....and I am talking about my garden (because I ran out of food posts). Where things grow and flourish at their own pace, undisturbed. Where herbs and unidentified plants appear spontaneously and unplanned.
And bees are a busy buzzing and pollinating....
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| A busy little bee loving my basil flowers. |
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| Can this little fella sting? Better not get too close. |
A smorgasbord of fauna and flora. Ah...the wonder that is nature. Or is it the work of a lazy gardener?
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| A bright colored beetle. |
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| A creepy crawlie on my curry plant. Caterpillars give me the creeps. I had to remove this fella because from experience I know it can devour a whole plant. |
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| A promising development. |
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| It bloomed. A pumpkin flower. I learnt that I had to help it get it on by doing manual pollination. |
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| The flower wilted and dropped off. My cousin said to forget it. Put it back into the compost! And that was what I did. |
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| These leaves are pretty. |
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| That's the flower. I don't know what plant this is. Look at the ants! |
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| Who that? |
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| Oh, you. The neighborhood cat. Look at it's eyes. Staring daggers at me. Just don't leave "bombs" in my garden and we'll be fine. |
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| Hope. Tomato flower buds. |
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| Blooms! Will I be disappointed again? |
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| Look! Look! |
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| See there is another smaller one! |
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| Fungi growing in the compost. |
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| Pretty flowers. |
Nah!
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| I can't remember what originally grew in here. |
Nah!!
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| I'm the only one in the neighbourhood who plants weeds in a pot. |
Nah!!!
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| Another casualty of my Bohemian gardening style. |
Yah...yah...stop nagging me. I had every intention of spending some time in the garden doing what has to be done during the Hari Raya holidays. But all my time was spent inside doing housework which by the way, was very therapeutic and relaxing. If only I had the whole week off........But hey, today is Friday already! Yipeee!!!!
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| Hey you....! Sucking on flowers again? |
Morning Phong Hong.. Ahhh, a green post.. Something different for the eyes, besides the usual food post.. When I read your post, I think of Meow.. She has been posting a lot of plants thingy in FB recently, kekekeke.. Ok, forgive, curse me if you want (but I know you wont), when I see that orange beetle, I felt like squashing it with my slippers.. I don't dare to do it with my hand, else, I would have just squash it, holding it in between the leaves.. I can't stand beetles and other insects, I would wana step or squash or kill them.. And, oh dear, that fat juicy caterpillar, I imagine if I squash it, all the tummy juices will ooze out.. Puh-leeese...*God, please forgive me*
ReplyDeleteThe cat looks moody by the way, hehe.. I love that pink flower, thank god, I see some nice pink flowers..
Louiz, you sound like me when I was a kid. I used to squash beetles too! And not with my hand, either step or use something else. My grandma use to catch those beetles that eat her orchids and she pull their head off with her fingers. She does that to cockroaches too. So geli! Aiyo, you wanna squash the caterpillar? I very geli! That cat very eksyen one. Sometimes, it will just stare at me and will only chao when I charge at it fiercely hee..hee...
DeleteGood morning Phong Hong, I like your garden.very wabi sabi japanese style. What happened to the caterpillar you removed?
ReplyDeleteHi Mun! Sorry to say that I had to eliminate the caterpillar. If I didn't, it would eat the curry plant.
DeleteOh I thought you removed it and placed it inside a jar to watch it grow into a butterfly or moth. Don't feel bad, a grower has to do what a grower has to do - kill the pests.
DeleteHow blessed you are with your garden!
ReplyDeletep.s. how does one makes basil plant grow well? mine is withering. :(
Hi Lina! I make sure my basil is watered daily and I use compost as fertilizer. Also if I see it being attacked by those small black bugs, I simply snip off the affected parts.
DeleteOK. Thanks for the tip. :)
DeleteGood morning dear
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon, Angeline!
DeleteI love seeing bugs and animals in the garden, just like in yours.
ReplyDeleteIt shows that yours are not filled with toxic chemical to make them stay away. :)
Kudos to you. ^^
For me, all living beings have a right to this place and share our space too. Buttttt.... I sure don't like those ants come near me! LOL
Lina, I let those beetles or other insects mingle with my plants but I have to admit that I eliminate those that harm my plants. For example, I had to eliminate that caterpillar. I felt bad but I have to protect my plants :(
DeleteWell, we had to do it, right? Bit if for no rhyme or reason that's a bit cruel.
DeleteI just trimmed my curry leaf plant...AGAIN!!! They grow so fast when you do not want them to. Tsk! Tsk!
ReplyDeleteMy curry plant is now suddenly growing at a fast pace. But being in a pot it should be relatively under control :)
DeleteThough this is not recipe post, in fact I do enjoyed viewing one after another of your plants in your garden. I had a chuckle laugh when you told the cat not to drop bombs......yeah I hate hate that!!
ReplyDeleteHi Mel! Yah, really hate it when the cat drop "bombs"! So smelly!
DeleteHee hee ... Hi Phong Hong, I was a kid who lived and grown up in kampong ... yet I don't like the little 'jungle' in the backyard. Remembered that my late mom had many pots of plants (think chilli, kumquat and others). Ya, occasionally i would just help water the plants ... very quickly and dashed back to the house when saw insects, ants, caterpillars marching around. I enjoy reading your green post ^-^
ReplyDeleteHi Karen! When I was younger, I never knew that I liked gardening. My dad is a keen gardener but I never bothered to look at his plants hah..hah...But now when I go home, I would spend time in his garden and look see, look see. It is a good hobby for me. But as you can see, I don't have that much time for the garden in between my housework, cooking and baking!
DeleteToo bad i do not have a garden and also i do not have green fingers...
ReplyDeleteCan plant potted plants. Just water nia :)
DeleteYou must have a big garden ! And great that you have been planting some vegetables that you can use for your cooking like basil leaves.
ReplyDeleteNo lah, Chris. My garden is small. Just as well or else it will be a real jungle :)
DeleteSo syiok right, Chris?
DeleteCan pluck herbs right from the garden. Like Jamie Oliver like that. :)
Hi Phong Hong, even thou jungle but I like your garden lah. I miss my huge garden, now stay apartment can only plant sikit sikit only. But better than nothing cos I love gardening too.
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening and have a nice day.
Amelia
Hi Amelia! That's the advantage of living in a house even though the garden is small. But for apartment it is also nice to have potted plants. More manageable and won't end up become a belukar like mine hah..hah...
Deletegood morning phong hong :)
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have some home grown herbs and veggies. Can't wait to see your next post on the ripe tomato :)
mui
Hi mui mui! I can't wait for my tomatoes to ripen. So far I see 4 small tomatoes and I am so excited!
DeleteI can shake hands with you on the Nah Nah pictures! hahahaha.. I have a few pots growing Aliens in them... Never bother to plant anything... My mom gave me two big pots just to put on my front wall so that it makes intruders more difficult to climb in... that is the purpose only.. hahaha..
ReplyDeleteClaire hah..hah..hah...that's only 3 Nah Nah pictures. Actually got some more. Oh, can use pot to block intruders, kah? hah..hah....
Deletehi phonghong , I am sharanya of sara's tasty buds . I am a regular follower of your posts......... The unknown creeper with yellow flower you mentioned in above post was bittergourd plant...............
ReplyDeleteHi Sharanya! Thanks for following my blog :) I'll go visit you in a bit. Oh, I see it's bittergourd! One of my favourite veggies. Hope I can get a harvest :)
Deleteit must be nice to have such a garden outside!
ReplyDeleteOla, yes I love to have a garden even though it is messy!
DeleteHi Phong Hong,.
ReplyDeleteI like your "jungle"! Mine is almost a desert! Most of my plants have dried out because of the hot weather! The plant with the yellow flower, looks like a bitter gourd plant, and that is a male flower. Wait for the female flowers to appear with a tiny bitter gourd at the end, then you will know for sure. Your tomatoes are looking great! Very soon you'll have plum ripe tomatoes for your salad bowl!
Cats are a real nuisance to me, my neighbour's cats are creating havoc and I am unable to plant any veggies at my back garden, so I planted lots of pineapples instead!
And BTW, your cousin is right about the pumpkin plant. I tried growing one before, and it grew really fast, and taking over whatever space I had, and male flowers keep appearing with no female flowers in sight. The plant is quite prickly, difficult to handle with limited space, so I discarded it! Good luck with yours!
Hi Joyce! I already discarded the pumpkin :) I was so thrilled to see the tiny tomatoes! Hope that they ripen nicely and don't get pinched or drop off. Oh, bittergourd hmmm...read from your post that you had to pollinate them manually. Will check for the female flowers. The cats have also caused havoc as not only do they stink up my garden, they also toppled my pots! I'll find time to clean up and beautify my garden, My dream would be to have one whole week doing nothing but gardening hah..hah..
DeleteAt least things grow in your garden. I was told pandan plants are almost indestrucable but mine died. Even my 15 year old kumquat stopped growing shoots, after I trimmed it. Can't say I have green fingers.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, maybe gardening is just not your thing huh? My pandan isn't exactly doing too well. In fact it doesn't have the fragrance. Maybe it is too dry and I should water them more often and find some space on the ground to plant them. They do better on the ground.
DeleteWow, your garden seems big and full with so much to see! But I got goosebumps when I see that caterpillar >.<
ReplyDeleteAnd that cat, he looks angry, hehe!
Hayley, actually my garden is small. Me too very geli when I see caterpillar. There was once I found a big one with fierce orange colour. And got bulu some more. So I sent it to heaven :(
DeleteHi Phong Hong, you have a huge garden full of herbas and plants. I just started to plant some herbs too...
ReplyDeleteHi Cecilia! Actually my garden is small. I wish that I have more time to tend to my plants and make my garden beautiful.
DeleteVery good Phong Hong!!!! Green is good for eyes, hehe...
ReplyDeleteYes, Esther. But I don't even have time to look!
Deleteah, that's a very nice garden indeed, lots of green and little creatures you may not have seen often.. guess you are always busy with cooking at home and do not really have time to enjoy looking at your own plants in the garden.. hmmm, now, i looking more at green stuffs actually helps to sooth our eyes.. did you feel the same when you were taking photos of the plants?? haha~~
ReplyDeletep/s: i love the shot of that bright colored beetle~~ awesome!!
Hi SK! I wish that I have more time to spend in my garden. Yes, green is very soothing to the eyes. I think the next public holiday will be spent in the garden. I also like that bright colored beetle but apparently it will eat my plants!
DeleteYou have many lvoely herbs and vegetables.. I likey! Btw that orange bug will eat all your melon/pumpkin leaves too...very naughty insect!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Yen! Oh, another naughty bug! But since I discarded the pumpkin plant, I don't see that bug anymore.
DeleteWow, macam Biology class la, learning about birds and bees :) I was amazed to see so many bees at your place, hopefully they will pollinate the tomatoes for you! bittergourd looks so healthy...jeles I!
ReplyDeleteNow the bees have gone. And my basil plant got attacked by black bugs! I cut away the affected parts and pruned the basil. Saw new shoots coming out. Hope that I get bittergourds soon!
DeleteYour basil grow so well....I am not sure what happen to my basil...they are dying...try to safe them but not working...
ReplyDeleteHi Jozelyn! Make sure you water the basil regularly and put fertilizer. And watch out for black tiny bugs. They attacked my basil recently and I had to cut off the parts that were attacked, Also pruned my basil. Hope they can survive!
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