While much of North America is still thawing, I am enjoying the warmth and getting sunburnt a ways south in my fatherland.
I smuggled a few rare seeds that are unavailable or otherwise rare over here.
Remember when I grew turban pumpkins last year? Well I brought just two seeds over. One sprouted but its sister did not. Since we have no room for big vines here at the house garden, I planted it in the orchard we're planning. We named it Terminal 5. There is not much to see there yet. (I am also designing a crest for the orchard!)
Future Transplants
Another odd fruit I'm growing this year is the kajari melon. I only brought one seed and, luckily, it sprouted! Although I won't be staying here long enough to taste the fruit, if it does fruit we'll have a supply of seeds here. But what does it look like? Think turban pumpkin but in melon form! It has striking colors. I will grow them at home thus spring/summer.
This little baby is something that I've grown before but doesn't do so well in my area. It is a pigeon pea or gandúl. These can grow into small trees and live for around 5 years. Old man winter killed the one I had at home. It would be nice to see one thriving here where there is no snow or frost.
I also brought some ayocote beans, cousins of the scarlet runner, back to their ancestral home but they are failing me. The two I brought rotted but it seems I had already brought two others some time ago. I'm trying to see if the red one will sprout using my usual method of propping the bean up with the "eye" facing down on a moist towelette. I should have done this to begin with.
All these plants grow very large, so their home will eventually be Terminal 5. There's no room at headquarters due to all the perennials and the occasional tomato that sprouts (my dad now follows my example and throws away all food scraps in the garden. There are papaya trees, natal plums, lime trees, and...
A Mexican pitahayo! Not to be confused with the pitayo (dragon fruit plant) though both are cacti. Someday, it will look like this:
Then it will bear white, night-blooming flowers that will turn into pitahayas! They are tasty, if you can get past the the prickly skin. It is also high in many vitamins and minerals. Dare I call it a superfood?
Today I drilled a hole in this gourd to make it into a birdhouse! Back in the day, they were used as water bottles with an olote (corn cob) as the stopper.
And then how could I let all these seeds go to waste!
Interestingly, these seeds are black. The gourds I've worked with before had peach colored seeds (and a much thinner skin). One lucky seed will eventually be sown in the orchard as well. I might also take a few back home with me.
Okay! Enough business talk! Want to see some flowers?
Oops, not a flower! This parasaur happily munches on the nuisance grass that spreads everywhere.
This is a bougainvillea, known locally as camelina. We have 3 of them; a red one, white, and fuchsia. Hummingbirds like to visit these flowers occasionally. Watch out for the thorns!
The flowers in our front yard really stand out. Few people have front lawns or even gardens here, but we bring our American ideas down here anyway!
That will be all from me for now! Good luck with your gardens and may the duendes be with you!