Tropical garden in Seminyak Bali

Yesterday I had a nightmare. Not really a full on nightmare, but a memory from childhood, of waking up on a winter’s morning, everyone trying to use the bathroom, getting ready to go to school. Arriving at school the place is heaving with kids pushing and shoving, the weather just filthy outside. Then I woke up and saw tall green trees outside my room. Too many experiences of standing outside in a cold wet school yard, made me fully appreciate living in Bali. Over the last few months I have been watching our tallest papaya tree develop some large fruit. They took an awful long time to ripen, but yesterday two of them looked done. Ika got them down somehow and when I came back to the house they were sitting on top of the fridge. She’ll puree some papaya for Jevon, mixed with other vegetables and fruits.

One of the other things that our garden produces (by the way, I don’t take any credit for this, the stuff just grows), is chilies. Over in the back corner we have a 6ft tall tree, that sprouts 20 or so inch long red chilies. Yesterday Jevon decided to pick some, to the annoyance of his mother. Some time after he started howling and a closer examination, showed he had rubbed his hands on his shoulder and neck, which was by then, bright red. The little bugger didn’t know what hit him, and had to be iced down, then washed in the bath tub. All good experience and it means #1, Jevon won’t pick chilies again, and #2 might listen to his mother next time.

Thinking ahead, I really should plant some more stuff in the garden, maybe a tomato plant would go well! One former resident of Bali, Made Wijaya, is an expert in designing tropical gardens.