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Welcome to the garden! I am wearing my creative gardener hat today and we are going to look at my Tropical Black Sage - also known as Varronia curassavica. Its journey developed from a simple plant cutting to a full-grown tree. I have it growing within a tyre in the garden and whilst I wasn't going to let it grow into a tree by regular pruning - I am glad I did as it has got a really lovely shape to it.
As the tropical black sage was growing, it encountered various pests that I have had to deal with. One such pest was a small moth with a lilac color that liked to feed on the tip of the shoots and lay its eggs on the undersides of the leaves. At first, I thought they were cute, but soon I realized they were a real problem and have drifted on to other plants. Over time I tried different natural solutions, such as spraying soapy water and oil, and even made my own neem oil, and the ladybirds also help when they can.
In addition to dealing with the pests, I have allowed the tropical black sage to grow in different areas of my garden and it seems to love it, I keep them trimmed regularly to reduce their size. The birds are the ones that have dropped the seeds in different areas and depending on where they are growing some of the leaves have been really large in size. I use the leaves in tea and for cooking and also create smudging sticks.
Check out the video of the Tropical Black Sage Plant above
Another interesting aspect of the tropical black sage is the wood. It's a fairly strong and semi-hardwood that I'm still experimenting with in terms of creative use. I will keep you updated on what I come up with.
Also check out some of these gardening resources:
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