Monday, March 29, 2010

The joy of gardening

After living in a sprawling farm for so long, life in a small apartment with a patio garden needs a bit of getting used to. I can't keep big dogs anymore. Even my choice of plants has shrunken.

While I used to grow gardenia, roses and hibiscus in wild abundance, now I have limited my choices to smaller plants that will do well and look good in containers. Since I'm also into growing edibles, I try my best to maintain a lush garden that is both attractive and productive.

Needless to say, the garden has brought me so much joy, some of which rather unexpected....like the comforting smell of rosemary or titillating fragrance of jasmine wafting through the air.

Whatever it is, every new day presents a visual treat. Yah, gardening rocks.

Presenting, my petite beauties...

Lantana - white

Lantana - yellow

Lantana - orange

Cat's whiskers

Bright pink portulaca

Variegated pink portulaca

Baby pink portulaca

Jasmine

Mulberry fruits

More mulberry fruits

My little lychee tree

Seedling area - balsam, kai lan, bai cai, lettuce, mustard green, basil, dill, coriander, kang kong and spinach in various stages of germination.

Bai cai seedlings

Episcia - close up

Episcia cluster

Echeveria - not doing so well because of too much rain. Still, they are a joy to watch.

8 comments:

  1. They look exceptionally beautiful, Ting! =)

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  2. Your variegated pink portulaca is really nice! Although these blooms are small, they never fail to deliver their pretty blooms ;-) Btw, I like the way you decorated your succulent pot with rocks - looks very natural. And over here, it has been cloudy and rainy for a few days already. But earlier the sun was super hot... so let's hope for more moderate weather ok - good for us and our plants.

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  3. you have such a pretty garden Ting... :)

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  4. Stephanie - Oh, somehow the variegated ones came about naturally. Must be the cross pollination.

    I love how succulents thrive in countries with low humidity, something that we can never quite achieve here. I used rocks and driftwood that my son threw out from his aquarium to decorate my garden :-)

    Indeed, the wet weather is great for the garden! Thank goodness the hot season is over.

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  5. OKC - I like flowers in my garden but these are really tiny, they kinda disappear amongst the greenery.

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  6. Oh, I have plenty of ripe ones. Pls come and eat them.

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