lime flower

I though I might share some of the little things that made me smile this morning.

I noticed that my lime tree is in flower again. This is a local lime tree, not a grafted one. The limes have seeds and they turn yellow when ripe. They’re full of juice and are sweet in a limey sort of way. I planted this tree from a seed given to me by John Gibney, taken from a lime grown on my favorite lime tree. The tree flowers all over and almost all the flowers ripen turn into limes that fall to the ground when they get ripe. I would guess that each time it bears it gives at least 100 limes, probably more.

Now the lime tree is in flower once again and today as I walked by, I remembered something about the flowers. They’re special also. They have the most delicious aroma, like a beautiful perfume from an expensive perfume store.

Good T’ing! Made me smile.

aloe flower

I have a lot of aloes in the garden. I used to used them in shakes, but not so much recently. They’re good for sunburns or any kind of burn. Now they’re all in flower. The best thing about the aloe flower is that it attracts hummingbirds. My neighbors Adam and Jane have a hedge of aloes where I took this video on day when the aloes were in full bloom.

orchid

This is one of my favorite orchids. It’s not native to St. John. My guess is that it came fro El Yunque in Puerto Rico, but I’m not sure. It has been in bloom many times and each time it makes me smile.

One of the best things about living on St. John, and there are many “best things” is being surrounded by beauty. Whether it be the almost unbelievable vistas from overlooks and beaches or the views of the interior mountain valleys, the tropical forests or just looking abut while walking down just about any road, path or trail.

Today, walking through our property in the Chocolate Hole, Great Cruz Bay area of St. John, I noticed that many of our orchids were in bloom. I took some photos, which I’d like to share:

Native Orchid

This one is special. I believe it’s the only native orchid on St. John. They grow and thrive in the most inhospitable environments. For example, at the end of a windswept point, exposed to the winds and sun.

Here, on the southwest side of St. John, the conditions are similar, we are a dry part of the island and only the heartiest of species survive without the helping hand of human beings, drip irrigation, gardners and fertilizers.

But if you walk up the Great Sunset Road that runs high up the hill overlooking Chocolate Hole Harbor, you will see dozens of these orchids wherever the land has been left in its natural state.

Orchids – St. John Virgin Islands

Lady of the Night

This one is not an orchid. It’s a species of Night Blooming Cerius called Lady of the Night. It produced a small fruit (too small to eat really) and blooms at night like its cousins.