Gardening Zen in the Tropics

Gardening is a wonderful way to relax and unwind, and today I'm taking some time out to tend to my garden chores. I decided to take a break under the shade of my flamboyant tree, to admire how the garden is looking at the moment. The Flamboyant tree that we are sitting under has lovely red flowers and this tree has grown well in this area.

This flamboyant tree is relatively new, but it is already starting to produce large pods and seeds - I still have to find out more about the properties of this tree - it is used in some countries to line streets.  I have two of them in my garden and will keep them at a particular height, as they can grow quite tall. 

I'm also repairing a hole that my dog Cole made in the Mexican sunflower hedge.  Mexican sunflower needs to be cut back regularly to stay vibrant. When I cut it back, it encourages new growth and keeps the plant healthy. Over the years the cuttings that I have taken have been planted in other parts of my garden. These cuttings will flower in the year that it is planted because has been taken from a mature plant.

Another plant that I'm currently working on is my scaevola. I want to retain the path near my Aloe plants, so I'm cutting it back to a certain height, so it doesn't hang over the path. I'll be using the cuttings as chop and drop in my moringa patch and other parts of the garden.

I've got a lot of other trees to trim and will get to them over the course of the week, including my Shak Shak tree and Clammy cherry tree. I've been documenting my gardening adventures on my Channel, and you can take a look at some of the videos to see how things have grown and changed over time.

Gardening is a great way to take time out and relax. It's an activity that allows you to be present in the moment and focus on the task at hand even if you are doing chores in the garden. Check out the video above to see the work I'm doing in my garden today.  You can also check out my Amazon Gardening Guide for details of some of the plants that I have in the Garden.  Check out my online course which takes lessons inspired by the garden.  You can check it out HERE or click on the image below.

 

Creative Gardener - Growing Henna

 Growing Henna

Come and join me in the tropical garden where we are looking at the Henna plant, also known as Lawsonia Inermis.   It is a tall shrub tree and is used to create the dye henna for skin as well as fabrics.  There are also medicinal properties in the leaves that I will be looking into.

It is a lovely plant to have the flowers have a very sweet fragrance and I would love to have more of the plants dotted around the garden

The leaves are what is crushed and makes the dye.  Check out the video above.

Grow Your Own Course

Are you interested in growing your own, and making your time in the garden fun and efficient?  Check out the course below, click on the image for more information

Gardening Behind the Scenes and Planning

In today's video I share some plans in the garden.  I will be sharing the update as this video was taken 

Welcome, you get a bit of the behind the scenes in the Garden today. This are of the garden was a space that I am working on creating a hedge. It is besides my recycled tires in the garden and want to create an area that I can possibly place a bench and relaxing area as well. It is a work in progress and all the projects take a while to come to fruition. I will be sharing an update to this area of the garden next week.

You can check out the video below

If you would like to check out some of the things I am working on in the garden that was seen or mentioned in the video: Yard and Garden Furniture - check out this book to create your own - https://amzn.to/3NksXUN DIY Garden projects - https://amzn.to/3SRKTqT Composting made easy - https://amzn.to/3UeBOcU Wheel Barrow - (on my ideas list) - https://amzn.to/3DqBQHz Lattice Fencing - https://amzn.to/3Ds6Nv2 https://amzn.to/3SOYSh3 https://amzn.to/3Fw5bmI The Secret Garden book - https://amzn.to/3DnfDKM

Because the garden has practically no budget, it is important to look at ways in which I can either use what is growing, found objects and swaps. I have found some of the trees that grow really fast, like the 'river tamarind' - can be cut and the branches used for projects, pallets are things that my local hardware store gives away, so I may be able to make use of the wood - it would need to be treated as we have an issue with termites in the garden.

Do let me know if you have any queries or comments about the garden and stay blessed. You can check out some of the other gardening videos - HERE

Previously on Creative Gardener......

How Does Your Garden Grow - New Online Course!

I am so excited to share with you that I will be launching my first solo art course today called 'How Does Your Garden Grow?'. Check out the course HERE

'Early Bird Special' Get the course for $47 instead of $57

Until 8th August 2021

We will take a walk in the garden, taking inspiration from the flowers and the leaves and then use them to inform some of the shapes, colors and marks that we will use in our creative art piece. I will then show you how to create a background and develop it to find an image we can build on and use additional marks, shapes and symbols on the page.

I have included lots of goodies to download as part of the course: -

• Course handbook
• 12 Page coloring book,
• 12 Page mixed media background images,
• 9 Stamp Images
• 14 Garden images
• A Bonus video on creating backgrounds
• Two A4 art prints - downloadable
• 1.5 hours of workshop going through the steps for creating your final image.

• All the videos and images are yours to download and keep and you can take at your own pace.

• All the skills that you will learn are transferable and it is a great idea to re-create the lesson using different mediums

I would love to have you join me on the course!  You can get it at the 'Early Bird Special' of $47 until 8th August 2021

Join Us HERE

ADDITIONAL BONUSES

For additional Bonuses check me out on Patreon

Patrons at all tiers receive these two additional bonuses when they sign up for the course.

12 page vintage florals 1 downloadable papers
12 page vintage florals 2 downloadable papers

Check out Patreon