How Did I End Up With Iguana Proof Hibiscus?

I was warned when I moved here, the Iguanas are aggressive.  I would never be able to grow certain plants. 

Especially Hibiscus.  Beautiful flowers but you'll just be feeding the beasts.

I was alerted one day by a 5 foot long monster feeding on my prized Hibiscus that I bought as a hand sized, six inches at best, cutting with a single yellow flower.  The plant grew to a 3 footer, with that beast grazing in there.

It ran off when I came to the back door, and fortunately for me I was able to rid myself of it when it decided to go for a swim in the pool.

That particular pot got moved closer to the house and was not disturbed again.

However, I noticed that the variegated leaf red hibiscus at the back of the yard was ignored.   "Hmmm!  I wonder if it will propagate?"

Turns out that it does.

Where my night blooming jasmine hedge was beautiful, it started getting old and missing bits of coverage.  Why not Hibiscus?

So I have a hedge once again.  It's a mutt, all sorts of plants in there, and truth be told the mixture bothers me.  It should be ripped out and started over.

But the iguanas leave these hibiscus flowers alone and I am able to enjoy them from the kitchen window.  The flowers, not the iguanas.

I understand that in Port of Spain, Trinidad, they have a wonderful recipe for Iguana Curry... "Jus' sayin'"!

In fact the plant propagates at a better than 80% success rate.   The only drawback is that it does grow well here, a bit too fast, which means I will have to keep the hedge clippers at hand.  It also gives me plenty of cuttings that I can start, you guessed it, more plants.

We are having a propane tank sunk into the front yard, and of course I'll plant more hibiscus around that, as well as in front of the house when they finally finish. 

For now, I have little pots all over the place.  Anywhere I need to catch a drip, there's a hibiscus.  Mom was telling me about how much she appreciated them when she went to Miami on a trip to the Fountainbleu hotel.  I that must be where I got the idea of a hibiscus hedge, listening to her talk about the plants they have trained there.

I guess it is my turn.

Until then, the front yard and the areas where gardens will look a bit spare.  At that point, I can drop some of these little pots into the ground and make more red flowers as well as shelter for the birds that seem to enjoy them. 

Harmless plants, really.  The flowers can be made into Tea that is high in Vitamin C.  No thorns and the grow with frequent blooms.

A Win Win for the garden here in So Flo.