Recycling

It's lychee season. I can't tell you enough how much I love this sweet and juicy fruit. I can eat loads of them! I even like the baskets that the lychees come in.

You see, these beautifully woven baskets are just perfect for growing vegetables. It's such a waste to throw them away.

I line the baskets with discarded wool from my son's aquarium. This will prevent soil from falling through the holes.

Then I top up with garden soil and it's ready for planting.

I'm growing cherry tomatoes in these 2 baskets.

I am planning to grow leafy vegetables in the other four.

Surprise!

Oh my gosh! The bittergourd ripened overnight!

Lipstick plant

It's not called the lipstick plant for nothing. Just look at the racy red lipstick emerging from the tube-like calyx.

Woo hoo, I'm going to have so many lipsticks in my garden soon. Definitely, more than all the lipsticks put together in my cosmetic bag.

Just so you know

After I brought the pot of gorgeous miniature rose home, the leaves at the bottom started to turn yellow. A couple of flower buds also remained droopy and limp even with constant watering.

The water seems to drain out really quickly, too quickly for the plant to get hydrated. So I decided to transplant it into a bigger pot.

That was when I realised this small pot actually comprises three separate plants. They are squeezed together to give a compact and attractive appearance. The growing medium used is the lightweight and porous kind to make transportation easier and cheaper.

That explains why the plants started deteriorating the moment they got home. I have repotted them in 2 larger pots to give them more breathing space. I hope they will grow up into healthy rose bushes.

If you ever purchase these bushy miniature roses in future, do remember to repot them when you get home.

Colourful additions

The trouble with my patio is, it doesn't get any direct sunlight at all for at least 6 months. That's when all the flowering plants like lantana, plumago and portalucca go into slumber. I'm actually getting bored with the lack of colours, so I ran out and got myself some colourful plants.

I've always loved petunias and I'm surprised that I haven't bought any until now. When it comes to petunias, placing them in the right location is so important. I couldn't find a suitable place for it in my patio, so it's now hanging outside my bedroom window. It's perfect because I spend so much time in my room.

I found this beautiful miniature rose at Ikea the other day. There were plenty of bright red, yellow, orange and peach ones. For some reason, this pale yellow version caught my eye.

I know they don't thrive in our hot and humid climate. Over time, the branches will grow straggly and the flowers will become even smaller but let's just enjoy the pretty flowers for now.

I've placed it in the corner together with the newly acquired lipstick plant. The existing lipstick plant is no longer flowering because of our warm weather. According to the nursery, this new one (with plenty of new buds) is cultivated locally, so it should continue flowering for a long time.

I've also added two coleus to my leafy plant collection. The purple leaves certainly help to liven up the garden.

The balsam plants are doing very well. They're such easy growers, so much so that I got rid of 3 pots last week.
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Bigger bittergourd

The bittergourd is growing quickly.

The vines are also creeping all over my dracaena.

Baby bittergourd

I'm not a big fan of bittergourd but it's still exciting to see one growing in my garden.

Lime butterfly

YK shot a picture of a newly hatched lime butterfly in my garden.

While I love to see this beautiful butterfly flitting about in my garden, I dread the day it lays its eggs on my lime plant. Once the eggs hatch, the hungry caterpillars will devour all the leaves within days.

I see bananas!

Can you see the bananas too? It's so cool to know that such a tiny banana plant is capable of producing real fruits!