The quarter-acre garden at Jill Wood’s South Sound home is her pride and joy, having started it from scratch around eight years ago.
However, she has gardened since arriving on Grand Cayman more than 30 years ago, and, prior to that, in other tropical countries around the world.
“I love being outside, I follow the shade around the garden,” she says. “It’s very rewarding watching plants grow and bloom.”
Jill is currently the president of the Garden Club of Grand Cayman, a position she holds for the third time since joining the organisation in the early 1990s, during which time she has been a constant active committee member.
And she describes herself as a compulsive, amateur gardener.
“I’m out in the garden any spare time I have,” she says. “My garden is very much a gardener’s garden, not a designer garden, but I so enjoy being out in it.”
WHITE FLOWERS
White is Jill’s favourite flower colour, growing many plants of that shade.
“I have a white garden, all white blooms, and several coloured flower beds, too, but white blooms are my favourite,” she says. “My favourite plants are the Portlandia, followed by Mussaenda.”
She also has white ixora, white Tahitian gardenias, white fire crackers, Wrightii that blooms year-round, Plumeria pudica that also has blossom all year, cat’s whisker, and periwinkle, to name just a few.
Another favourite is the Claradendron, also known as the light bulb plant, which blooms only in the spring, but has flowers that look like strings of white Christmas lights hanging from the boughs.
There are also palm trees in the garden, with shrubs and flowers edging the lawn.
CHALLENGES
In Jill’s experience, gardening in Cayman has not been easy.
“Cayman has its own challenges, (including) hurricanes that can be very destructive, and the salt winds that can cause problems to many tender plants,” she says.
“Water is expensive through the dry season and there are lots of bugs that nibble things. I always try to use natural products (for the bugs), spraying with soapy water and neem oil, before anything else.”
Jill suggests that making compost is a good idea to help improve the soil. She creates this from prunings, grass cuttings, and newspaper, even the fluff from the dryer. But she cautions against using kitchen waste, which can attract rats.
“I enjoy having plants that encourage the birds and butterflies to my garden, and I always have a few trays of water, in amongst the plants, with stones in, for the birds,” she says.
EXPERIENCE
Jill’s love of gardening stemmed from when she was a little girl in England, helping her green-fingered mother.
“I’ve absolutely no formal training, but when we arrived here in Cayman, the Botanic Park was in its infancy,” she recalls.
“Margaret Barwick was planning the park’s layout, and I used to volunteer with her. One of my first jobs was removing the orchids from the trees that were felled to make way for the path through the native woodland, now known as the woodland walk. All the orchids were saved.”
She also picked up knowledge from Andrew Guthrie, the then manager of the Botanic Park, where she volunteered at the nursery and learned how to take cuttings.
In fact, in the King’s New Year’s honours list 2024, Jill was awarded a British Empire Medal for her many years of volunteering at the Botanic Park.
GARDEN CLUB
The Garden Club has been another source of learning, with members sharing tips and cuttings. They have monthly meetings, featuring either a tour of a garden, or a talk by a horticultural expert.
The club is also involved in community beautification projects, which is a great way for people to gain experience and enjoyment, especially if they have no garden, or just a tiny garden of their own.
Above all, Jill cautions that lots of patience is required when growing plants.
“Gardening is a process, results don’t happen overnight,” she says. “Just enjoy being involved with nature; it’s wonderful. Cayman is unique. I’m always learning something new on plant care and the environment, and it’s a thrill when a plant breaks out into bloom.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE GARDEN CLUB, VISIT CAYMANGARDENCLUB.COM.
