Near the end of last year we published a few posts about how we were trying to beautify the yard. We had one area where the water tanks and pumps are located that created an unsightly corner on the northeast side of our house and Mary came up with the idea of building a trellis/arbor in front of that tank area to, in effect, create a living green wall masking that area. I bought the wood and bamboo in town and wrestled it home on my bicycle (some of the boards were 12 feet long!) and we reported on the completed trellis on December 31st.
We had to purchase some protective fencing to keep the voracious chickens from eating the maracuyá and grape plants, so we did not plant the vines until February 19th. We published this picture of the small plants that day.
I took these pictures this morning, just five weeks after the planting of the vines.
The first is a wider view from approximately the same angle as the above picture.
Remember again this is from only five weeks of growth! I had to move more to the right to see the trellis around the MUCH larger fig tree filling up the left side of the picture.
A closer look shows the incredibly rapid growth of the maracuyá plants.
This trellis is almost seven feet tall and many of the vines have grown over the top onto the arbor slats. You can see this clearly from the rear of the trellis.
Here is a closer look at one of the two grape vines.
And the amazing fig tree!
From the back corner of the house the yard is beginning to look lush and complete.
Even after more than five years and six rainy seasons we are still absolutely amazed at how quickly things grow here where…
Life is good in Ecuador!
That is incredible! Beautiful photos!
LikeLike
We really can hardly believe it. I thought that things grew well in Southern California, but here things just pop! That fig tree was just two sticks a month ago. I am going to wait until after it fruits out and then trim it back to be more of an ornamental tree. We are so blessed. Love you, Bud.
LikeLike
I can almost smell the unique aroma of the fig tree, and wow, will those figs be a treat when it starts producing! Ditto for the maracuya!
You might have Jack-in-the-Beanstalk stories in the future!
LikeLike
We got a few figs from our trees in the other house, but generally I left them on too long and the birds always ate them. People tell me to pick them before they are totally ripe as they will ripen in a day or two inside.
Last night the rains were so hard the fig tree is beaten up! I am going out to take pictures and hope that it will stand back up and “weather” the damage. This has been an interesting rainy season here. We have had loud thunder and lightning and downpours where several inches will fall in an hour. These young plants are still subtle and are subject to bending from the weight and wind.
LikeLike
Figs have such a unique aroma – even the leaves… my father loved figs and had several very large trees. he often made strawberry fig preserves – odd, because i have never cared for jellies and such, but i can still recall the great aromas…
Thanks for the weather update… some say that to make a plant produce more fruit, one should beat it. You’ll soon find out if the fig shakes off the abuse and starts producing lots of fruit!
Does the ocean water seem warmer than usual? That’s what they say is producing the ‘coastal el nino’ problems in Peru.
LikeLike
Well our figs took quite a beating the night before last like I told you. Even the maracuya plants were drooping. But, a couple of hours after the sun came up they were standing tall again. If that beating makes them more fruitful, all the better.
I do not know about the ocean being warmer, but we have had many more thunderstorms this year. Lightning struck a neighbor’s tree and part of it fell on our wall. luckily not too much damage to the palm it fell on. It should live. I love not having to water, but enough is enough!
Have a great day!
LikeLike
hope the sun has smiledon you since.. but then i remember the figs’ leaves droop when the sun comes out after a heavy rain..
LikeLike
if lightning struck your neighbor’s tree, that was a very LOUD moment!
LikeLike
Yes, it was a very loud thunder crack followed by the creaking snapping sound of the tree splitting in half. Quite scary for a few minutes. No real damage though. The fig tree got beaten down by the heavy rain. I would imagine with the rain falling that hard that the young branches could have had several pounds of rain water cupped on their large leaves weighing the entire branch down to the ground. We have had two more heavy rainfalls since and now it looks like the fig tree has just decided to lay low and spread out. I will have to prop it up and eventually trim it back though because we do not want that whole area covered by a sprawling fig tree.
Oh well, less than a month of rainy season left and we will get back to managing our plants a bit better.
LikeLike
You can probably prune those branches and root some new ones… just after the full moon would be the time to plant them….
With the Pacific waters so warm, I’m wondering if the rainy season will stretch to a longer date….
Colombia’s landslide/avalanche/flooding crisis is heart breaking as is Peru’s torment. Hopefully Pachamama has decided that Manabi has had enough torment…
LikeLike