Thanks to all who liked and shared my garden tour which was featured on August 7 and 14, respectively. The video on the Jamaica Observer‘s YouTube channel garnered over 1,000 views in five days and counting, for which I am grateful. I am humbled and inspired by your positive comments and am encouraged to share my friend’s garden which I recently spruced up as they were preparing to host a family reunion.

My friend and her husband are both avid plant lovers and we share the same passion for gardening. They are ably assisted by their dedicated and efficient gardener Everton Johnson, aka “Spragga”, who was the caretaker of their dream house while under construction. Spragga is therefore referred to as a foundation member of their family and in our Jamaican patois is often called “man a yaad”. My friend loves tropical blooms — heliconias, birds of paradise and ginger lilies; she also loves orchids especially vandas. She cuts the blooms of her heliconias and places them in a special vase inside her house.

On completion of the construction of their dream home they engaged the services of the renowned landscaper (a friend of mine) Stephen Jones of blessed memory to landscape the outer and inner gardens.

They refer to the inner garden as their sanctuary where they have tea and cocktails with friends and family. This inner garden is designed around a koi pond (comprising 26 kois) under a bridge over which gives access to the main entrance to the house; boasts a stunning waterfall where an artistic feature in the form of a bird perched atop (made from metal in a bronze/gold patina embellished with large diamond-like stones) welcomes you as you enter the front gate to the garden. This feature, she advised, staves off the birds that used to descend on the pond to eat the kois. There are hanging ferns, semi-shade vandas, phalaenopsis, ground orchids, prayer plants (calathea), caladiums, elephant ears (Alocasia Sanderiana), hydrangeas, ZeeZee, just to name a few. Some of the plants and succulents are displayed in decorative Mexican pottery and Talavera pieces are strategically placed throughout to accentuate the garden. I designed and installed a succulent garden and a dry river stream bed near the koi pond. There is also a bird cage strategically placed which houses Romeo and Juliet or Michelle and Jordan, as they are affectionately called. These birds were gifted to them by their son.

Her collection of sun vanda is strategically placed by the poolside. There is also a manhead planter with pampas grass adorning this area. The manhead planter is affectionately called Percy. Percy got his name from Spragga who said that it reminded him of the Percy Junor Bust located at the Spaldings Hospital, where he was born.

They also have three dogs — Drogba, Zena and Bruno, their affectionate but cross “security detail”.

The main front garden is indeed a show-stopper! It showcases a wide variety of perennial shrubs, annuals and bromeliads. There is also a collection of exotic palm trees (namely Bismarck — Bismarckia Nobilis, Triangle — Dypsis Decaryl; Foxtail — Wodyetia Bifurcata; Fish Tail — Caryota Mitis; Areca — Arecaceae; Cardboard — Zaceamia Furfura; Fan — Licuala Ramsayi; Christmas — Adonidia) strategically planted, which provides a canopy for the garden and complements its ambiance. My friend advised that she recently commissioned a sign which lists the names of the palms. The sign is hung on the Bismarck Palm tree. The palm trees are colour-coded to correspond with the names on the sign. She advised that this became necessary as she often forgets the names when people enquire. How innovative! That’s what I refer to when I say “make the garden your own”. The property is well-fruited — soursop, pomergranate, sweetsop, banana, nutmeg (yet to bear) as well as ackee, mangoes and otaheite apples which hangs over from the neighbours’ yard (it pays to “live good wid yu neba”).

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Happy gardening!