Not so long ago our landscape was rural. It had to be because our chief exports were agricultural. Local farmers would grow celery, potatoes, tomatoes and arrowroot, and above all the famous Easter lily, together with the even more famous Bermuda onion. (To this day born Bermudians refer to themselves as "Onions"). The produce was then shipped to New York. However, after the Second World War, agriculture declined while tourism expanded. During the seventies and eighties, international business expanded too. As a result, with the building of hotels and office buildings, our farm land has diminished. Nevertheless, we still love to plant and visitors often comment on the vibrancy of our flower colours and the lushness of our trees and foliage. Typically, our hotels and restaurants have beautifully landscaped grounds and gardens. Our roadsides are attractive too. Hedges of Surinam cherry, oleander, hibiscus, match-me-if-you-can, and bougainvillea give us a riotous tumble of colour most of the year. Private gardens are generally smaller than they used to be but still lovingly cared for. And if we have just a patio, then we can plant flowers and vines in containers, pots and hanging baskets. Tomatoes and herbs such as basil, thyme and parsley thrive in pots as well.

When and What to Plant
We start to plant just when people from more northerly climates start to harvest. Come September/October, we plant our carrots, cauliflowers and the other vegetables mentioned above so that we can eat them at Christmas. We also plant annuals such as impatiens, heartsease, pansies, lobelia and geraniums.

November's the month for planting our bulbs. Easter lilies are a favourite, of course, but so are freesias that bloom profusely in the spring. Paper whites (small, fragrant narcissi) are popular too since they can bloom in time for Christmas. By the way, the Bermudiana, a small purple iris that grows wild and blooms in the spring, is our national flower. For summer flowers, we often choose periwinkles and begonias because they are better able to survive the heat. July and August, when the sun is fierce, are the most difficult months for gardens and gardeners.

What about trees? We have a wonderful variety of species, the majority of which were originally imported to the island. However, Hurricane Emily in 1987 taught us that our endemic and native trees are more impervious to high winds. Our favourite endemic tree is the Bermuda cedar or Juniperus Bermudiana, which our first settlers saw in 1609. True, throughout history, it's had a dodgy time of it. In the seventeenth century so many were felled for building ships, houses and furniture that the Bermuda Company tried to stop people from cutting them down. The cedars made a comeback only to be struck by a disastrous blight in the 1940s. Now they are making yet another comeback. Another endemic plant is the Bermuda palmetto whose leaves were once used for thatching roofs and planting baskets, hats, etc. Palmetto is also able to withstand wind successfully. Imported trees include the Indian laurel, the royal poinciana (a tree that in June/July looks like a giant crinoline appliqéd with fiery red blossoms), the Indian rubber, the tamarind, the jacaranda and a host of different palm trees. Interested in fruit? Fruit trees include citrus, banana, loquat and Surinam cherry.

A Word about Location
Very often people choose to live in houses overlooking the ocean. That's only natural since our sea views are magnificent. However, serious gardeners might avoid houses that are very close to the water. Direct winds and salt spray are not kind to gardens. Want the ocean view but also some greenery? Pittos-porum of the Victoria box variety makes a good hedge and wind breaker. It has dense, dark green leaves and small but fragrant white flowers that do not mind the wind and the salt. The Bermuda olivewood, an endemic tree, does not mind them either.

Arguably, our plant nurseries are the most cheerful shopping centres in Bermuda: they seem to encourage smiles from the most harassed of people. Staff in all of them (we have three main ones in Smiths, Pembroke and Paget Parishes) are invariably friendly and helpful. They will advise on fertilizers, plant choices and locations. They know, you see, that the answer lies in the soil. These centres usually are open from 8 AM to 5 PM Monday through Saturday. They tend to be most crowded on Saturdays when customers intent on a gardening weekend come in search of seedlings, shrubs, saplings and general gardening equipment and, of course free advice. Plant nurseries are excellent venues for meeting a cross section of the community.

You want a garden, but you can't face doing the work yourself? No problem. You can call one of our landscaping centres for help. (Some plant nurseries also offer landscaping service.) Landscapers can design your garden from scratch or they can maintain it by offering pruning, weeding, hedge and lawn cutting services. Some of these centres also have qualified tree surgeons in addition to expert gardeners. Tree surgeons will help you maintain the health of your trees by careful pruning and dead wooding. Their services were greatly in demand after Hurricane Emily. Thanks to our tree surgeons, many of our uprooted trees were saved. The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries also helps with citrus orchards. On request, they will spray your trees to prevent disease and blight.

Importing Plants, Flowers and Fruits
So you want to bring in your favourite orchid? Well, it may be possible but you must check with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries first. They have strict rules about plant importation. We're glad that they do because we need to protect our trees and plants from imported pests and blights. Call staff at the Department and they will advise you on importation procedures as well as on what you may and may not bring in.