Happy New Year

Some highlights of the year in blogging

Rainbow on the beach


Old San Juan ( soon to be blogged about)



San Francisco Botanical Garden


Monkey puzzle tree


Japanese tea garden


Farmer's markets

Merry Christmas from the Caribbean Garden

These are carvings made in Puerto Rico for Church niches




The Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico the second oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere; construction began in 1521.



Thank you my dear readers for your interest and support throughout the year. Have a Merry Christmas filled with peace, love and happiness.
Nicole

Gardener's Cards and wrappings

Carol had me laughing with her post When A Gardener Wraps Christmas Presents

I also love using botanical prints for cards and wrappings, as well as handmade mulberry paper, embedded with leaves and blooms. See my previous post on Mulberry Paper


Mulberry gift bags with ferns and petals


Heavily textured with bamboo and grass blooms


Simple and elegant-bamboo leaves


Ferns-this one looks as if its on snow


Berries, twigs, vines, dried flowers and leaf skeletons make perfect "bows" or accents when wrapping presents with these.

For greeting cards there is no end of lovely garden themed prints available, such as this one by Mudlark


Cardinal Grosbeak by John James Audubon, 1833 is a classic botanical print used in holiday cards.

Sorrel Drink

The red sepals of the Roselle plant (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is commonly called sorrel in the Caribbean. The young leaves are great in salads, with a sour taste very similar to sorrel (Rumex acetosa), the vegetable of European origin (hence the common name.

The red sepals can also be used as a garnish in cooking, and goes well in fish. The sepals can also be candied and used on cakes etc.
Sorrel is a traditional Christmas drink in many islands of the Caribbean.

Ingredients
1 pound fresh sorrel sepals or 1 1/2 cup dried sorrel sepals
1 two inch piece ginger, sliced
8 cups water
1 cup brown sugar (approx)
8 pimento grains or
1 piece orange peel (fresh or dried, approximately 3 by 1-inch) and 12 whole cloves

Method
1. Wash sorrel.
2. Put into a large glass or stainless steel container, add ginger and pimento grains/orange peel/cloves
3. Boil water and pour over sorrel.
4. Allow to stand 6 hours. Strain.
5. Sweeten to taste (I prefer a strong, tart-sweet taste)
6. Serve with ice cubes.

Stores well in the refrigerator. Rum can be added for an adult drink. You can also use half the water and then fill up the glass when serving with club soda or Perrier for a fizzy drink.

I know the are in bloom...

I am traveling so I can’t take pics at home but I did take a few quick pics before I left -I can assure you I know they are blooming at home today!

Rosa Gorda

Look at the prominent teeth!

By some stroke of luck there were a few agaves in the latest shipment of plants at the local nursery. I love this little one-I have no miniature agaves so this was a find. It was pricey-US$22, but since there was a full plant with four good sized pups I figured it was not bad as I was really buying 5 plants. There was no label but it seems to be Agave 'Rosa Gorda'-a name in itself of doubt. The mother plant is about 6 inches across. This is what San Marcos Growers have to say about Agave 'Rosa Gorda'.

As a bonus of course the plants will obviously pup and I should have lots more mini agaves for landscaping and (selective) gift giving. I think this in a bright ceramic pot will be well appreciated by my plant loving friends.Does anyone else factor the "reproductive factor" in buying plants? I tend to buy a more pricey plant if I
1. absolutely adore it and/or 2. know I will get more plants out of it.

This is what it looked like before repotting. The pups are growing surprisingly quickly