Free Range Chickens

This rather magnificent pair of free range chickens were strutting their stuff in the car park of St George’s Parish Church one afternoon. I was parked quite close to them, and they took a quick glance in my direction and then proceeded on their mission of finding things to eat.

As you can see, they are both in great shape and have quite beautiful plumage, the rooster in particular. As you drive around the island, you will frequently come across chickens that live in someone’s yard but the entire area is their feeding ground, but they usually scatter before you can get close enough for a good look.

If you'd like to read more about Barbados, you might want to have a look at my other blog, Things Barbados.

Guava Trees (Psidium guajava)

Guava trees grow wild on Barbados, and there are several different varieties. The one pictured here is the more common one with pink flesh, but there is another much larger variety that has thick white flesh and is my personal favourite.

The bark of the guava tree is smooth and mottled as shown here, and the dark green leaves are coarse and rough. Small white flowers produce fruit anywhere from about an inch and a half in diameter to something the size of a large apple, and filled with dozens of small seeds that you can just crunch up and eat.

Here in Barbados, guavas are used to make a dessert stew (very delicious), jelly, jam, cheese (a fudge-like sweet), ice cream and as a drink. Unfortunately, in most of these products the tedious job of peeling and removing the seeds has to be done first.

You can, of course, eat a guava as a fruit though some can be a bit sour. Find the right tree and you’ve got a delicious and healthy fruit.

If you would like to read more about Barbados, take a look at my other blog, Things Barbados.

Wild Crocus

I don’t actually know very much about the Wild Crocus growing on Barbados, except that most people think of them as weeds and try to rid their property of them. The ones pictured here grew up in a pot in my yard and are thriving, and I think, look quite lovely - the striking yellow of the delicate flower works for me.

You can frequently see them growing along the side of the road too, particularly in more rural areas. The flowers seem to be at their best early in the morning, and then fade and close as the day wears on.

After the flower comes the three lobed seed pod, which will eventually dry up and burst open to release the seeds to be dispersed by the wind.

I’ve only ever seen the wild crocuses with yellow flowers, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist on the island in other colours, but I do think the yellow is quite stunning and beautiful.

If you'd like to read more about Barbados, you may be interested to look at my other blog, Things Barbados.

Barbados Trees in Pictures

Today I just thought I'd share a few photos of some trees and shrubs, pictures that I think are particularly nice.

A flowering flamboyant tree is quite spectacular. This is the common orange-red one, but they also come in yellow and salmon. These last two are more difficult to grow and hence less frequently seen, but if you're on island at the right time of year, a drive by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be rewarding.

This picture is of a casuarina tree that is kept trimmed as a shrub. This would also make a thick hedge too.

Both of these photos are of the Women's Tongue tree. I love these flowers, they are so delicate, even the unopened buds are delicate.

The lovely red fruit of one of the myriad palm trees that are in abundance on the island. I'm not sure if these make good eating for humans, but birds love them.

Last but not least is the Black Pearl. These seed pods are so soft and velvety looking, even the seeds are covered in fine down. Note the unopened seed pod in the bottom right hand corner of the photo.

If you'd like to read more about Barbados, check out my other blog, Things Barbados.

Stick Insects (Phasmatodea)

Stick insects are so well camouflaged that they really blend into the vegetation. Unfortunately, the one pictured here didn’t get it quite right as the brown stick insect stood out clearly against the green leaves of the plant that it was sitting on, which is how come I was able to spot it in the first place.

Stick insects have six legs and feed on vegetation. Their primary means of defence is to stay motionless with a gentle swaying side to side motion, so mimicking the movement of a twig in the breeze.

Birds, frogs and lizards are the main predators of stick insects here in Barbados. They are related to grasshoppers and crickets, and are primarily nocturnal creatures. Stick insects are also called “walking sticks” and, here in Barbados, they are commonly called “godhorses” though I’m not sure why.

I used to see stick insects often as a child, but no so much nowadays. I guess that development has taken away much of their environment and pushed them into smaller and smaller areas.

If you'd like to read more about Barbados, you may be interested in my other blog, Things Barbados.

Neem Trees (Azadirachta indica)

Neem Trees are a more recent addition to the Barbadian landscape, and are now quite popular. Here on the island they are strictly decorative, and due to their insect-repelling properties, are frequently planted in close proximity to places where outdoor activities are held.

The hockey field located at a large sports complex has a raised grassed area for spectators along the eastern side, and this grassed area has a line of Neem Trees along its entire length to provide both shade and to keep away bugs. In gardens they tend to be planted close to an outdoor entertaining area like a deck or patio.

I quite like Neem Trees. They have a nice shape, are easy and quick to grow, and require little care. They even survive the dry season well. If it’s particularly dry for an extended period of time, they will drop some leaves, but otherwise they will just keep going until rain finally comes.

The leaves are small and pointed, and the tiny little white flowers have a very delicate scent, but the flowers themselves are so tiny, it’s quite easy for them to go un-noticed. These tiny flowers morph into little green berries the shape of an olive, but much smaller. The Neem Tree is a member of the Mahogany family, a family of trees that was covered in an earlier post on this blog.

If you’d like to read more about life and living on Barbados, you may be interested in my other blog, Things Barbados.

Women’s Tongue Tree (Albizia lebbeck)

I actually like these trees though many people tend to think of them as weeds and would not have them in their yard.

The tree usually has a nice shape and is constantly changing. Right now, flowers are starting to come out - lovely delicate flowers that are like a bowl of fine pale yellow strings. Each flower really only lasts a a day, but new ones open as old ones yellow and die off.

Then the seed pods come out, and when they first form they are green and quite soft, and it is at this stage that wild parrots come to feed on the seeds. In the dry season, the tree is absolutely covered in dry seed pods interspersed with mature dark green leaves. The sound of the wind (dry season is usually very windy) blowing through the tree and shaking the thousands of seed pods creates quite a dramatic and noticeable sound, hence the tree’s name.

Then all the new young leaves start to come out - this is when the tree is most vulnerable. I have seen a mature tree that used to grow about 100 feet from my back door have a swirl of wind remove every single leaf off of the tree. It never recovered and is now a dry stump on which I grow orchids.

The dry season is also when the island tends to get bush and cane fires - everything is tinder dry and there is high wind to carry the flames, and most years the bush behind my home gets burnt - the fire comes down from the east and burns hundreds of acres of sugar cane and bush. We’re used to it as it happens almost every year.

Last year, the fire came early in October, and it not only burnt the bush, but the flames “walked” across the mowed grass to burn an exposed root of a mature Women’s Tongue Tree. That also killed the tree.

So though Women’s Tongue Trees grow quickly and easily from wind blown seeds, they are actually quite delicate. Thankfully, there are still mature ones growing in the bushy areas behind my home, and fast as some die off, new ones emerge.

If you’d like to read more about Barbados, and life and living on the island, you might like to read my blog, “Things Barbados”.

Zoysia Grass (Zoysia matrella)

I remember my father planting some Zoysia Grass in our garden about 30 or so years ago. He planted it in a very rocky area with thin soil and where other grasses wouldn’t grow - ideal conditions for Zoysia. Years later I think Dad wished he hadn’t planted it, because it started to take over everything including other lawn grass that had been painstakingly planted by hand some years prior.

Zoysia Grass is indeed very hardy, needs little water, thrives in almost non existent soil conditions and laughs at salty environments, so it really is ideally suited to Barbados and other tropical environments, especially around the coastline.

Personally, I hate Zoysia Grass. You can’t sit on it as it is too prickly and quite uncomfortable. The strands of grass will poke through a towel or mat and totally destroy the plastic liner of a kit pool. Walking on it without shoes is most unpleasant for the same reason - it’s too prickly.

Zoysia looks very attractive when growing in an area that is cut regularly - it looks like a lush, green carpet, but if it should take hold under a bush or in an area that doesn’t get cut regularly, the grass gets very long and thick making it the perfect nursery for slugs and African snails to lay their eggs and hide out during the day.

When Zoysia gets very long it is difficult to cut as it is so thick, and has stalled many a lawnmower. Any nearby shrubs or flowers beds have to be very clearly defined and regularly maintained or the grass will take over completely and eventually the shrub that it is encroaching upon will die off.

I know there are situations where it is the perfect grass, but for me personally, Zoysia is one of those things that is good from far but far from good. Just my personal opinion.

Lime Trees

Just about every yard in Barbados has a lime tree. If there is only one tree in the yard, chances are it will be a lime tree.

Limes are a very important part of the local cuisine - fish is soaked in lime and salt before seasoning and cooking, chicken is also soaked in lime and salt, limes are an essential ingredient in any kind of souse (pork, breadfruit, cucumber), you cannot make a good rum punch without limes, and in all of these cases, fresh is definitely best. The bottled stuff just doesn’t cut it.

As you probably know, lime is a member of the citrus family, but is more sour than a lemon and has a slightly different flavour. Some varieties of lime turn yellow when ripe, but some of them remain green and then turn brown when over ripe. Some limes are lemon shaped, but others are smaller and more rounded, like the ones shown here.

Personally, I prefer lemons, but there’s definitely a place for limes too - key lemon pie? Not quite the same thing is it?