Ladera's Annual Closure

One Of The Many Pool Renovations

A Toothbrush Is Used To Clean The Cracks & Crevices

Wow there is so much going on I hardly know where to begin.  32 suites many of them multi-level, multi-room, with splash pools, bathrooms kitchenettes, 15 acres, greenhouses, storage buildings, spa, fitness center, restaurant, bar and infinity pool all being meticulously scrutinized by a team of A personalities.   Dedicated craftsman, trade workers, service workers, gardeners even accountants leave no stone unturned as we build, buff and polish our way to Ladera perfection.  Once a year closure takes place at Ladera Resort in St. Lucia and it just boggles the mind to see the amount of work that is being done.

Stripping And Staining All Exterior Wood Surfaces Is A Huge Annual Job

In addition to the yearly maintenance construction of the much anticipated Paradise Ridge suites is gearing up for December completion. These spectacular new rooms  afford both an ocean view and jungle view at the same time as you can see through each unit.  The construction supervisor Eustace, (Tace) is producing an architectural and engineering marvel especially once you understand the difficulty of the daunting task of building in the Caribbean and on this particular challenging site.  With  experience guiding him he follows the barest of blueprints as he picks his way across the ridge erecting structures few others could manage.  I will feature the Paradise Ridge villas soon.

New Flatwork Replaces Old Stepping Stones In Front Of Reception

While some Ladera employees enjoy vacation during closure many continue to work often at tasks that are not their regular jobs.  Outside workers from many of the trades are also employed for everything from flatwork to painting to gardening.  The coordinated effort is amazing.  Two years ago I came down to work after hurricane Tomas hit St. Lucia and was surprised by the effort of the staff, now I realize they transform the place yearly, constantly upgrading and improving.

Ray And Kerran Trimming The Ocean Side

I hope I can keep up with the energetic staff.  Today, Sunday I have the afternoon to chill and enjoy my view with a room for tomorrow begins the long work week.  We are carefully monitoring a storm brewing in the Caribbean which if it comes will force us to work inside on the many interior gardens and potted plants.

How About This For A Cozy Place To Chill On A Sunday Afternoon, My Room X3

I will be here for thirty days and will have the opportunity to document the fruits of the labor and love that is poured into keeping Ladera one of the most beautiful places on earth.  With jackhammers pounding, weed whackers whirling, paint brushes twirling, carvers chiseling and cutlasses slicing all things are made to look new and fresh getting ready for high tourist season this winter.

Boniface Carves A Support Post At The Pavillion

St. Lucia Videos

Here is a great link to several videos featuring St. Lucia, Ladera Resort and some of the talented people who inhabit this island.  This should give you a pretty good feel for where I am at and why I love it so much.  Enjoy.



http://www.youtube.com/user/tomscott3/videos

Greetings From Ladera

After two days of travel I have arrived at Ladera Resort in St. Lucia, West Indies with many hugs and greetings from my Caribbean family, it is good to be here and I am anxious to begin work in the morning.  This evening I sat down with the owners of the resort and mapped our strategies and priorities of the next few days.  I am so pleased to find that Holly will be here for the first half of my stay, another woman cohort and sounding board.  I will be at Ladera for a month working with the garden crew enhancing, refining, adding and subtracting plants, working in paradise.  I need to put my tropical plant brain back into action, it usually takes a couple of days for me to switch from zone 5 planting to zone 12.

Nearly all of my projects were completed when I left Indiana with the exception of some paver sealing that required perfect weather conditions and my personal attention.  By the time I get back home we will only have about 6 weeks of season left and I have some plant installations that I have put off because of the extreme heat this summer, they will make good fall projects.

The stone walls on Lake James are finished and are exceptional.  The concept of using the repeating pattern of large blue stone matches perfectly with the poured, stamped concrete patio.  It is a bit unusual seeing the hardscape installed before the house but it was extremely practical.  The contractor has dug out for the foundation while Ryan finished up the last bit of the walls.  In the photo you can see how he is dwarfed by the depth of the walk out basement.

Bruce P is completing the sidewalk in this photo that finishes up the job for our old pal Sue.  The patio was done just in time for her out of town company and she really likes the look of the pavers over the old wooden deck.

Much of our work is on the lakes but we do get to town once in awhile.  This ranch house renovation went smooth.  We kept two of the original crab trees per the customers request, I gave Jamie some pruning lessons as shaped them and opened the centers, they look so much better.

Above and Beyond, We Are Improving

The saplings in this photo are the lot of forty we purchased and potted up. Back in Indiana I would have had plenty of nursery buckets for the transplanting but in St. Lucia large nursery buckets are at a premium. We purchased the ten plastic ones, I managed to get 50, 3 gallon pots and we cut laundry barrels in half to complete the task.

One last task in the Botanical Garden was the completion of the steps. We recycled some concrete steppers and buttered them onto the existing stone steps. Bartholomew installed and Shawn tended the concrete. We put four stone steps in to reduce the ramp effect but my instructions lost something in the translation as the men nearly buried the stones with the road base. I dug the steps but I think we should have used bigger rocks.

The location for the new "sun" greenhouse is being excavated and perhaps installed by now. The length of the 16 x 40' house will face east. It is being professionally installed, I am back in the states (FL currently) and sure wish I could have overseen some of the greenhouse construction. It will be a stellar addition to the gardens of Ladera.

As part of the new construction at Paradise Ridge they pumped concrete from a truck for the foundation of Unit 3 and some other flat work. I have never seen such a long pipe for pumping.

The men often "chain" materials up the hill, mostly rocks or buckets of cement. The work is very labor intensive as stones are individually chipped by skilled masons.

The Magic Castle

If Soufriere is St. Lucia's Disneyland then Ladera Resort is its Magic Castle riding the ridge 1,100 feet above Anse des Pitons looking down upon all she sees. Nearly indescribable beauty with all the eye absorbs, flora, fauna and ocean in a combination that is monumental and I am privileged to once again live and work here.
The harbor is ever changing with yachts, dingies, day-sailors and water taxis dropping the hook; it sparkles with their mooring lights at night. Tankers, cargo ships and cruise ships push north and south on the horizon delivering goods and tourists. The Pitons themselves guard the entrance of the bay as they have for centuries, Gros Piton to the left and Petit Piton on the right as I look out to the Caribbean Sea.

Hummingbirds flit and hang wings pumping furiously as they drink from cat's whiskers and firecracker blooms in the mountainside garden that serves as my forth room wall. The intimacy with nature is amazing. Saturday is my day for relaxing, I think I will spend much of it in my room appreciating the view and looking forward to the night when Venus, the moon and stars will dance before me as I close my eyes.

Awesome Job

Vacation is over and it is back to work for me, having just finished my first week at Ladera Resort helping Ray (the head gardener) with some landscaping projects. We have a mighty list to accomplish this year as Ladera is ever changing. The addition of six new units on Paradise Ridge means we need to get growing. The new units will require lots of plants so propagation is on the agenda and we are beefing up the shade greenhouse to accomplish that goal.

Ray and his helper are busy installing new block walls to the terraced greenhouse while I start the renovation of the existing botanical garden. We tore out a rather outdated arbor and vines replanting the hillside with freshly cut ginger plantlets which will eventually be used in floral decorations through out the resort in addition to their sustained beauty in the gardens.

One of my tasks this week was to plant seeds in cell trays, I had forgotten how tedious it is to use tweezers and drop those tiny seeds (impatiens, everlasting daisy, Mexican sunflower and strawflower) one by one into each cell. Average sprouting time for these seeds is 14 days but I suspect with the great weather down here we will beat that time.

We are also busy spraying the lower gardens for pests and performing general clean-up. With our new help these tasks are going exceedingly well. What a awesome way to spend a month over winter.