Saba News News and Information from Saba Island, Dutch Caribbean
Last week, the Public Entity Saba’s reforestation project and its Department of Agriculture planted 54 bougainvillea shrubs at the Juancho Yrausquin Airport. These flowering shrubs were planted in an effort with airport management to help further beautify the area. The shrubs were planted along the roadside which has been recently widened and in the planter at the entrance of the airport building. More of these shrubs will be planted along the airport road which it is now being widened to continue the beautifSaba’s reforestation project and its Department of Agriculture planted 54 bougainvillea shrubs at the Juancho Yrausquin Airport.
Bougainvilleas come in a variety of colors. While these shrubs bear beautiful flowers, they are also tolerant to drought and salty conditions. More importantly, they are non-invasive. It is for these reasons that these shrubs were selected for planting in this part of the island.
Throughout the island, many projects are being carried out that involve construction. The activities of these projects impact the natural environment and sometimes result in the removal of trees and other plants. In areas where this takes place, the reforestation project will replant trees and other plants to give back to the environment what was taken away. Flowering shrubs and trees will be used for this purpose and to help further beautify the island.
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Planting bougainvilleas along the road from the airport is an excellent plan. They will soon make a multicolored cascading hedge to brighten up the dry hillside. You might not appreciate this, but I will throw in my two cents worth. Keep to the bougainvilleas; don’t mix in other plants. Plant them far away from the wall so that they have room to grow without growing too far into the road. Also we don’t want a mass of roots pushing against the retaining wall.
A July Tree (aka Flamboyant) had been planted next to the wall on the road to Fort Bay. The large roots of the tree pushed out the rocks of the retaining wall. Even though this species is perfect for a dry area, because of the large roots, it must be planted far from walls or paved areas.