New herb collection

When I saw tiny pots of herbs at Marketplace @ i12 Mall last week, I thought to myself, "These will make great Christmas presents (for me)!"

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I found myself missing these plants. I couldn't stop thinking about them especially now that I'm reading "Under the Tuscan Sun" where oregano grows profusely like a weed.

So, I went back there yesterday and was pleased to find they've replenished their stock. I bought four pots and promptly replanted them in bigger pots. Let me introduce my new herbs:

1. French Tarragon - the slightly anise tasting leaves pair well with egg, chicken and fish dishes.

2. Majoram - the sweet and mild leaves are great for flavouring meat dishes.

3. Sweet basil - highly aromatic and great for salads and sandwiches.

4. Sage - used as a medicinal herb (for treating everything from snake bite to longetivity) long before it has been a culinary herb.

Even though they like full sun, I'm keeping them under partial shade to help them acclimatise to the heat and humidity.

What a waste!

Just because I couldn't bear to harvest all the radish when they were at their prime, I ended up throwing them away. Well, at least now I know I can grow my own radish at home. Next time, I'll make sure I eat them when they're looking their best.

Onion and tomato seedlings

It's probably not the best time to sow seeds due to the wet weather but I couldn't help myself. The onion seeds have germinated but they are still very weak. Many get washed away when the rain comes pelting down.

When I use fresh tomatoes for pasta, I usually discard the seeds. That day, I decided to sow them instead. Now they have all germinated.

I'm not very keen on growing tomatoes actually, because the plants attract lots of mealy bugs. Also, it is not easy to nurture them to maturity. I'll be lucky if I can get even one good sized tomato for my dinner plate but a gardener never gives up.

Another garden rack

SK bought himself a new garden rack using money he earned from his vacation job. All his nepenthes have now migrated to this new stand while the bromeliads have taken over the other one. My garden is beginning to look neater now.

Garden rack

If there is one thing that is sorely lacking in Singapore, it must be good-looking garden trellis. I have been seeking high and low for a nice one for my son's nepenthes collection and finally settled for this wire rack after trawling the nurseries.

It's not the most ideal but at least the pitchers can hang properly now instead of sprawling all over the floor.

Hydrangea

After a very long wait, my hydrangea finally produced a small bunch of flowers. I grew it from a stem cutting a couple of years ago.

It's a really small bunch but still, it's worth the wait. I have seen humongous ones in temperate countries but in our hot and humid climate, I'm lucky it gives me flowers.

Growing weed

I hope this header doesn't get me into any trouble. I'm growing a kind of weed (not that kind!) which I found in a forest recently. I really like the shape of the minty green leaves.

Being a weed, it's hardy and grows quickly. I even love how they creep out of the pot. At the rate they are growing, they will take over my entire patio in no time.