Tag Archives: heliconias

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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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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Around the Finca, Moca, Festival de Chinas, Isabela and More


Aeden is too cool for photos

Whew. Lots to update. We have been doing a variety of projects around the farm including finding new plants and building a new staircase into the jungle. When we’re not working on the farm or cleaning or repairing the cabana or cabin, we go out into the world and try to find new adventures. We like to stay around the west side because we can make a day trip out of it and still get back by dark to keep to Aeden’s sleep schedule. Here are a few moments caught on camera recently.


Another beachy day in Rincon – Playa Lala is now a favorite here


Fun at Villa Cofresi with the babe

From eggs we came to eggs we sit


Isabela, PR with the moon and all


We filled one of our largest single orders of flowers!


I love making the bouquets

Aeden has many adoptive aunts and uncles like Carlos and Maribel from the market


Photo bombed by a cow and a bird 🙂


Cool church in Moca


Just chillin’, kickin’ back on Mom’s lap


Aeden’s making his mark! In the new cement stairs!


Lots of hard work!


Silly boys at the beach


First time in a swing! He’s getting so big!


He has even gone swimming, underwater!

And had his first real bath -in the kitchen sink!


Cool leaves on a plant. I think this is a rattlesnake flower


Our monstera plant fruited!


Immature and mature monstera fruit! Tasted like pineapple and banana with a slight bite. You have to be careful not to eat them immature or it will burn your mouth.

 


Our prettiest ginger yet!

 
The Festival de la China was a bit of a bust! Super rainy!


I thought it was funny they were selling oranges in onion bags though!


And I was amazed at the variety of oranges (and bananas) one can grow


Aloha! A fun day in Isabela


Britton and Aeden in Isabela


Family fun


Two cuties


“Still round the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate”


This little guy melts my heart!


We walked this LOOONG boardwalk in Isabela -windy, hot and dry but very beautiful. Would be a great bike ride


Fun with friends from Colo. It’s weird to “remember when.” It seems so long ago now


This just happened. I always call him my little monster and then I saw this onesie at the flea market and I was wearing basically the same thing and then we ate at an El Meson that had this colored wall. Serendipity-do-dah!

Latest update from the farm about baby Aeden (on the new stairs!)

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Flower Power on the Finca


Delivery of a large bouquet to Roots in Rincon during the Sunday farmer’s market

We have been dealing with some pretty heavy emotional blows lately, but one thing that always cheers me up are the beautiful plants and flowers all around our property. Some of these have taken years to bloom, but are giving us quite the show lately. I forget all of their official names, but I hope you enjoy. We have still been out to the weekly farmer’s market every Sunday selling bouquets. If you happen to be in town, stop by and say “hi.”


Me and our market neighbor Aciel who sells artisanal soaps!


Red Torch Ginger


Type of heliconia psittacorum


Shell ginger


First time this one has bloomed! Sexy pink pendant heliconia!


Early bloom on a red heliconia


These are common, but beautiful and prolific red alpinia ginger (non edible)


Pink alpinias


Common pendants (heliconia) or ‘colgantes’ in Spanish


Through the garden patch of torches


Beehive ginger AKA microfono (since it looks like a microphone)


Bromeliad inflorescence


Rare white torch ginger in our basket of flowers at the market


You wouldn’t think it’s necessary, but we run water to any area we plant because things do dry out here!

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