CHRISTINA'S "FLOWERS OF BELIZE" SERIES (PART ONE) Brought to you by Black Orchid Management, Ltd. If you were to ask me what I like most about flowers, I will tell you, they make me happy. They are beautiful to look at. Have you ever seen someone gaze upon a beautiful flower and stay in a bad mood? NEVER! Flowers, lift our spirits, they can change our mood, they make us happy and it is the one way, that we can tell someone we love them, simply by handing them a flower. Please follow me on my journey through the Belize rain forest jungle, to explore all the different flowers there are to see. I sincerely hope you enjoy my series entitled "Flowers of Belize". RED GINGER If you ask me, the Red Ginger flower is one of the prettiest flowers in Belize. It is used often in floral arrangement both at home and in the office. Red Ginger is just one of Belize's many tropical exotic flowers. They produce a showy red or pink flower with large, dark green, glossy leaves. These are showy plants and for this reason, many people like Red Ginger flowers in floral arrangements, anything from cemetery bouquets to extravagant hotel centerpieces. They cannot stand frosts, and for this reason - they grow abundantly in tropical regions, such as the rain forests of Belize. 20 TIPS ON - HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN RED GINGER FLOWERS AT HOME 1. Pick a location to plant your red ginger that is in partial shade. Use rich, loamy soil that is on the sandy side. 2. If growing it strictly as a potted plant, mix one part sand with three parts potting soil. 3. Improve the soil by adding compost and sand. 4. Put down a 2-inch layer of sand and a 1-inch layer of compost on the growing bed. 5. Dig it into the soil by turning it over with a shovel, digging down the depth of the spade. Rake the area smooth. 6. Red ginger grows from roots. Set the roots into shallow holes and cover with 1 to 2 inches of soil. 7. Position the roots so the growing buds are facing up. 8. To transplant potted red ginger into the ground or into a larger pot, carefully remove the plant from its current pot. 9. Place into a pre-dug hole or a pot only slightly larger than the current one. Try as much as possible not to disturb the root ball. 10. Water newly transplanted potted red ginger plants with a hand watering can. 11. Check daily and water as needed to keep the soil moist but not saturated until the plants resume active growth. 12. After that, provide them with 1 to 2 inches of rainfall per week. 13. Mulch the soil around the plants with a 2-inch layer of buckwheat hulls or other attractive mulch material. 14. Buckwheat hulls will discourage weeds and help keep the soil evenly moist. 15. Fertilize red ginger every 4 to 5 weeks by watering with a fertilizer solution specially formulated for blooming plants. 16. Fertilize each plant individually by watering with a hand watering can filled with the fertilizer solution. 17. Bring red ginger plants indoors before freezing weather arrives. 18. Dig up your plants, put you indoor plants in a container the same size as the root ball--they like to be crowded in their pots. 19. Put them in an east-or west-facing window for the winter months. 20. Provide them with extra humidity by running a humidifier in the room or by placing them on pebble-filled saucers with water. Note: Gingers are susceptible to spider mites. If your ginger plant has mites, introduce a natural predator such as lacewing or ladybugs.
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Today, we decided to go kayaking. This is where you get into a small boat, looks something like a sliced banana to me. You sit in it and then try and paddle around in the water. They are very light, so move very easily along the waters surface. All your really pushing, is your own weight. We had great fun doing this, and especially when doing it all together as a family. I enjoy days like this, because it means getting out into the open air, enjoying the sunshine, the Caribbean ocean and spending some time together. Today, the Island Academy (an International School for Children on Ambergris Caye Island) in Belize, honored the death and memory of Sir Barry Bowen. Lady Dixie Bowen (our principal) remained strong, as she read to us kids, a letter that she had written to her one true love, expressing her most deepest thoughts. We were all very touched. She told us, that Barry had said to her, "No one will remember me if I die", and today Lady Bowen told us "He was wrong". We do remember him, and she loves and misses him every day. Barry & Dixie Bowen have done many wonderful things for this country. They have started and contribute to many schools, hoping to offer the children of Belize, a better future, by educating one child at a time. SIR BARRY BOWEN, WE DO REMEMBER YOU - THIS DAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011. We sang songs together, Lady Bowen read a letter to us about you, and we all marched to the sea, and tossed a flower into the water - to remember you by. LADY BOWEN, In behalf of my sister Lauren and myself, we want to thank you for all that you have done for us. We love the Island Academy, and I know that all the children at this school, feel the same way we do. We are deeply sorry for your loss, and want you to know that we love you very much ~ Signed: Christina & Lauren Turley IN MEMORY OF SIR BARRY BOWEN - Lady Bowen's True Love
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Christina
FLOWERS OF BELIZE!
Check out, my my current blog series on Flowers in Belize. COMING SOON!
I have a new blog series coming soon. Trees of Belize. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR THIS SERIES WITH YOUR COMPANY'S ADVERTISEMENT, ...... Please let me know. Categories
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