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.
No comments:
Post a Comment