Warm greetings fellow plant-and-garden lovers! 😁🙏💚✨🤙
I've been meaning to put together a plant-and-garden update since I returned to the jungle at GaiaYoga Gardens for more than four months now. I finally decided to do it today! My intention is to make these regular updates, probably once per week. Since I live in a 16-acre, off-grid, clothing-optional, food-forest intentional community, way out in the jungle, I have many parts of the property that I could periodically cover in these posts, though there are very few official garden spaces.
Between wild pigs and very-rapidly growing plants, gardens don't tend stay gardens for long without a lot of maintenance. That's part of the reason that I haven't made a post like this yet - because many areas are not necessarily 'pretty'. I've chosen to just do it anyway, however, warts and all, because this property and the plants here are truly amazing. I've put a lot of time, attention, energy, care, effort, love, as well as a good bit of blood, sweat, and tears into this property and the plants here, so I figure I mind as well show it off a bit!
This batch of photos are all from today, of the fenced garden next to Kana's 100+-year-old Balinese teak house. Kana is one of the elders who lives here. When I moved out of GaiaYoga for five months and ten days, this garden mostly disappeared into the weeds, as did many places on the property. I wasn't the only one keeping everything maintained, but GaiaYoga went through something of a death cycle, with many people leaving, me included. When I returned on October 11th of last year, I began clearing and weeding all over the property, but especially in this fenced garden.
In the more-than four months since I've been working with it, I've been doing a huge amount of weeding in this small garden. I've also been replanting a lot of important food and medicinal plants. The medicinal plants are ones that are important components of my medicinal tea blends. I've slowly been clearing and making use of more and more space in this garden, with the intention of utilizing all of it for important plants. It's fenced to keep out the wild pigs, which obliterate planting areas quite a lot.
Allow me to take you on a short tour (it's not that big) of the garden. I also took a few shots of some cuttings that I potted up today. I'm tagging you !
The fence is wide hog wire, so it's not very clearly visible in these photos, but it surrounds the whole garden. There are all sorts of plants visible in these photos, so I'll mention some of the more easily-seen ones. Two large plants of Krishna and vana tulsi - Oncimum tenuiflorum and Oncimum gratissimum, can be seen on the right.
There are several clumps of Russian comfrey - Symphytum x uplandicum, as well as several plants of poha berry - Physallis peruviana. Collard greens and all-purple sugarcane can be seen too.
A papaya can be seen to the left of the back gate, along with a few clumps of Russian comfrey. Taro - Colocasia esculenta can be seen to the right, next to the house.
The garden is on somewhat of a terraced hill. This is looking up, toward the back of the garden.
Looking to the left-upper side.
Looking to the lower-left. Lots of poha berry, as well a big Krishna and vana tulsi can be seen.
More poha berry, comfrey, and green onions.
The large original poha berry that I planted before I left can be seen on the left, along with comfrey, ramgoat dashalong - Ternera ulmifolia, and more green onions.
Looking to the right side.
Several plants of Kapoor and Rama tulsi - Oncimum africanum and Oncimum tenuiflorum, along with two types of tomatoes, and a strawberry plant can be seen here.
Two tree tomatoes - Solanum betaceum and several Cuban cilantro/culantro - Eryngium foetidum can be seen here, along with young plants of Rama tulsi. A lone lacinato kale can be seen on the left.
More Cuban cilantro and young Rama and Krishna tulsi.
Young Krishna and Rama tulsi, along with a flopped over collard.
One of the older Krishna tulsi that I planted before I left, along with a big collard.
Looking over toward the sugarcane. The large all-purple ones are doing well. The small green one in front is one I just planted recently. It's a special variety with white-variegated stripes on the leaves and canes.
Behind the all-purple sugarcane I planted another variety with purple cakes and green leaves.
Here's some pineapple sage - Salvia elegans on the left and iboza - Tetradenia riparia on the right.
Lots more young Krishna and Rama tulsi, along with one beach chasteberry - Vitex rotundifolia.
A bed of red cassava - Manihot esculenta, with old hala mats covering the ground to keep down weeds.
A plant of Salvia divinorum on the left, and a patchouli plant - Pogostemon cablin on the right.
A young plant purple-and-white-variegated edible hibiscus/bele - Abelmoschus manihot 'Aunty Lilly's Pacific Bele'.
A young cotton plant.
A bed of taro, with line of pineapple behind that, along the back fence.
Another young cotton.
A patch of self-seeded cherry tomatoes growing in a so-far unweeded section.
Some nun's hood orchids - Phaius tancarvilleae growing among the pineapples, some of which are the variegated variety.
Looking down hill toward the sugarcane.
A mugwort - Artemisia vulgaris.
Looking toward the upper-left side from the upper-right side. One papaya loaded with fruit is visible.
A moringa tree - Moringa oleifera that I just planted.
Aside from working in the garden today, I also potted up some cuttings that I took.
Two branch cuttings of one of the giant tropical clumping bamboos, Dendrocalamus yunnanicus.
Four big cuttings of vana tulsi - Oncimum gratissimum that were growing into a trail. This is a very large basil, also called tree basil, as it can grow more than ten-feet tall.
The Dendrocalamus yunnamicus potted up.
The four vana tulsi cuttings potted up. I needed go put the in in a high tray, as they are quite top heavy, and would fall over otherwise, even in two-gallon pots.
OK my dear plant-and-garden-loving friends, that brings me to the end of this first Off-Grid Jungle Garden Update! I hope that y'all enjoyed it! Until next time! 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙
All photos were taken with my Motorola G Power Android Phone.
Thank you all so much who have helped me get to where I am today, and allowing me to share more of the beauty and magic from my life and my world with you, and for your continuous appreciation and support! I am truly deeply grateful! 😁🙏💚✨🤙
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