We found a beautiful flower growing onto a neighbor's trash receptacle and figured it was bound to be chopped anyway (the local trash collector isn't what you would call a gentle fellow) so we pulled some cuttings. So far they seem to be doing well in a bottle of water on the kitchen table (one is over a week old, sprouting roots, the others just a day old). I was pretty sure it is a Passiflora (passion fruit) but checked online anyway and am pleased to discover that it appears to be Passiflora 'Pura Vida' a hybrid of P. amethyst and P. racemosa. Fun. We are hoping to cover an ugly pergola with it. Time will tell if it flourishes. The website I found predicts that this vine can grow up to 40ft. And some others suggest that P. racemosa can become an invasive pest in some areas. We'll have to keep an eye on it. Google turns up a bunch of sites on Passiflora, if you are interested. I like www.passiflora.info among others.

We also clipped a little bit off of a vine near Langosta- purple flowers that could be any of a number of Passiflora hybrids or species. It was growing well there, let's hope it does well here also.

Speaking of flourishing- our jalapeno seedlings appear to have been ravished by something. I suspect leaf cutter ants, but it could have been an iguana. Either way, we had 10 or so, now we have two :(
The good news: we can plant more seeds.

We also moved a pot-full of Vetiver grass that was suffering from bound roots. It is amazing how quickly the roots on that grass get constricted in even a large pot. In less than six months, two little plugs turned into a huge stand and made a root ball the size of a basketball (albeit a slightly deflated basketball). We broke up the stand, harvested the roots (they smell wonderful) and replanted. They are now planted in front of our wall, on the street. Trying to create a little more shade and some shelter for critters (dragonflies like to perch on this stuff) instead of just bare gravel and concrete wall. The pot? It will be become the new home for our Passiflora (we hope!). That should keep it from taking over the entire garden.

August weather has been oddly fabulous. We both feel that in years past it was wetter and less.... perfect. But the temps have been very pleasant and breezy weather has prevailed with evening rain storms that don't seem to last more than few hours. It sure makes it easy to stretch morning coffee out as long as we can!

Labels: Costa Rica, garden, weather