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in the garden
Tropical Garden Explorations
Part 2: Exotic Flowers of the Caribbean
by Georgie Kennedy, Lake Simcoe South Master Gardener
The sun’s rays peeping through the louvered windows confuse me for just a second. Overhead, a fan rotates
lazily; I hear birds chirping and waves lapping. Then I realize....I’m in the tropics, on a beautiful island, maybe
Jamaica or Barbados. The sky is bright, not overcast, and greenery, not snow, is everywhere. This is the
morning of our first long-awaited tropical garden tour.
“Welcome,” says Tyrone, our guide, in his melodious lilt. “Today, we’ll have plenty of time to learn about the
flowers on this estate.... Golden Chalice Vine, Shrimp Plant, Ixora, Desert Rose, Ginger Lily, Parrot’s Beak,
Coffee Rose, and more.” The exotic names capture my curiosity immediately. He promises to explain the
flowers’ ideal growing conditions for anyone interested. To a fanatic gardener, this is heaven.
He begins with the tropical climate. “The island never experiences freezing temperatures. Many of the plants
we‘ll see today could not survive in your country, unless brought indoors or otherwise protected, because they’re
not adapted to go into winter dormancy.” I’m interested to learn there are distinct growing seasons here. The
best planting times are April and May, October and November, the periods of heavy rain. Tourists commonly
visit in the cooler months from December to March when there is absolutely no risk of hurricanes. However,
the hot, dry summer months have their own appeal; many plants, notably Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.) and
Oleander (Nerium oleander), produce more blooms in drought-like conditions. I have already noticed walls and
fences covered with colourful bougainvillea bracts; I can imagine their greater glory in July and August.
Graceful oleanders along the roadways will wave with even more pink, yellow and white flowers.
continued on page 26
Left to Right: Coral Bougainvillea (B. spectabilis ‘Kenyan Sunset’), yellow Oleander, red Frilly Hibiscus, purple Allamanda,
orange Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis), red Hibiscus, red and yellow Parrot’s Beak Heliconia, white Coffee Rose
(partially hidden), yellow Shrimp plant, yellow Golden Chalice, pink Ginger Lily, mauve Bougainvillea, red Ixora, white
Bougainvillea, pink Hibiscus, red Fringed Hibiscus (H. schizopetalus)
24 The Bulletin | 13TH YEAR www.TheBulletinMagazine.com