Belize: Anything grows

I am back at my house in Belize, taking a week off from the cooler weather in Minnesota. The temperature here is perfect: low 80s during the day and low 60s at night. Seems like a Minnesota June day. I am always amazed that November/December is the slowest tourist time of year when the weather is the nicest. North Americans hear the term "rainy season" and they think hurricanes. But the rains bring cooler weather and mostly sprinkle at night. Everything is very green and flowering. The tourists miss the best Belize has to offer.

And as you can see from the photos, anything grows. In May when I was planting the yard, it was 102 degrees and I had to put water absorbent crystals in the soil to keep everything from scorching. The neighbors kept laughing at the silly gringo who was trying to plant at the wrong time of year, but it was my vacation time from MPR, so you do what you can do?

May 2006

November 28, 2006"

The trees I planted here got about the same growth in 6 months that it might take 3 years to do in Minnesota. Amazing. All the work I put into gardening up north, and here you just leave for six months and come back to a beautiful garden.

It makes me feel like Minnesota gardening is a waste of time. Still, it is the struggling against nature up north that has taught me how to garden.