, built in a classical brutalist architectural school. Huge without parking,
believe it or not...The landscape in front of this coliseum is notable for its
failure in aesthetics and health.

The ornamental bushes Silver mangrove, are mostly dead for lack of appropriate drainage and oxygen. The feeble minded gardeners/supervisor in charge, pruned these poor
creatures 8 inches short to see if they make a come back...You can observe the dead ones from the distance...These characters did not notice the green moss on the ground....a sign of water accumulation...On top of all this picture? An irrigation system....

And another day goes by in the dirty, ugly, noisy, concrete/asphalt isle...I keep trying to find one reason to feel proud, to flaunt the flag, but is useless. If there was some Greek in me, I would pull my eyes out...if there was less noise all over the place...Time to go...