Today is an exciting day for us. Today the trees went in thanks to a fabulous local company owned by the pragmatic Andre whose mission is to rehabilitate gardens using native plants whenever possible.
Trees planted today are: Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba) which features a red trunk that peels off to expose green bark. According to master gardener, Robin Robinson, author of “Plants of Paradise” and horticultural columnist for the Key West Citizen, Key West locals call it the ‘tourist tree’ because, like the tourists, it is often red and peeling.”
Three Cabbage palms (Cabal Palmettos) which already drip over my fence brushing the shoulders of tall passersby and providing us with much needed shade. They have a blue rather than yellow cast and a cool silver underside.
Two gorgeous towering Cabadas with blue trunks and white rings that give it the appearance of a weird tropical bamboo.
A small Silver Palm (Coccothrinax Argentata). This character is bisexual and has no known enemies. He/she has been around for eighty-five million years so though small in stature, it is wise not to underestimate or insult this diminutive beauty.
Eight (Eugenia foetida) Simpson Stoppers – four on the outside of the trellis, three on the inside of the fence and one specimen in the yard. Simpson Stoppers have white flowers that turn into bright orange berries and apparently the birds go wild over them. “Stopper” refers to their ability to treat diarrhea. This multi-talented tree can be bonsai’d, trimmed into a topiary, or provide a lacy screen. As if that wasn’t enough, it stands floods well and has a gorgeous orange trunk.
One precious Tree of Life (Lignum Vitae). I planted this at the foot of the deck to enjoy the bright purple flowers that, as I write, are about to burst open. According to Robin Robinson, “In myth, the wood of the lignum vitae tree was found in the Garden of Eden and was used for the Holy Grail; therefore it was called holy wood. Whoever consumed its resin was to be given perpetual health, immortality, and protected from weakness and infirmity. Merlin’s staff was made of the wood, as was the bathtub in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s book Love in the Time of Cholera.” This is a tree with provenance!
I live close to the sea on a low lying stretch of land so flooding is inevitable and these plants are tough and can tolerate salt infiltration. Some say they like and may even need extra salt to thrive. I know these plants will go from strength to strength and I can plant their more ephemeral cousins – gaudy annuals – all around them when I crave a bit of the vulgar, some fast and loose entertainment. Nevermind . . orchids will soon find homes on the trunks of these lucky specimens. In a very short while it will be easy to find my house – it’s the one with birds circling, butterflies floating and bees humming. Just listen . . . you’ll find it.
Looking forward to seeing the finished work in person – meanwhile, being the educating master gardener that you are, can we see pictures of the plants and trees you describe so we brown fingered folk can learn to recognise them in hopes that we too may one day achieve the lofty green fingers.
Thanks for asking, Nick – over time I will post pictures (when they worth posting) and promise to name plants and trees whenever possible.