Author: Tommy Clarkson

--- Tommy Clarkson is a bit of a renaissance man. He’s lived and worked in locales as disparate as the 1.2 square mile island of Kwajalein to war-torn Iraq, from aboard he and Patty’s boat berthed out of Sea Bright, NJ to Thailand, Germany, Hawaii and Viet Nam; He’s taught classes and courses on creative writing and mass communications from the elementary grades to graduate level; He’s spoken to a wide array of meetings, conferences and assemblages on topics as varied as Buddhism, strategic marketing and tropical plants; In the latter category he and Patty’s recently book, “The Civilized Jungle” – written for the lay gardener – has been heralded as “the best tropical plant book in the last ten years”; And, according to Trip Advisor, their spectacular tropical creation - Ola Brisa Gardens – is the “Number One Tour destination in Manzanillo”.

Rose Moss- I Planted Roots in Mexico

June 1, 2010February 5, 2019Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the June 2010 Edition Rose Moss: Portulaca grandiflora Family: Portulacaceae (Also known as Portulaca, Moss Roses, Eleven O’Clock, Purslane, Sun Plant and Wax Pink. On our outdoor Dining Palapa we have a hollowed/ waterproofed coconut trunk planter to keep folks from leaning/stepping too far and paying an unscheduled visit to the […]

Oyster Plant- I Planted Roots in Mexico

May 1, 2010February 5, 2019Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the May 2010 Edition Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpea’, Rhoea spathacea, or Rhoea discolour) Family: Commelinaceae Also known as Moses-in-the-Boat, Moses in the Cradle and Moses in the Basket and Boatlily (Note: The plant to be discussed below, should not be confused with Acanthus molli, or Acanthus spinosus Bear’s Breeches or the Scolymus […]

We All have Met ‘Em

May 1, 2010February 4, 2018Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the May 2010 Edition (The following is a slightly embellished and bit fictionalized account of an almost real event!) It may be a brother-in-law, next door neighbor or that particularly irritating high school, bellicose bully who has badly gone to seed.You know the kind those guys (and occasionally women) who, no […]

Jolanda Hendriksen

April 1, 2010January 29, 2018Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the April 2010 Edition NORTH OF HERE IN LA MANZANILLA approximately 70 minutes of enjoyable driving live and work a most intriguing and adventurous pair. They are the Dutch couple of Leon Landsheer and Jolanda Hendriksen. (In the Netherlands married people may keep their original names.) To say that they are […]

Our Twisted Way Of Speaking – IV

April 1, 2010January 29, 2018Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the April 2010 Edition It would “appear” as quite obvious, to those who know me, that I like to play with words. Accordingly in an attempt to, again, apply logic to our English language if that lack of awareness, on their part, were to go away, said cognition would “disappear.” Thus, […]

Hibiscus- I Planted Roots in Mexico

April 1, 2010February 5, 2019Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the April 2010 Edition Family: MALVACEAE ALSO KNOWN AS ROSE OF SHARON, ROSE OF CHINA, ROSE MALLOW, ROSELLA, FLOR DE JAMAICA, AND SHRUB ALTHACEAE A brilliantly colored hibiscus is to the tropics what beans, around here, are to frijoles! These sun loving beauties are evergreen. Throughout the warm, temperate, subtropical and […]

The War After Armageddon

April 1, 2010January 30, 2018Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the April 2010 Edition Be he merely literarily gifted or his books the result of focused and well researched work, the writings of Ralph Peters are thoroughly enjoyable and highly thought provoking. His latest, “The War After Armageddon” is certainly no exception. It, like “Atlas Shrugged” – the most classic of […]

Our Twisted Way Of Speaking – III

March 1, 2010January 29, 2018Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the March 2010 Edition Many of us of the maturing set, (read “old cusses”), grew up hearing our parents and grandparents employ a variety of rather strange, if not incomprehensible, expressions that we picked up and have also long used. However, now years later, we all too often find that we […]

Sago Palm – I Planted Roots in Mexico

March 1, 2010February 5, 2019Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the March 2010 Edition Family: Cycadaceae Also called: Sago Palm Tree, King Sago Palm and Palm Cycad This is not a palm tree. It is a cycad and related to conifers and Ginkgo trees. In fact, the Sago is the most commonly cultivated cycad in the world. But widespread though it […]

Lipstick Palm- I Planted Roots in Mexico

February 1, 2010February 5, 2019Tommy Clarkson

By Tommy Clarkson from the February 2010 Edition Lipstick Palm, Cyrtostachys renda (or lakka) Family: Areceae; Sub Family: Arecoideae; Tribe: Arecaceae Also called: Red Sealing Wax Palm, Sealing Wax Palm or Rajah Palm. Above this palm’s graceful, slender gray to light brown trunks are eye catching scarlet red to orange-red, three foot long, crownshafts. Simply […]