This was an article that was released in a Lifestyles article from the Nassau Guardian on July 24th. The following annuals can be planted and/or found in abundance on Rum Cay as well as the rest of the Bahamas. Please view the sources at the bottom of the post for the original articles.

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Annuals are Hardy and Thrive in our Soil

Annuals are plants that grow, flower, produce seeds and die in one growing season. The quickest way to enjoy your garden filled with flowers is to purchase young annuals from your local nursery and set them out in your garden.

The following annual plants are hardy and will thrive very well in our soil.

Marigolds: There are two sizes of these plants — dwarfs which are eight inches high and giants, with large blooms and reach a height of four feet. They should be planted at least 12 inches apart and in full sun. Marigolds it is noted, have pest repellent qualities.

Zinnias: Grow to heights of two to three feet and should be planted at least 12 inches apart. The flowers are often referred as “cut-and-come again” and are excellent as cut flowers for your home or office. They should be planted in full sun.

Balsam: These plants consist of white or pink flowers, and should be planted in the shade. They grow to a height of eight to 24 inches.

Nasturtium: A delightful and fragrant flower to grow for picking and use in salads. These flowers require some shade during these hot summer months. The vinegrows from four to 14 inches in length.

Sweet Alyssum: Ideal for hanging baskets or as an edging flower. They grow to a height of three to 12 inches. The plants begin to bloom in six weeks, producing white, pink or purple flowers.

Petunia: In order to have masses of flowers all season, purchase plants from your local nursery. For the greatest show in your garden, get one color only and place them in a sunny place — 12 inches apart.

Sunflowers: Grow to a height of six to eight feet. The flower center provides seeds for the birds that thrive in your garden.

Verbena: These plants require full sun and should be spaced six to 12 inches apart. Plants can be obtained in pink, white red, lavender and salmon colors and are ideal as cut flowers for your home or office.

Biennials: Have a two-year plant cycle. During the first year, they produce leaves and the next year they flower beautifully and then die. Some of the favorites in this group of plants that give an abundance of flowers and color in your garden are Sweet William (Dianthus) which provide clusters of bright blossoms on six to 24-inch plants in various colors. Canterbury Bells, an unusual plant that is often called the “cup and saucer bell flower” because of the shape of its blooms, which grows to a height of four feet, with flowers which may be white, purple or pink; and Foxglove, one of the most stately of all flowers with spines reaching a height of five to eight feet tall. This plant grows best in shade and has tubular flowers in purple, white and yellow flowers which hang down like bells.

Planting guide for July

Flowers: Aster, cosmos, gaillardia, marigold, portulaca, periwinkle, salvia.

Vegetables: Celery, collards, eggplant, okra, pepper, spinach, turnip.

Grasses: Bahia, Bermuda

For help with garden problems, write to Garden Korner, P.O. Box N-3011, Nassau

Sources:

The Nassau Guardian

Rum Cay’s airport has been included in a Ministry of Transport and Aviation agreement which will install new wireless controlled solar led lights to improve the sustainability of the island.

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The Ministry of Transport and Aviation recently signed a $2,244,526 agreement with the leading provider of solar powered lights, Carmanah Technology Corporation, for the wireless controlled solar led lighting systems.

The airports that have been identified for the new lighting system are Colonial Hill, Crooked Island and Spring Point, Acklins; Staniel Cay, Black Point and Farmer’s Cay, Exuma; Congo Town and Mangrove Cay, Andros; Deadman’s Cay, Long Island; Sandy Point and Moore’s Island, Abaco; New Bight, Cat Island; Port Nelson, Rum Cay; Duncan Town, Ragged Island; Great Inagua; Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands and South Bimini.

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Sources: Cipore.org

For more information about Rum Cay Airport: http://www.rumcayairport.com

A family of four, Nick, Gessa, Issie, and Max set sail around the world for adventure on their boat, Ty Dewi. Their grand plan is to find a simpler life, relaxing, and spend more time with the family to really enjoy being together. They’re hoping to to change their old habits and attitudes from guilty hang-ups to relaxed and free-flowing. Literally letting their hair down and going where the wind blows as they sail the oceans on Ty Dewi.

Recently the Ty Dewi and crew visited Rum Cay and Conception Islands, their blog mentions their experiences during their stay:

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These Bahamian Islands just keep getting better.

Picture a three mile long curving beach of the finest powdery sand. Turquoise water laps at the shore, palm trees overhang the beach, a few homes sit tucked back behind the low limestone layers that line the back of the beach. Anchor your yacht a few hundred yards offshore and take the kids to the beach. You have the place to yourself, all day. A half mile walk along the beach and you find the marina, a few small rental villas and a nice bar. Nicely hidden, friendly and welcoming.

Back from the beach is a small network of roads, a couple of stores and some local homes. A small neatly kept white and blue church, a little government building and medical clinic. Perhaps there are three hundred people on the whole island. We are lucky, the weekly mail boat just arrived, bringing fresh fruit and veg so we are able to stock up, at surprisingly reasonable prices for these islands.

We stay for three days, the anchorage isn’t very protected but it’s good enough for us to weather a small front that brings winds from all directions during our stay. Once the wind came back east we set off for Conception Island, an uninhabited national park some twenty miles north west. It’s windy and overcast when we get there, but we pick our way in through a few coral patches and anchor in more crystal clear water, there is just one other boat around and once again we have the most beautiful beach in front of us. Maik and I take the kids for a walk despite the grey weather, and we find a trail through the the other side of the island, just a few hundred yards wide at this point. The Eastern shore is more wild, the soft limestone etched into curves and hollows by the constant nagging of the atlantic waves. The winds also bring flotsam to this shore, the beach is littered with the depressing evidence of our littering of the oceans. Plastic in all forms lines the beach; bottles, buckets, poles, nets, barrels, mouldings from an Audi dashboard (?!), shoes, ropes and much more. One day, when the oil has run out, these beaches will be picked clean for their precious hoard but today, it’s sad to see.

Yet the line of garbage cannot really detract from the stunning beauty and loneliness of the place, it just heightens the contrast between the natural inhabitants of the island and the advanced civilisations to windward….

The next day is much, much nicer – the wind dies and the sun comes out and we walk, swim and just play on the Beach. Gesa and Maik wander off to walk a trail that leads around the east side of the island whilst I look after the kids. It isn’t the toughest childcare duty – they scoot off to the rock pools and spend two hours creating an ‘orphanage’ for snails and hermit crabs. I get a chance to sit and relax and occasionally check that their blonde heads are still visible on the rocks over there.

In the afternoon, we get in the dinghy and go for a big adventure. We motor a mile and a half down the shoreline to a point where the sea creeps inside the island to form a network of shallow creeks and sandflats. Mangroves line the edges and the shallow warm waters are a perfect home for turtles, rays and sharks. The landscape is outstanding, very different from anything else we have seen, and we see many turtles, a few rays and a couple of sharks scooting away from us across the shallows. It’s beautiful, and only the gradually declining sun forces us back to the boat before darkness.

The next day, we snorkel on the reef and the kids continue their snail and crab tending. Just off the beach I see a barracuda in the shallows so get my mask and swim out to have a look. He swims away and I follow, he’s mid sized, about three feet, and nice to watch. I look at the reef fish as I go too, until I look up and note the the barracuda has stopped, turned and started to follow me. Now I know they hardly ever get close to people, but he’s looking mean and I think I’m in his territory. I swim back towards the beach and he follows me. Who’s the boss now?

Later, Maik and I note another dark shape in the shallows, this one is a ten foot long shark cruising around, very neat to see. We also saw a dolphin in the bay, and a group of three maybe dolphins, maybe pilot whales. The range of wildlife at the island was fabulous.

Now it’s time to head on towards Georgetown, where Maik has a flight booked on Saturday and we can restock in a decent sized town which is apparently a mecca for cruising sailors. We’ll enjoy the company and activity for a while, I’m sure, then head on for quieter cays after a few days.

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To read more, and the original post, visit their blog:
http://wardwideweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/rum-cay-and-conception-island.html