enclos*ure

Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Follow Up for March

March 16, 2012April 13, 2016 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

March 15, 2012April 13, 2016 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.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: baskets

March 13, 2012April 13, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ure3 Comments

GL 1 — Baskets at Gahaya Links, Kigali, Rwanda.

Gahaya Links’s website is here.

Akebo kajya iwa mugarura.
A basket should be given to the grateful.
— Rwandan proverb

An earlier March

March 12, 2012February 21, 2018 Cindy at enclos*ure3 Comments

Sheep grazed on the White House lawn during the Wilson administration (1913-1921) as part of an effort to cut down on groundskeeping costs (and here and here). The photo above was taken by Harris & Ewing. Since there are lambs, I believe this is early spring.

The below photos were taken by the National Photo Company (all images via the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division).

Earlier, from 1910 to 1913, President Taft’s cow, Pauline, had grazed on the lawn. She is shown here in front of the Old Executive Office Building, then the State, War, and Navy Building.