Tag Archives: flowers

February 2022

February used to be my least favorite month of the year when we lived in Colorado. It was so cold and there were no real festivities to brighten spirits. On the other hand, here in Puerto Rico, it is one of my favorites. The humidity drops and it is so pleasant to be outside working in the gardens.

We also had a visit from Britton’s sister Torrie and her friend so we did some touristy things with them including going to one of our favorite spots in Aguadilla: Borinquen Beach and the area around there (Lighthouse Ruins, Wilderness, etc). We also ran into a wild pig that started out friendly but got pretty aggressive and actually attacked and hurt another tourist pretty bad later on. We also stopped by the drum circle that meets up each first Friday of the month.

We also took a boat trip to La Parguera in Lajas where we rented our own boat and went to some of the lesser known keys. It was a lot of fun until I had a freak accident climbing a mangrove tree. Of all the crazy things I do, I didn’t think I would break my arm climbing a tree 3 feet above water. My arm was wrapped around the back side of the branch and when I tried to catch myself midfall I heard a crack. I really hoped it was just the tree creaking and not me. We went on with the day and even though I was in pain, I just tried to convince myself it was a sprain. The next day we went to the emergency room in Rincon and with an Xray I found out it was indeed broken. I was bummed and had to be in a two different casts for a total of 6 weeks.


Because of my injury we couldn’t go out and do as many adventurous things, so we stayed a little closer to home for a while. We did visit the new trail they opened at Tres Palmas Reserve as well as the celebration at Almendros Beach where the pool was stopped from being built.

We took a fun trip to Hatillo and the Gran Parque del Norte! Lots of great photo ops!

Otherwise, during the month of February we enjoyed our time on the farm and with friends.


One of my favorite flowers! Carolina or Shaving Brush flower -Pseudobombax

 

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The Holiday Season in Puerto Rico 2019

The holidays are in full swing here in Puerto Rico this year. The festivities are on fire and it seems that every other day we have one party or another to attend. It has been so much fun! Thanksgiving with our neighbors, birthday parties, cookie exchanges, encendidos, parrandas, school parties and more. It has been non-stop. It is so true that Puerto Rico knows how to party and the winter Christmas season is the best for that!

   

When we haven’t been out having fun, we’ve been trying to take advantage of the extra time we have with Aeden in daycare and the fact that it has been so much cooler in order to expand the gardens. We recently planted over 35 new cultivars of heliconias and are so excited to see them grow! The cabana has been steadily booked with guests and so that keeps us busy with maintenance, tours and turnover. It’s been a very fufiling time in our lives. I’ve been trying to make more videos in order to capture the essence of life these days, sort of “vlog” style if you’d like to watch some other things that we’ve been up to. Here’s our channel: LIFETRANSPLANET YOUTUBE


Christmas Fun


Primer Cumpleanos for friend Nico’s Birthday Party


Holiday fun. At the beach, with a Norfolk pine (a tropical Christmas tree!) and surfer statue has been Santa-fied


Winter is the best time for a swim!


Or just visit the beach


There was a fun party at the lighthouse


We went out to the encendido in the Rincon Plaza – the best orchestra in Puerto Rico (Orquesta Sinfónica)!


Cows and geckos- normal sights


Had a fun stop at Tres Sirenas Inn


And an awesome farm called “Finca Brutal”



Thanksgiving with our neighbors was a lot of fun!


The beauty of this place still astounds me


More fun out and about



Some new additions to the garden and harvests


Preparing for a flower delivery and working outside in December!


Check out this GIANT heliconia called “Beefsteak” or Mariae. With our new friend Carlos

It’s been an active period of growth, literally, while we enjoy the holidays as well. We hope yours are going well also! Felicidades.

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Growth and Markets: Our Weekly Routine in Puerto Rico

No, I am not talking about the stock market or the GDP, but rather the original meaning of those words. Literally growing things (including a baby) and going to markets. We have a bit of a schedule and routine now, moreso than ever with a baby. We used to go out a lot more at night with the band and just to hang out at chinchorros  or downtown at the ArtWalk, but we now appreciate our quiet evenings with the kiddo sound asleep. So that means our days must be a little fuller. Fridays and Sundays mean market. Fridays we go to the San Sebastian Pulguero (Flea Market) where we do some bartering and buying. Mostly we are in the market for strange exotic plants. Actually we are ALWAYS in the market for those it seems. No matter how much plant life we throw at the property, it just eats it up.


With a new flower find at the San Sebastian Market

It’s pretty fun at the San Sebastian market because we are nearly always the only “gringos” there and so we sort of stick out like sore thumbs. But people are starting to get to know us, greet us and show us what all they have available before we even have to ask. It REALLY helps to know Spanish in these sorts of environments!


Aeden is a favorite with many people at the market including this sweet woman who even sang “Que Linda Manita” to him


Aeden and the birds back at the farm

Saturdays are usually spent back at the farm unless we have something fun planned. On Saturday afternoon we harvest the fruit and flowers for the Sunday Rincon Farmer’s Market.


Look who needs to start wearing shoes soon!


Aeden is now 11 months old! Check out his latest update video


New bromeliads in bloom at the farm


Our avocado that we accidentally cut down YEARS ago, has come back and is fruiting! I am so happy! Yay for guacamole! What’s strange about it, is only one trunk has fruit. So I think it must have been grafted long ago and we’ll probably have two types on one tree. We’ll see!


At the Farmer’s Market in Rincon. Dragonfruit! We have had our dragonfruit plant flower, but it never holds onto the fruit

The Farmer’s Market on Sunday mornings is fun. We don’t make much money, but it is worth it and it’s fairly stable for being summertime. We have made a lot of great friends there. And we use the money to go out and have brunch and drive around a bit afterward. If we make any more than that we put it into buying more plants from the nurseries or flea markets around.


Taking Aeden to Yogufruti after the Farmer’s Market one Sunday


I never knew what fashion tasted like before, but it’s pretty good! haha

During the week we mostly work on the farm: mowing, planting, improving trails. We also clean and do “turnovers” if we have guests staying in the cabana. We also like to pick a day or two to go shopping or an excursion of some sort. Sometimes we go hunting for plants on the side of the road or check out a beach. Lately it has been so hot, that we have been doing everything we can to stay cool. Since we don’t have A/C that means sitting in the baby pool, finding anywhere that has air conditioning and just milling around, eating watermelon and lots of fluids and trying to avoid the heat of the middle of the day (siesta anyone?). The beach is actually too hot for me on those sizzling days since the water and sand multiply the sun’s effect.


Staying cool in our baby pool in the shade like the hillbillies we are haha!


Fun shopping day out with friend Pauline


Stop in at an authentic chinchorro for una bien friiiia


Checking out a beach in Aguada (Tablerock) -great beach for bamboo driftwood hunters!


Fun on the farm! Dad and boy


Man and his horse swimming in Anasco


Not sure, but I believe this is a cupey flower blooming at our house


Britton had a red RX7 when he was a teenager so this made him gasp when we were driving along in Aguada one day! His 17 year-old self has multiplied! haha

He probably wasn’t listening to this type of song back then though (this is a top hit currently on the radio that we turn up when it comes on, and it’s great for Spanish vocabulary!)


Buying plants at Jardines Eneida! One of our favorite nurseries!


At Jardines Eneida. Check out the video:


I call Puerto Rico “Toon Town” and it’s not without reason…Check out this vibrant little house


And this one…who is very concerned with the modesty of its columns haha


Or this awesomely strange creation seemingly out of a sci-fi movie


Driving up the hills of Mayaguez we had a majestically different view of Rincon and Desecheo in the distance

That’s it for the update. Time flies. I can’t believe that a year ago I was hugely pregnant and just waiting for our little guy to arrive and now he’s almost walking. It’s crazy. Nothing like a kid to make time really feel warped.

Here’s a quick little video of some vignettes of our daily life in Puerto Rico. Hope you enjoy. Oh, and I am trying to do a little more with Instagram if you’d like to follow along.

 

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New Flowers and Friends


Newest bloom: Evita’s Rose

We are constantly on the lookout for new plants, trees and flowers. It seems that most of the viveros have all the same common plants: trinitarias, hibiscus, bromelias, orchids, citrus, avocados. What they don’t have are heliconias, gingers, plumerias and all the exotic fruit trees. We are currently on the lookout for durian, Australian finger lime, and reina de las flores (this is a common tree, but for some reason we have a hard time finding it for sale).


Also looking for Rainbow Eucalyptus like this one seen on the side of the road

At the last pulguero in San Sebastian we had a good score! We found another Ylang Ylang tree (the fragrance is so divine, it is used in Chanel No 5), an achiote tree (a natural food dye for the color red and very cool looking fruit), a huge Tibochino espiga and a Raffy palm (that’s what the vendor called it). At Jardines Eneida we also found some new trees like a Cordia, Saman and mamayito (lemon drop mangosteen).


The meadow area after a good mow -we need to mow about every 2 weeks now that it’s raining so much


I also found this nepenthes pitcher plant that reminded me of well…you know


All the rain has brought out the mushrooms


And so we bought some garden art to commemorate them


Rainy days at the cabin. Notice the new railings!


Still not sure if we want to put rails on the bridge though


The mosquitos come out a lot more in the rain, so we put a mosquito net on Aeden’s play pen outside, that he promptly pulled down 🙂


He’s our little farmer so we did an impromtu photo shoot with him


Our little red is getting so big! 9 months now


Aeden’s 9 month video update

In order to find the heliconias and ginger varieties we want, we have to find direct vendors. The rhizomes don’t do super well in pots for long periods of time, so they have to be directly transplanted as soon as possible into the ground. They also need a lot of space and water, that the average home gardener can’t often provide (hence why they are not commonly found in the stores around here). Well, I found someone online who specializes in them! Not only did Carlos sell us some amazing rhizomes, he also delivered them from San German and helped us identify many of our wild species. We hung out for quite a while and got to know him pretty well. We scored some plants, but even more importantly a new friend who is as geeked out about botanicals as we are! He is a student at the University in Mayaguez and knows a TON about plants.


With Carlos and the new plants


We’ve also been busy delivering flowers to friends/businesses like these that are on the way to Karibe Kombucha and Ocean State of Mind

Other than that we have been going out and having fun enjoying the scenes around the island.


In Aguada, Puerto Rico


Cool building in Aguadilla


Selling fresh chopped coconuts in Isabela


A nice Sunday brunch at the Copa Lllena in Rincon


This guy was buying sugarcane from a neighbor


At the Sunday Farmer’s market a basket maker made me a crown. I was the reina de las flores for a day! 🙂


Man on a bicycle at the airfield in Aguadilla

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