A Walk Around the Homefront AUG 2015

We've been on Guam for about 3 weeks, and in that time we've explored the island, been to the beach, taken delivery of our household goods, toured a local Medicinal Plant Farm (more on that in another post), and lost my beloved Aunt Audrey.  I knew the best thing for my hurting heart would be to play in the dirt, so Sunday afternoon I repotted all of the plants I'd accumulated in that short time. 

This morning, I realized it had been awhile since I'd taken a walk around the homefront, so today I took my camera with me so I could show you what we've got so far.  It was Aunt Audrey who took me on my first 'walk around the homefront', on her property back home in MA.  She would point out wildflowers ("Look at the Indian Paintbrushes!  Time to go back to school!" she'd say) and we'd check out the fruit trees and admire Uncle Leroy's garden and pick ripe blueberries.  It's no wonder, then, that I would take comfort from a walk around our new property to check things out.

In the built-in planter out back, we have this beautiful ornamental red ginger.  I was hoping it would be edible, but no such luck.

Out front, we also have this Bird of Paradise which is beautiful.  But again, I wish it was more than just ornamental.

Cathy, my friend and neighbor from Virginia, gave me this flag and as soon as I unpacked it, I had to go put it up.

 There are several coconut trees lining the "Alley" we live on.  Stephen has gotten good at cracking into them and toasting the meat to have with his morning oatmeal.  Yum!

This is a Strawberry Mango tree that I bought from Ralph, a retired military dude who sells his extras once a month at the flea market up on the Air Force Base.  Hopefully, it will start to fruit sooner rather than later, but it's still little.

I spotted this poor basil plant at the BX at the Air Force Base, so I had to bring it home.  I need to prune it so it bushes more.

We also have some papaya trees.  We aren't sure if they are ours or if they belong to our neighbors, but they don't seem to want them, so we are not above foraging!

Just a few days ago, I was looking out our bedroom window and noticed that there was something hanging off of this shrub.  Further examination revealed Guavas, and lots of them!

This is a Surinam Cherry that I also bought from Ralph.  We think it should start to bloom in about six months. 

And this one is called "Orange Berry" because... you guessed it... it produced orange berries.   It also came from Ralph.

These two plants came from Amot TaoTao Farm, which is a local medicinal herb grower.  On the left is Sambong (Blumea balsamifera) which will eventually grow into a larger shrub.  On the right is Miracle Plant (Bryophyllum pinnatum) which is VERY easy to propagate (just stick a leaf on the soil and it'll sprout a new plant!).

This Barbados Cherry was the first plant I bought, at the Navy Exchange Home Center.  In just 3 short weeks, it has blossomed and is now growing fruit!

This beauty right here is a Vietnam Gardenia which Abby brought home from the same place.  It's supposed to blossom year round, so we'll see.  It, too, has a blossom coming.

This pathetic little specimen is Lemon Grass, but for $2, I couldn't resist bringing it home.  It makes a great iced tea!

 Max loves this look-out point.  The big window in the kitchen is great for plants and starting seeds.  There's some cilantro, a vinca, and a pineapple top which I am attempting to re-grow.

 

This was my surprise of the day... bananas!  Again, not sure if this tree is ours or the neighbors, but I'm certainly going to keep my eye on them!