Cooking (and Hopefully Growing) Lampascioni

We moved a few months back. Over the last year I’ve received a few threatening emails. I’m not talking about, “You’re a jerk, I hate your stupid website” type emails. No, these threatened my person in a clearly violent manner. I knew that when we moved I’d be more protective about where we lived and

‘Green Dragon’ Amaryllis

I apologize for temporarily turning this site into You Grow Girl: The Amaryllis Story, but I promise you I have more posts on other topics on the go. Until then, as promised, here are a few photos of the ‘Green Dragon’ amaryllis. And here are the flowers with red streaks down the centre of each

The Not ‘Green Dragon’ Amaryllis

Back in November, I wrote about receiving a green amaryllis from a friend (it’s just starting to bloom) and mentioned another variety that I was coveting called ‘Green Dragon.’ Well, I went and bought that one, too. Or rather, I bought three.

How Festive

It must have been the influence of that month in the Caribbean where they are as big as trees, because I haven’t craved a holiday poinsettia in ages. The last time I remember growing one was the year I published a piece on restoring a dormant poinsettia to its original glory. That must have been

Growing Species Nasturtiums

One of my goals for the 2011 growing season is to try expanding into other species of the nasturtium genus (Tropaeolum). My love of the well known and edible Tropaeolum majus is well documented on this site, and elsewhere, but I have never tried to grow, nor have I even seen any of the other

Not My New Year

I’ve flailed about here all morning, trying on a variety of topics for the first post of 2011. I’m feeling intimidated like this is the first post I have ever written, or worse yet, the first post ever written In the History of the World! I think they call this being melodramatic. My original plan

Reflecting on 2010

Year Start I spent the first week of 2010 out right, visiting friends on an organic food farm in the Soufriere area of St. Lucia. Our friend David lived there at the time, growing food for the ultra luxurious Jade Mountain Resort. The property, called Emerald House, was an old chocolate plantation at one time.

House of Hope Update

Yesterday, my friend Celia visited the House of Hope in Dominica. She and her husband Paul took photos of the visit and shot a video to give us a closer look. House of Hope from Paul Crask on Vimeo. The following photos are of the organic food garden that is in progress on the property.

And the winner is…..

Thanks so much to everyone who donated to the House of Hope Drive, promoted it on their blog, retweeted etc. The total is going to convert to around $3000 EC (Eastern Caribbean Dollars). Really, really fantastic!! I’ll have an update from Celia next week with photos.

House of Hope Drive Update

Hello Friends, Just a reminder that the House of Hope Drive is on until Saturday when I’ll be drawing a name for the prize. We’re currently up to $1, 130, which is crazy INCREDIBLE! Thanks so much for contributing! My friend Celia, who lives in Dominica, is going to be visiting the House of Hope

Chandelier Plant

Back in the spring, when I guiltily purchased this kalanchoe tubiflora (aka Widow’s Thrill) on impulse, it was all about the tall, spotted tubular leaves and the way it looks like a bottle cleaning brush. I didn’t look for photos online or in books to see how it would turn out down the road. I

A Year Ago Today…

…I was in Barbados and it was day 3 into our 35 day trip to the Caribbean. We took the bus from Christ Church to the capital city, Bridgetown. Meat donut. Your choice of sausage or minced meat. We got the coconut.