Category: Rwandan gardens

Remember the pomegranates?

Cindy at enclos*ure3 Comments
Hand-colored transparency, “Pomegranate Tree in Fruit,” by the American Colony Photo Department (later Matson Photo Service), taken between 1925 and 1946, via Library of Congress.

I think about pomegranates, as I put the seeds on my oatmeal every morning.  The tree in our garden has been producing fruit pretty steadily since September.

Wikipedia says, “In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February.  In the Southern Hemisphere, the pomegranate is in season from March to May.”  Perhaps because Rwanda is pretty much on the equator, we get both seasons.

Looking for poems about pomegranates, I found this poem by Billy Collins.  It has only a little to do with the fruit, but it’s funny.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for May

Cindy at enclos*ure3 Comments

We have quite a number of blooming plants right now, but it’s been so wet lately that most are looking a bit rain-addled.

I love these Kniphofia uvaria or red-hot-poker plants even though these spikes are about done. They are the most beautiful orange.

They have bloomed steadily since we arrived in September.

My favorite blooms today are from a pink bougainvillea growing up into this conifer (I don’t have a name for it). They are now eye-level with our upstairs bedroom windows.

Bougainvillea is planted all along the front of the garden and is kept severely clipped as a tall hedge, but a long branch has escaped and has almost reached the top of the tree.

To see what’s blooming in other garden bloggers’ gardens, check out May Dreams Gardens.

(It’s raining again.)

Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Follow Up for March

Cindy at enclos*ure2 Comments

I’m traveling today, so for GBFF, I want to share some photos that I’ve taken in the last few months of our two Ravenalas madagascariensis or traveler’s palms.

The traveler’s palm is not a true palm, but the sole member of its genus, which is part of the family Strelitziaceae, known for its birds-of-paradise.

Its name derives from a tendency of its fans to grow in an east-west line (ours don’t) and because its leaf folds, flower bracts, and hollow leaf bases can contain almost a quart of water (almost a liter).

When we lived in Madagascar, we were told that if you drank from the traveler’s palm, you would always return to that country.

The plant likes sun, but can tolerate part shade. It thrives in good moist soil in (U.S.) zones 10 and 11. Its average height is about 23′ (7 m.).

For more information, click here.

Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Follow-Up today. Click the link to see what’s growing in other G.B.’s gardens this month.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for March

Cindy at enclos*ure2 Comments

I’m traveling today, so I must confess that I took these photos before I left. However, this plant has bloomed non stop for the last six months, so I’m sure it is blooming today too.

Since we arrived in Rwanda in September, I have been telling people that this is a poinsettia, a shrub that can also get really large in frost-free climates. But after identifying our orange and white Mussaenda frondosa last month, I realized that it is a Mussaenda erythrophylla.

M. erythrophylla is native to tropical West Africa and is also known as Ashanti blood, red flag blood, or tropical dogwood. It can reach heights of 30 ft. (about 9 m.). Below, it’s growing up into our acacia tree.

The bracts of this plant glow so red that I’ve had a hard time getting good pictures of it. It will bloom all year long.

The plant cannot well tolerate temperatures below 40°F.  It prefers full sun, but will bloom in part shade.  It needs moderate amounts of water.

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Garden for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Click the link to see what’s blooming in other GB’s gardens today.