From Fever Grass to Wonder of the World: Medicinal Plants in a Caribbean Garden

Some of the most useful plants in a garden aren't grown for their flowers or fruit—they're grown for the traditions and memories they carry from one generation to the next.   - The Grey-Haired Gardener                                                                                                                                      

When people think of a garden, they often picture colourful flowers, fresh vegetables, or juicy fruits. But many Caribbean gardens also contain plants that have been valued for generations for their traditional medicinal uses.

As I looked around my own garden recently, I realized I was already growing several of these familiar plants. Some were planted intentionally, while others simply found a place among the flowers and vegetables. Together, they represent a small part of the rich tradition of medicinal plants found throughout the Caribbean.

Here are five medicinal plants that are commonly grown in home gardens (and found in mine).

1. Fever Grass (Lemongrass)

A clump of fever grass is a familiar sight in many Caribbean home gardens. Photo: Shamela Rambadan

Few plants are as familiar in Caribbean households as fever grass. Its long, fragrant leaves release a refreshing citrus scent when crushed, and many families keep a clump growing somewhere in the yard.

Traditionally, fever grass is used to make herbal tea, especially when someone is feeling under the weather. Whether grown in a corner of the garden or along a fence line, it is one of the easiest and most useful plants to have around.

Growing Tip: Plant fever grass in full sun and give it plenty of room to form large clumps. Regular harvesting encourages fresh growth.

2. Vervain

Vervain's delicate purple flowers attract pollinators while adding beauty to the garden                                         Photo: Shamela Rambadan

 This beautiful butterfly on a Vervain plant                Photo: Shamela Rambadan

Vervain is often overlooked until it bursts into bloom with its tiny purple flowers. Besides being attractive to pollinators, it has long been used in traditional Caribbean herbal teas.

This hardy plant seems to thrive with very little attention and can often be found growing in home gardens and along roadsides.

Growing Tip: Vervain prefers full sun and well-drained soil. Once established, it is remarkably resilient.

3. Spanish Thyme (Podina)

Fragrant, flavorful, and easy to grow, Spanish thyme is both a culinary and traditional medicinal plant.

Photo: Shamela Rambadan

Spanish thyme, sometimes called podina, is one of my favorite herbs in the garden.  Its thick, aromatic leaves are commonly used in cooking, but many families also use it in traditional home remedies.

The plant is easy to grow, attractive, and very fragrant. Even brushing against the leaves releases its distinctive scent.

Growing Tip: Podina  grows well in containers or garden beds and can be propagated easily from stem cuttings.

4. Wonder of the World

One leaf can produce dozens of tiny plantlets—a fascinating lesson in nature's ability to reproduce.                  Photo: Shamela Rambadan

If there were an award for the most fascinating medicinal plant in a Caribbean garden, Wonder of the World would surely be a contender.

Many people grow it for its traditional uses, but what makes it truly remarkable is the way it reproduces. Tiny plantlets develop along the edges of its leaves and eventually drop off to form new plants.

As a child, one of my favorite gardening "experiments" was placing a leaf of Wonder of the World inside a book and checking on it every few days. Before long, tiny plantlets would begin to emerge along the leaf margins. Watching new plants grow from a single leaf felt almost magical. Looking back, it was probably one of my earliest lessons in plant propagation.

Growing Tip: This plant thrives in well-drained soil and can easily be propagated from a single leaf or one of its many plantlets.

5. Aloe Vera

 Aloe vera, a healing plant that’s easy to grow at home.

Photo: Shamela Rambadan

Aloe vera is perhaps one of the most widely recognized medicinal plants in the world. The fleshy leaves contain a clear gel that has traditionally been used for minor skin irritations and burns.

Its attractive appearance and drought tolerance make it a useful addition to any garden.

Growing Tip: Aloe vera prefers bright light and well-drained soil. Avoid overwatering.

More Than Just Plants

These plants are more than garden specimens. They are part of a shared heritage passed from one generation to the next. Long before modern pharmacies were common, many families relied on plants growing just outside the kitchen door.

Today, they continue to connect us with gardening traditions, childhood memories, and the knowledge of those who came before us.

Do you grow any medicinal plants in your garden?

I'd love to hear which plants were always growing in your parents' or grandparents' yard, and what memories they bring back for you.

A garden grows more than plants—it grows memories, traditions, and stories worth passing on. - The Grey-Haired Gardener

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Note: This article shares traditional uses of medicinal plants and is intended for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding any health concerns or before using medicinal plants.

Happy Gardening!

Grey hair, green thumb and proud of my roots

thegreyhairedgardener.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/thegreyhairedgardener

Why Is My Pumpkin Only Flowering?

Nature rarely wastes its effort. Even the flowers that never become fruit have an important job to do. - The Grey-Haired Gardener

Bright and beautiful pumpkin flowers on the vine            Photo by: Shamela Rambadan

The other afternoon, my sister and I were strolling through the garden when we stopped to admire my pumpkin vine.

It already had one healthy pumpkin developing, but there were plenty of bright yellow flowers scattered along the vine.

She looked at the plant and said, "All these flowers and only one pumpkin?"

Proof that patience pays off! While many flowers come and go, a successfully pollinated female flower rewards us with a developing pumpkin like this one.     Photo: Shamela Rambadan

I had to laugh because it's a question I've heard many times before.

To her, every flower looked the same. If there were twenty flowers, surely there should be twenty pumpkins, right?

Not quite.

I explained that pumpkin plants produce two different types of flowers—male flowers and female flowers—and only one of them can develop into fruit.

That's when I realized many gardeners, especially beginners, may not know the difference either.

The Boys of the Pumpkin Patch

Most of the flowers currently opening on my vine are male flowers.

In fact, the photo below shows one of them, complete with a busy bee collecting pollen.

A male pumpkin flower attracts a bee collecting pollen. Although male flowers never develop into pumpkins, they play a critical role in pollination and fruit production.

         Photos: Shamela Rambadan

Bees collecting pollen from a male pumpkin flower.

Male flowers sit on long, slender stems and don't have any swelling behind the bloom. Their only job is to produce pollen.

 Notice the long slender stem of the male pumpkin flower

Once they've done their duty, they fade and drop off.

No pumpkin. No fruit. No drama.

They're the boys of the pumpkin patch—lots of flowers, but no babies. 😀

Just a hardworking flower doing its part.

The Girls Are Different

Female flowers are easy to spot once you know what to look for.

Instead of a thin stem, you'll see what looks like a tiny baby pumpkin sitting directly behind the flower.

Female pumpkin flower — identified by the tiny developing pumpkin at its base.                                                Photo: Shamela Rambadan                              

That's because the future pumpkin is already there, waiting.

If a bee transfers pollen from a male flower to a female flower, that little pumpkin begins to grow.

If pollination doesn't happen, the tiny fruit eventually shrivels and drops off.

Why So Many Male Flowers?

This is where many gardeners become concerned.

They see flower after flower opening and wonder why they're not getting pumpkins.

The truth is that pumpkin plants often produce male flowers first. It's nature's way of ensuring there's plenty of pollen available when the female flowers begin to open.

So if your pumpkin vine is covered in blooms but has no fruit yet, don't panic.

The girls may simply be taking their time.

A Bee's-Eye View

While taking photos of the flowers, I noticed several bees already hard at work gathering pollen.

Watching them reminded me that every flower has a purpose.

The male flowers may never become pumpkins, but without them—and without the bees—we wouldn't have pumpkins at all.

The Garden Lesson

That conversation with my sister reminded me how easy it is to assume every flower should become a fruit.

But gardening teaches patience.

Sometimes what looks unproductive is actually an important step in the process.

The next time your pumpkin vine is bursting with flowers, take a closer look.

You may discover that the boys are simply preparing the way for the girls.

As my sister and I continued our walk through the garden, I couldn't help but smile.

What seemed like a disappointing vine full of flowers was actually a plant doing exactly what nature intended.

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Have you ever wondered why your pumpkin vine was producing flowers but no fruit? Let me know in the comments. Were you able to tell the difference between male and female pumpkin flowers before reading this post? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Happy Gardening!

Grey hair, green thumb and proud of my roots 

thegreyhairedgardener.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/thegreyhairedgardener

It’s Only One Seed… Right?

 

“Good gardeners protect their gardens. Great gardeners protect everyone’s.”- The Grey-Haired Gardener

A few seeds can look completely harmless. But when plant material crosses a border, we have to think about what else might be travelling with it.   Photo: Shamela Rambadan

Have you ever eaten a fruit while travelling and thought:

“Oh gosh, I would love to grow this at home!”

Maybe you saved a few seeds.

Maybe a friend gave you a cutting from a plant you admired.

Maybe a relative overseas asked you to bring them some seeds from that pimento pepper, ochro or fruit they remember from home.

And because we are gardeners, that little seed or cutting can feel like a treasure.

I understand the temptation.

But here’s something I want us to think about before we put it in our suitcase.

What else might be travelling with it?

That seed may look perfectly clean.

That cutting may look perfectly healthy.

That fruit may look as though there isn't a thing wrong with it.

    Sometimes the problem isn't visible until we cut the fruit open.

                                

A flawless mango on the outside, but the seed tells another story—split open by a silent intruder!                                Photo: Shamela Rambadan

But we cannot always see what may be hiding in or on plant material.

A pest.

An egg.

A disease-causing organism.

Or even a plant virus that may be carried from one plant to another by an insect vector.

And that is where things can get complicated.

 Mango seed weevils found inside a perfectly looking mango fruit                 Photo: Shamela Rambadan

When a pest finds a new home

Here's something we don't always think about.

A pest may have plenty of natural enemies where it came from—predators, parasites and other organisms that help keep its population under control.

But when that pest arrives somewhere new, those natural enemies may not be there.

Suddenly, a pest that was relatively well controlled in one environment can become a much bigger problem in another.

And on an island like Trinidad and Tobago, the introduction of a new pest or disease can have consequences far beyond the one plant someone brought home.

It can move from garden to garden.

From backyard to farm.

From one crop to another.

And some diseases have another little accomplice—the insect vector that helps spread them.

The plant may have been the passenger. The pest or pathogen may have been the stowaway.

And this works both ways

It is easy to think about this as something that applies to people bringing plants into Trinidad and Tobago.

But gardeners can be just as tempted to take things out.

Perhaps your sister living overseas wants some of your pepper seeds.

A cousin wants a cutting from that beautiful flowering plant in your yard.

A friend remembers a fruit from childhood and asks you to send them some seeds so they can grow it themselves.

The intention is lovely.

They simply want to grow a little piece of home.

But before that packet of seeds or cutting goes into your suitcase—or into a package—check the plant-health requirements of the country you're sending it to.

The same principle applies everywhere.

What is perfectly ordinary in one country may be considered a quarantine risk in another.

And there is a reason country have these rules.

Plant quarantine isn't about spoiling a gardener's fun.

It is about protecting agriculture, our gardens, our natural environment and, yes ... our food supply.

Because once a pest or disease becomes established, getting rid of it may be extremely difficult, costly—or sometimes impossible.

“But it's only for my backyard.”

I know.

You're not starting a commercial farm.

You're not bringing in a truckload of plants.

You're just planting a few seeds.

But pests and diseases don't understand the difference between a backyard and a farm.

If something harmful gets established, it doesn't necessarily stay where it was planted.

That's the part we need to remember.

So what should we do?

Before you bring home that tempting fruit, seed, cutting or plant:

Stop. Check. Ask.

Find out what is allowed before you travel.

If you're bringing plant material into Trinidad and Tobago, check with the relevant Plant Quarantine authorities.

If you're taking plant material to another country, check that country's requirements before you pack it.

 Avocado lace bugs hidden on the undersides of leaves- the last place you might think about looking for a pest

And if the answer is “No, you can't bring it,” leave it behind.

Take a photograph instead.

Your camera roll can keep the memory.

Your suitcase doesn't need to carry a pest.

Because being a good gardener is about more than growing plants.

It is also about protecting them.

We spend so much time watching for pests, treating diseases, protecting our crops and trying to keep our gardens healthy.

Let's not accidentally become the ones giving those pests and diseases a free ride.

And the next time you're tempted to tuck a few seeds or a cutting into your suitcase, remember:

It may be only one seed to you.
But you don't know what else might be travelling with it.

🌱 Garden responsibly. Grow generously. But travel with care.

What do you think?

Have you ever been tempted to bring home seeds, fruit, cuttings or a plant from a trip?

Or has someone ever asked you to take something from your garden to another country?

I'd love to hear your stories in the comments.

Grey hair, green thumb and proud of my roots.

thegreyhairedgardener.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/thegreyhairedgardener

The Hidden Hitchhikers: Are You Bringing Snails Home With Your Plants?

Before welcoming a new plant into your garden, remember not every guest arrives with an invitation. — The Grey-Haired Gardener

 Giant African Snails on a wet surface      Image Credit: Nguyễn Tiến Thịnh   on Pexels .com

A few years ago, if someone had told me that one of the biggest threats to my garden might arrive in a flowerpot, I probably would have laughed.

After all, when we bring home a new plant, we're usually focused on the exciting things. We admire the healthy leaves, check for flowers, and imagine where it will fit perfectly in the garden.

What we don't usually think about are the tiny passengers that may be coming along for the ride.

Following my recent article on Giant African Snails, I started thinking about one of the most common ways garden pests spread from place to place. The answer isn't always wind, rain, or wandering wildlife.

Sometimes, we bring them home ourselves.

A Plant With Company

Giant African Snail on a hibiscus plant       Image Credit:  Matheus Pires on Pexels.com

Whether you purchase a plant from a nursery, receive one from a friend, or rescue a cutting from a neighbour's garden, every plant comes with its own little ecosystem.

Most of the time that's a good thing.

But hidden among the soil, under the pot, or tucked beneath a leaf may be a snail, a slug, or even a cluster of eggs waiting for the right conditions to hatch.

Many gardeners first notice a problem weeks after bringing home a new plant. Tender seedlings begin disappearing overnight. Leaves develop mysterious holes. Young vegetables seem to be under attack.

The culprit may have arrived long before the damage became visible.

The Places Snails Love To Hide

 Giant African Snail on wet leaves on the ground              Image Credit:  Nothing Ahead on Pexels.com

Snails are masters of concealment. During the heat of the day, they seek cool, moist hiding places where they can remain unnoticed.

Before bringing a new plant into your garden, take a few minutes to inspect:

• Under the pot rim
• Around drainage holes
• Beneath saucers or trays
• Under large leaves
• In dense foliage
• On the surface of the potting mix
• Among dead leaves and plant debris

You might be surprised by what you find.

Don't Forget The Eggs

Adult snails are easy enough to spot.

The real challenge is the eggs.

Snail eggs are often small, round, and pale white or cream in colour. They are usually laid in clusters within moist soil or hidden beneath organic matter.

A plant may appear perfectly healthy while a future snail population is quietly waiting below the surface.

That's why simply removing a visible snail may not solve the problem.

A Giant African Snail alongside its clutch of eggs.*        Image generated by Microsoft Copilot for educational use (snail with eggs).

Gift Plants Can Carry Hitchhikers Too

One of the things I love most about gardening is sharing plants.

Many of the plants growing in my garden today came from family members, neighbours, and fellow gardeners. Every shared cutting carries a story and a connection.

But even the healthiest-looking gift plant deserves a quick inspection.

This isn't about mistrust. It's about prevention.

Your friend may not even know they have snails hiding in their garden. In fact, they may be sharing a perfectly healthy plant without realizing a tiny hitchhiker has taken up residence in the pot.

 Image Credit : Soniya Malik  on Pexels.com

A Simple Five-Minute Inspection

Before introducing any new plant to your garden, try this quick routine:

1. Check The Pot

Turn it over and inspect the drainage holes.

2. Look At The Soil

Gently examine the soil surface for snails, eggs, or unusual debris.

3. Inspect The Leaves

Pay special attention to the undersides where pests often hide.

4. Remove Debris

Clear away dead leaves, weeds, or accumulated organic matter.

5. Isolate New Arrivals

If possible, keep new plants separate for a few days before placing them among your established plants.

This simple habit can save a lot of frustration later.

Prevention Is Easier Than Control

 Close up of Giant African Snail     Image Credit: Afrique Ayele-y on Pexels.com

Anyone who has dealt with a serious snail infestation knows how quickly numbers can increase once conditions are favourable.

By the time you notice damage, the population may already be well established.

A few minutes spent inspecting a new plant can prevent weeks or even months of pest management efforts.

As gardeners, we can't stop every pest from entering our gardens. Nature always finds a way.

What we can do is avoid giving them a free ride.

Final Thoughts

Sharing plants is one of the greatest joys of gardening. It allows us to spread beauty, preserve treasured varieties, and strengthen connections with other gardeners.

There's no need to stop bringing home new plants or accepting gifts from friends.

Just remember to give every new arrival a careful look before welcoming it into the garden.

Because sometimes the plant isn't the only thing coming home with you.

And as many gardeners have learned, the smallest hitchhikers can become the biggest headaches.

Every plant that enters our garden carries a story. Sometimes it carries a surprise too. A few minutes of inspection can protect years of gardening effort.

Have you ever discovered snails, eggs, or other unexpected visitors on a newly acquired plant? Share your experience in the comments below. Your story might help another gardener avoid bringing home an unwanted guest.

 Happy Gardening!

Grey hair, green thumb, proud of my roots

thegreyhairedgardener.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/thegreyhairedgardener

Have You Heard of Polyembryony in Mangoes?

 

Will a Mango Seed Grow the Same Mango?

If you read my recent post about planting a zaboca seed, you may remember me saying that planting the seed from a delicious fruit doesn't necessarily mean you'll get that same fruit from the tree you grow.

Well...mangoes have a little surprise up their sleeve.

Have you ever heard of polyembryony in mangoes?

Polyembryony (pronounced pol-ee-EM-bree-oh-nee)

Don't worry—I hadn't planned to turn The Grey-Haired Gardener into a botany lecture either! 😂

But this is one of those fascinating little things about plants that is actually worth knowing, especially if you've ever planted a mango seed and wondered why several little seedlings started coming from the same seed.

 Multiple seedlings from one mango seed

That's where our story begins.

One Mango Seed...Several Seedlings?

Most of us think of a seed as containing one little baby plant.

And usually, that's exactly what we expect to see.

But some mango varieties produce polyembryonic seeds. In simple terms, that means a single mango seed can contain more than one embryo.

When it germinates, you may see several shoots coming out from that one seed.

And this is where things get really interesting.

Some of those seedlings develop from tissue of the mother plant rather than from the usual union of pollen and egg. These are called nucellar seedlings, and they can be genetically very similar to the mother tree.

In other words...

Some mangoes really can produce seedlings that grow true to type.

Now we're getting somewhere!

So...Can I Actually Grow the Same Mango from a Seed?

Sometimes.

And that's the important word.

Mangoes can generally be grouped into two broad categories when we're talking about their seeds:

🌱 Monoembryonic (Mono meaning one or single)

Monoembryonic mango seedling- One seed, one seedling

These seeds produce one embryo.

That seedling comes from sexual reproduction, meaning it has genetic contributions from the parent tree and pollen.

So the resulting tree may be quite different from the mango tree you collected the seed from.

🌱 Polyembryonic (Poly meaning multiple)

Polyembryonic mango seedling — multiple seedlings from a single seed

These seeds can produce several embryos.

Many of those embryos are nucellar and can produce seedlings genetically like the mother tree.

That's why polyembryonic mangoes are commonly propagated from seed in many tropical regions.

Here's the Part I Find Fascinating

Imagine eating a mango you absolutely love.

You save the seed.

You plant it.

And instead of one little shoot emerging...

you get several.

That isn't your seed having a gardening identity crisis. Lol😆

It's polyembryony.

And those little seedlings aren't necessarily all the same.

One may be the sexually produced seedling, while the others may be nucellar seedlings arising from the mother plant's tissue. Researchers have actually used genetic testing to distinguish between these different types of seedlings.

So what looks like a rather unusual seedling in your garden is actually a fascinating bit of plant biology happening right before your eyes.

Does That Mean You Should Plant Every Mango Seed?

Well...now I'm going to say yes—but with a little more knowledge behind that yes.

If you're growing a mango simply because you enjoy the experience, planting a seed can be a wonderful project.

But if you're hoping to reproduce a particular mango variety, you first need to know whether that variety is polyembryonic or monoembryonic.

And that isn't always obvious just by looking at the fruit.

Different mango varieties have different seed types, and there are also varieties that don't fit neatly into one category.

So before I promise myself that the seed from my favourite mango is going to give me another tree producing the same fruit, I'd want to know what kind of mango I'm dealing with.

And What About Grafting?

Here's where grafting still has an important place.

Even with polyembryonic mangoes, if I want to be absolutely certain I'm growing a particular named variety, a grafted tree is still the safer choice.

Grafting allows growers to reproduce a desirable variety rather than leaving the outcome to the genetic lottery of a seed.

And for commercial mango production, grafting is widely used because it gives growers greater uniformity and can bring trees into production sooner.

So I'm not about to tell you to throw away your mango seeds.

Far from it!

I'm just suggesting that we understand what we're planting.

So What Should You Do With That Mango Seed?

If you have a mango you love and you want to try growing the seed, go for it.

Plant it.

Watch it germinate.

And if several little shoots appear from one seed, don't pull them out thinking something has gone wrong.

You may have just stumbled upon one of the most interesting things about mangoes.

You may be looking at polyembryony.

And if you know the variety you're growing is polyembryonic, you may even have a good chance of producing a seedling that stays true to the mother tree.

Just remember that the biology is a little more complicated than simply saying, "polyembryonic means an exact copy."

Nature, as usual, likes to leave herself a little room for surprises.

A Lesson From One Little Mango Seed

This is one of the reasons I love gardening.

Something as ordinary as a mango seed can open the door to a whole world we might never have noticed.

We eat the mango.

We throw the seed aside.

We plant it.

And suddenly we're watching several little plants emerge from something we thought was just one seed.

That's not just gardening.

That's nature showing off.

And now, the next time you see more than one mango seedling emerging from a single seed, you'll know there's a name for it.

Polyembryony.

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🌿 Garden Quote

"Every seed tells its own story. Plant it with hope, but let nature write the ending."

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🌱 Grey-Haired Gardener's Tip

If several mango seedlings emerge from one seed, don't assume something has gone wrong. Take a closer look—you may be witnessing polyembryony.

And before you decide that planting a mango seed will reproduce your favourite mango, find out whether the variety is monoembryonic or polyembryonic.

A little knowledge can save you years of waiting...and make the journey a whole lot more interesting.

Your Turn

Have you ever planted a mango seed and had more than one seedling emerge from it?

Did you know what was happening?

Tell me about it in the comments. I'd love to know how many of us have been growing polyembryonic mangoes without even realizing what we were looking at!

Grey hair, green thumb and proud of my roots 

thegreyhairedgardener.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/thegreyhairedgardener

I Waited Ten Years for This Fruit

A seed may take years to become a harvest, but the waiting is part of the story - The Grey-Haired Gardener

Have you ever tasted a fruit that made you wonder, “Where has this been all my life?”

For me, that fruit is abui...... (and rambutan... but that's another story!)

                                            

And as I stood there picking fruit from my tree, I couldn't help but think about how long I had to wait for this moment.

About ten years, to be exact!

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It all started with Ma

My mother had a habit of planting the seeds from fruits she enjoyed — especially the unusual ones.

If she tasted something interesting and liked it, there was a good chance that the seed would find its way into a little cup and later, into the soil.

And that is how I ended up with my abui tree.

Ma planted the seed.

I simply inherited the tree — and, I suppose, her habit of never throwing away a perfectly good seed.

The little tree grew.

And grew.

And grew some more.

                                                                 My Abui tree
But for years, there was no fruit.

Gardening has a funny way of teaching you patience. You can water, feed, prune and fuss over a plant, but sometimes the plant simply looks back at you and says, “Eh, eh, you'll have to wait!”

So I waited.

Eventually, the day came when I picked my first abui..... happy garden dance!

 The wait is over ......, picking the first fruit from this crop

And I have to admit, after waiting roughly a decade, that first fruit felt pretty special.

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So, what exactly is an abui?

Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we call it abui. It is also known as abiu, and its scientific name is Pouteria caimito.

It belongs to the Sapotaceae family — the same plant family as our beloved sapodilla, balata and caimite, or star apple. (for our international readers)

They aren't the same fruits, but they are relatives.

And if you've ever eaten these, you may have noticed something else they have in common.

That sticky feeling on your lips!

Yes. Abui can leave a little sticky residue around your mouth, but honestly?

That's a small price to pay for all that jelly-like goodness.

A little natural beeswax lip balm takes care of the sticky lips, and I'm quite happy to make that sacrifice. 😂

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From green to golden

One of the things I enjoy about having the tree in my garden is watching the fruit develop.

First come the flowers.

 The tiny pale flowers developing at the nodes 

Then those tiny green fruits appear, almost hidden among the leaves.

  Immature abui fruits at the end of a stem 

Slowly, they grow and begin changing colour.

The  colour change signaling soon...... soon I'll be picking. Lol  

And when they are ready, they become these beautiful golden-yellow fruits that almost seem to glow among the foliage.

  This is just one part of the tree.... look at all those fruits. omgee!😋

This year has been particularly special.

My abui tree is carrying the best crop I've ever had.

Fresh from the garden, gathered for the table — because harvests taste sweeter when shared.

After all those years of waiting, it seems the tree has finally decided to make up for lost time!

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And then you cut one open…

One word: Yummilicious!

This is where abui really wins me over.

The thin skin gives way to soft, translucent flesh with a texture that is almost jelly-like.

Inside are those dark seeds nestled in the middle.

It isn't a fruit that you eat quickly and forget.

There is something about the texture, the sweetness and that almost silky flesh that makes you slow down and enjoy it.

And because I grew up with a mother who planted the seeds of fruits she loved, there is an added pleasure in knowing that this tree came from one of those little seeds she decided was worth planting.

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Some things in the garden take time

We live in a world where we're used to getting almost everything immediately.

But fruit trees don't work that way.

Sometimes you plant something and harvest in a few months.

Sometimes you wait years.

And sometimes, like my abui tree, you wait about ten years before the tree finally decides it's ready to share its treasure.

Would I have planted it if I had known how long I'd have to wait?

Probably.

Because there is something wonderfully satisfying about growing a fruit that isn't sitting in every supermarket or planted in every backyard.

And even more satisfying when the tree has a story attached to it.

This one isn't just an abui tree.

It's one of Ma's seeds that kept growing.

And now, every time I pick an abui, I get to enjoy a little piece of that gardening legacy.

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Have you ever tried abui?

If you have never tasted it, and you happen to come across some, give it a try!

And if you've grown abui from seed, I'd love to know your story.

Did yours take years to bear?

And perhaps the bigger question for all of us seed-saving gardeners:

What unusual fruit did your mother, grandmother or someone in your family plant from seed?

Because sometimes those little seeds we casually tuck into the soil become the trees we treasure most.

Tell me in the comments — I would love to hear what is growing from the seeds of your family stories.

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Happy Gardening!

Grey hair, green thumb and proud of my roots

thegreyhairedgardener.blogspot.com