Salt tolerant oleander

     One of the most disappointing things I learned after starting this project was that most of the blooming flowers I had associated with living at the beach don't grow anywhere near salt water, hibiscus and bougainvillea in particular.  I had envisioned cottages close by the Caribbean surrounded by brilliantly colored flowers.

     NOT!

     There are few bloomers that can tolerate the salt in that lovely Caribbean breeze.  Oleander turned out to be one of them.  A big problem was that I couldn't find either oleander plants or cuttings for sale on either side of Nicaragua.
     However, we finally managed to obtain and root a pale yellow which has been growing in our nursery for a couple of years now.  And also a pink, shown below, which is thriving. 

     As for the pink oleander, the buds are almost as pretty as the blossom itself.

     The oleander's color palette is limited though some gardeners are working on changing that, developing both brighter colors and double flowering plants.  We hope to eventually add some of the newer varieties.