Gardening

Gardening reflections

I’ve had the opportunity to spend the last few weeks in Florida (following all the best recommended protocols and all that), scouring nurseries from the deep south all the way to Georgia, east coast and west, and poking my head into people’s gardens. I have a passion for plants, and no matter where I go, I take notes about local practices, planting schemes, material used etcetera.

I gathered a few ideas as I always do, and I also realised (once again) that we are very fortunate here in yhe Bahamas, as we have so many options with what we can do in our gardens. Our choices are massive compared to many places. With our tropical to sub-tropical weather we are essentially limited by three things: our own imaginations, material availability, and for most of us, budget.

Growing plants takes time, labour, and material inputs. Growing high quality plant material takes more time, more labour, and more material inputs. The same goes for a beautiful garden. I helped a few friends with some garden design, and I picked up a few collector’s items. Here’s the kicker: price.

We as Bahamians are generally adept at believing that everything available locally is overpriced, and I am here to tell you, this is a fallacy. In our own nursery, the pricing is very competitive, not only compared to the local market, but also when compared to the Florida retail market. I paid more for some plants over there than I sell to our customers for here in many instances!

The best example is some collector’s material that I have been growing for a few years (extremely slow, extremely rare). I have a hard time asking $100 or $150 for a plant, yet, there were a couple of nurseries that I visited that specialise in the rare materials and they were asking six or seven times that amount. I paid $20 for a hanging basket of a typical fern that I price at $15 locally. This can go on and on.

My point is this: we have a huge selection of material available to us in New Providence especially, and while a little less so through the islands, there are nurseries that I have visited that had some decent selection. We are spoiled, and we don’t even know it. This is due to the highly competitive market conditions and the very limited size of our market. I wish to encourage everyone to shop locally. Often with plants this is the only option, but there are also those out there that do not contribute to the local economy, they go straight to Florida for their material. While there are viable reasons for this, and I won’t go into it now, but supporting local gardeners, plant sales and nurseries only helps the local economy, and that is important to me as it ought to be for all of us, in my opinion, there are knock-on effects that benefit us all. Gardeners pour their hearts and souls, and often large portions of their wallets, into their gardens. It is a labour of love for many of us, and the rewards continue to show off year after year. Conversely, many of us put everything into our indoor living spaces, our office, home, whatever it is, and so many of us neglect the outdoor spaces. While programmes like the best garden initiatives et al are helpful to encourage folks to upgrade and make beautiful outdoor spaces, so many of us tear down the native trees and shrubs all the way to scraping the land to white rock, only to have to replant, or in too many instances, not replant, and pour concrete or tarmac. We are not doing a service to the natural world when this happens, and I would love to see a mandate that requires a certain number of tree or shrub material replaced onto land that has been decimated by machines. Even small spaces and rented apartments can be made beautiful by simple additions of plant material in pots that can be moved if needed, or a few plants in the ground. I want to encourage all of you out there who have a passion for growing a garden, whether for aesthetics or for sustenance, to spread the word, share cuttings and seeds, and shop locally! The gift of gardening can be addictive. If there is such a thing as a healthy addiction, then gardening would certainly top the list. Go on, get out there and get in the garden, or go out and get some pots and plants and create a container garden, and involve the kids!

The peace that a garden can bring is something that this world needs, we all seek a place of solace, and what better place to start than in one’s own home. As always, I wish you happy gardening, and please, spread the joy!

• Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at the

Fox Hill Nursery. You can contact him with any questions you may have, or topics you would like to see discussed, at gardening242@gmail.com.