Is this the Craziest Fruit you ever did see?!!

This fruit is so wonderful and juicy with a nice sweet flavor, that is if you can get past the looks and actually try it. They are about the size of a golf ball, and you pop open the skin and this clear/whitish fruit is inside, much like a grape that has the skin taken off. You pop the whole white pod in your mouth and suck on it around the seed. When all the juice is gone you spit out the seed. You cannot cut the meat away from the seed with a knife and eat it like a mango, you must suck on the seed. But, after my initial hesitation, I tried it, and now I, and all my friends, by these by the bag full. Really, they taste just like candy!

Musical Palm -Marimba!!

This huge palm is nicknamed Marimba Palm because it has thorns, and I mean long ones, 3" or so, and when you very carefully strike them they make different sounds. Here is the tour guide explaining at Wilson's Botanical Gardens.

Strange and Beautiful

More experiences in Wilson's Botanical Gardens in Costa Rica.This tree is amazing. When it is young it has these large hard thorns to protect it from the animals who would push on it and knock it over to get the fruit. But when it gets larger and stronger it will drop its thorns!
One view of the gardens.
A huge bamboo!! Largest variety that grows in the world. Grows about 4 inches each day.
Ever heard of pink furry bananas??? Well, here they are. Not eatable, but very pretty and unusual. What a place!!
Later, my new friends the toucans!!!

New pretty in my kitchen window

A friend found someone selling these beautiful LARGE Heliconias downtown by the super mercado for a couple bucks and got one for herself and one for me. I just love these plants, they are so exotic and beautiful. So my kitchen window is now duded up for awhile.

My front yard was naked!

As you can see from this "before" picture taken the day I moved in (hence the suitcases).


My porch had no plants in front of it for me to enjoy when sitting outside so I bought a large beautiful Heliconia plant, (I am sure you already know thats my favorite) from Carlos (the caretaker here who has his own nursery). He went right to work moving the paving stones that were there and brought all the perfect mixes of healthy black soil and mulch in his wheelbarrow and planted my new prize (already has 2 big heliconia flowers on it) and then he planted beside it 2 smaller bird of paradise. The plants cost me 5.00 and the planting with all the care and soil, was 'no charge'!! Made me very happy needless to say, and it's so much prettier isn't it!



Now I feel a bit more 'hidden' behind the plants and even the birds aren't bothered as much by my sitting there. Notice my fancy bird feeder!