the dark forces with trimmers and machete yielding, municipal workers. Only the Tamarindus indica in the photo, around thirty feet tall survived that first attack.
The activity took place before I learned abut guerrillagardening.org. The group, based in England defined what it is conceptually. If interested, go there and find out. Yours truly, not inclined to follow trends expanded the concept. Guerrilla gardening, besides being the practice of planting in spaces, private or public without a permit, could be expanded with a little vision.
I am not only interested in improving the appearance of any urban areas visible to pedestrians and drivers, but to create an inventory of plants, trees, bushes that will overcome the seasonal municipal butcher raids described above, including evident use of herbicides lately.
The plant selection is preferably self sown or those that will survive trimmer attacks as is now the rule. The photos show some examples with their botanical names.
Developing the concept for our horticultural situation in Puerto Rico, may or may not be significant for others, unless a wider scope in terms to my mantrra: flora and fauna. Plants from nurseries will not do.chose
The chosen ones have to tolerate drought/ heat in addition to the constant threat of the killing macheteros with trimmers. Vines are perfect since most destruction does not reach the root system, coming back after some time.
Two weeks ago I decided to experiment with creatures like Polyscias and Sanseverias, the trunk of the first can be ridden of their leaves surviving, the latter can stand the attack due to the fibrous nature of their thick leaves.
So what? Well, I am convinced by this silly activity in the eyes of the complacent segment of the gardening blog scene, that it is useful. Some of the vines have shown a possibility in terms of erosion control, Erosion takes place not only in soils used for agriculture, but those disturbed by construction, the number one murderers of flora and fauna in the urban and not so urban context.
EDITORIAL
That being written, lets move to the Caribbean. There are two blogs by an obscure Barbadian nincompoop. One about her garden, the other, pure aged nostalgia of what herself claimed Fashionista lost dreams. Buahaja bilingual laugh! Check them out.
I visit her blog for kicks, as I do with others. I thought something was wrong with her gardening practices/trajectory/credentials and egg shell ego after reading, observing a post about a Ficus pruned Puerto Rico fashion in her South American blog....buahaja...
This English blogger from Barbados--http://barbadosfromanotherview.blogspot.com-- has given me an intense mood of hilariousness. IF anyjuan paste and copy my criticism/view to the stupidity of any gardening practices--check her photo above--thinking that it will hurt me without any credentials/criteria worthy a grain of salt, you are mistaken. Anyone will achieve the opposite.....YOU MADE my day!
Not only was it published it in Random Post 7/31/12, http://antigonumcajaneveningpost.blogspot.com/2012/07/random-post.html, forever laughs, but here I present my own words and hers below.
Frangipani and Palms! The organic matter, seeds and fronds from the palms, eventually will decapitate the Plumerias, FOOL!
You are nothing but a bigger asshole to keep coming to my blog and leaving rude messages that I will never publish.
You are nothing but a bigger asshole to keep coming to my blog and leaving rude messages that I will never publish.
I visit many blogs, too many, once in a while I leave me comments.
Fifty percent of the time, they are compliments, the rest are as in these lines above. But I never say/write anything that I can not justify with a reference, photos, research, practice, credentials and criteria. This banjan garden lady has made my day, believing that I could not take her words with flying colors.
If I declare you are a fool keeping a blog/garden and putting airs without arguments, as in this case, planting a stupid row of palms with Plumerias side by side, it demonstares, that you, islander fashionista jaha, Best South American Blog according to BLOTANICAL, have never observed seriously how palms grow or what they will look like with time.
Her photo shows a vast lawn area= pollution with gas/oil/diesel/propane, C02, trimmers, blowers and lawnmowers, fumes and noise.
Why would anyjuan in their right mind plant palms with Plumeria pudica (Frangipani pudica in Barbados) as seen in the photo, believing something of great value has been accomplished and proud of the aimless act? Not to write about that brown streak on the ground: either use of herbicide or trimmed too close to the ground.
If anyjuan is offended by any comments, mine or those from the people, the least you could do is to question why or what is the criteria for the questioning. To do what the Barbadian Fashionista has done, just serves as an injection of joy to your humble servant.
Her photo shows a vast lawn area= pollution with gas/oil/diesel/propane, C02, trimmers, blowers and lawnmowers, fumes and noise.
Why would anyjuan in their right mind plant palms with Plumeria pudica (Frangipani pudica in Barbados) as seen in the photo, believing something of great value has been accomplished and proud of the aimless act? Not to write about that brown streak on the ground: either use of herbicide or trimmed too close to the ground.
If anyjuan is offended by any comments, mine or those from the people, the least you could do is to question why or what is the criteria for the questioning. To do what the Barbadian Fashionista has done, just serves as an injection of joy to your humble servant.
You be di judge. .
that is that
Interesting - I see various landscape effects pursued here, and not being tropical, but arid, they are different. But so important to consider mature plant sizes and habits before using them. Here in an arid place with poor suppliers of trees, many plant Populus spp. as fast shade or even accent...never mind with a few years of age, increased water use, severely damaging roots, storm breakage, severe leaf and twig litter.
ReplyDeleteSo much disfunctionality... Thanks, HGTV and our OMG pop culture.
The rarity of this example, is not unique. In Puerto Rico it is custom and use(apparently in Barbados also). There is never forethought in the planting, plant selection and/or location.
DeleteNever mind if ten years later you have a palm dwarfing your house as in my neighbor in 'Got Palms?' But all the organic rubbish coming along.
This photo demonstrates a silly, uneducated monkey see monkey do trend dominant in the tropics, without a little introspection. What the hell are you trying to accomplish for the surrounding flora and fauna, or --if lacking that depth-- for your primitive walled insular aesthetic pretension?
If you order your working for peanuts gardener for hire to mutilate a Ficus in your property, showing it to your blog visitors, mutilated, looking like some old days pirate without one leg, arm and eye proud of your pruning: "The Ficus was pruned", I see it and tell you with my loving and affectionate register and you remain mute/deaf/blind as some retard, why do you
have to use a gueto/white trash epithet as 'asshole' when I called you just a FOOL.
Now you were surprised again proud of your ignorance and your commenting visitor/peers do not notice since they are also blind/mute/deaf retards.
You are no Ansel Adams or Michael Avedon, the photo is for educating purposes only, public domain, without any notice otherwise, not for recognition or any prize and/or metallic income.
Considering that you, BEST SOUTH AMERICA BLOG according to the BLOTANICAL jerk in charge of that gardening
society of mostly white people--correct me if mistaken--are such an authority, you should show some character, credentials, criteria. The photo stinks, instead of asking to have it removed, I would let it stay since it proves that maybe I am an ASSHOLE in my perception instead of asking me to remove your comments with that disgusting riff raff epithet, leaving some doubts in the reader as to whom is what.
Take your humble servant to the Hague Tribunal....and good luck in your Best South America Blog. Is Puerto Rico and those islands archipielago close by in CENTRAL AMERICA?
PD Wait a couple of years, when those palm fronds start falling in the branches of your Frangipani pudica!
Creo que todo aquel que planta, regala al futuro.
ReplyDeleteCariños
PD seria buenisimo si pusieras traductor en el blog.