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.