When he is not blowing his inseparable golden trombone, he must be fetched among the plants in his family garden. He always has a pending task on his property: pruning, watering, weeding, sowing ... Everything that is there - quite a lot, despite the tiny space - is, absolutely and sweatily, his empirical work. I have never seen a healthier plot or a more industrious gardener.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- "I owe my devotion to plants to my aunt Onelia, whom I loved like a mother during my childhood," says Ernesto Ochoa Hidalgo, a 78-year-old musician and more than 60 between scores- . She grew medicinal herbs and gave them to people the same way to relieve headaches as to heal burns. She used to tell me: "bring me some verbena leaves"; or "find me a saragüey breaker"; or "cut me a sprig of mint." and that's how I learned to identify them."

When he took possession of his apartment 20 almanacs ago, one of his first actions was to take a look around his surroundings. "Here you can sow," he said to himself, seeing the small front field, still virgin. He got to work and in a few months began to germinate and grow there begonias, orchids, carnations, forget-me-nots, crotos, ferns, butterflies ... All distributed so that they did not bother each other and took advantage of the space. The garden became the admiration of the neighborhood.

"Then I decided to plant some fruit trees - he adds. The mango tree cakes was a sensation, when it gave birth for the first time all the neighbors tasted the fruits. Bomb fruit I have harvested a few. Soon we will eat guavas, and, a little later, custard apple, Soursop and avocado. They are still small and will take time to give birth, but they will bear fruit."

What he learned from his aunt's side could not be absent, so Ochoa planted next to the perimeter fence of ornamental plants a herbarium with oregano, blackberry, linden, aloe, pain reliever, apasote, ginger, plantain, spearmint ... He even planted an exotic rue plant, used by Native Americans to make love spells. In these times it is good for reducing stress and anxiety. There is not an unoccupied square centimeter!

"Some neighbors, and also the walkers who pass in front of the house, knock on the door and ask me to give them some of my plants, the same for concoctions or to reseed them in their patios -he points-. Others start them from the sidewalk without my consent. And there are even those who prefer to steal them when I am careless. That was what they did with the figs, which had tremendous calving. Someone liked it and took it with root and everything," he laments.

AN UTILITY AREA

When there was no room for more, Ochoa convinced the next door neighbor to give him a piece of the garden. She agreed, and now at that angle stand several clumps of plantain ("I have cut several bunches," he says), and also yucca ("how well it softens!" he says). There are, in addition, yams and taro. "It will not be enough to hire Acopio Company, but at least it will be enough to test them," he says jokingly.

The gardener of a new type certifies to me that the secret to keeping his garden robust and vigorous is the attention he gives it. "It's not that I water it one day and then stop for a week," he says. "It has to be permanent! Plants are like human beings, they need care and a lot of love. If the water does not fall from above, we will guarantee down here, but we must not let themselves die."

Amidst the exuberant vegetation in a reduced format, Ochoa managed to trace a narrow path with pieces of floor, mosaics and tiles. In the very short journey, the visitor will admire the lace of the ferns hanging on the wall, the elegant appearance of the orchids and the emerald green of the vines. In the middle of it all, a small park with a seat. Its owner usually sits there to rehearse his trombone or to relax a bit.

"Having a piece of land, no matter how small, gives the possibility of planting something, both an ornamental plant and a food plant," he says. "Ornamental plants brighten the eye with their beauty, and food plants please the stomach and soothe the wallet. Any food tastes better when it has been harvested at home."

Almost leaving this miniature botanical garden, this explosion of chlorophyll, an old woman comes up the sidewalk. "Sir, good morning, look, they told me that you know a lot about medicinal plants. Could you tell me if this is the one they say to take away pain?" And he hands her a bunch of herbs. Ochoa examines her with an expert look, smiles and says respectfully: "No, ma'am, it's not painless. But I'll solve your problem. Wait for me here a moment."

And with it he goes to some nook in his garden, removes a plant from the ground, offers it to the old woman and says: "Well, ma'am, this is it. It is a gift."