A few more photos…

I am getting confused with names of succulents. They are either Sedeverias, Sedums, Graptoverias, Aloes, Crassulas, Kalanchoes, Aeoniums  or some other “similar” sounding names…

Whatever they are called, I love them. Here are a few more from the balcony.

This photo prompted me to write the opening paragraph. I love this baby… but I cannot tell you the name unless I hunt for its tag…

Sometimes I come across Blue Chalk Stick as the name of this lovely plant. I think it’s easier to remember than Senecio…

 

Kalanchoe… I think this specie is easier to recognised by the shape of its leaves.

Echeveria and sedum… someone asked if this blue grey bloom was a ghost plant in an earlier post.  That would be an easier name to remember…

Sedum (probably)… wearing my Learner Gardener’s hat, this plant should not be classified as a succulent. Unlike the others, it loves water, so it messes up my watering routine. 

Visit Teri’s Painted Daisies on Monday for Cactus Monday links.

Vegetables

are less confusing, I think...

There truth is I’ve given up on vegetables. They also mess up my watering routine and I don’t cook enough… These are my last few photos.

Have you seen a lonelier chilli?

Vietnamese mint makes me feel good as a gardener, like I’ve done something right. It just grows and grows and keep growing….

Oregano is also a happy plant on my balcony.

I love the smell of Rosemary. I cannot help but touch it.

Happy Gardening!

I’ll be taking a break for a little while. Please visit my other blog, as I will still be Enjoying the Good Life.

Back to the starting line

A friend offered me a yucca cutting some months ago. Reluctantly, I said “No, thanks. I haven’t got the space.”

No more plants please!

Recently, when I was at at friend’s house, she asked me if I would like some basil. I hesitated. “To cook with or to plant?” I asked, but it didn't matter what her answer was. I don’t cook much and I am running out of space on the balcony.

“To plant”. She went on the explain that she had basil growing in a pot, all ready for my balcony. How sweet of her!

“Thanks, but no” I answered. I don’t usually say no to plants.

It has been a year and a half…

..since I started gardening on my balcony, and since I started this blog. There were many experiments and lots of fun… but I think I will have to make some decisions about the space, and plants to keep and nurture. …probably easier that than deciding what to do with the rest of the plants!

 

What the experts say?

I consulted the books and these are just some things I need to consider:

• To plan on paper first
• Think about how I would like to use the space
• Think about my lifestyle
• Colour schemes and textures

So much to consider, so much to do. The last year and a half was like  kindergarten gardening… now I get to start the next phase and do it all over again at Grade 1.

What’s your experience?

After the holidays

Sorry that I seem to have been MIA for a while. I have been on holidays. I am glad to say that the garden had survived well without me. So I am learning that perhaps I should not meddle with the plants as much as I did before.

It’s winter down under and there isn’t much sun on my balcony, but my kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos) above welcomed me home with lovely red/orange blooms.

Also on the positive side, my sedum gold mound was loving the rain and have grown a lot in my absence

I couldn’t believe that my chilli plant is still bearing fruits. Oh, those poor leaves. In the same pot, the sedum is having a ball, and loving the wet.

A few days after I came home, it hailed while I was in the gym. When I got home, I realised my succulents have been affected. This is a photo I took this morning…

And another.

And another. It is too depressing. Most of my succulents look sad, so I’ll stop at this last sad photo.

 

On the brighter side, this little baby which was exposed to the hail looks ok.

Looks like the geranium is happy too.

And my coriander is greeting the world.

 

I was wondering if I should have titled this post “The good, the bad and the ugly”…

Have a happy weekend.

Visit Fertiliser Friday to see what’s happening in other gardens.

Farming in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Cameron Highlands is about 6000 feet above  sea level. The weather is cool and farming is huge in Cameron Highlands.

I love these lovely red seeds of the asparagus plant. This plant looks quite ornamental.

A look at what’s coming out at ground level

Lovely green farm with mint

Ash, so fresh. I could smell the lovely fresh fragrance all around me

Rows and rows of lettuce

Juicy

Here’s a photo taken from a hill looking down at a farm…

End of tomato planting

The weather has been getting cooler and it’s the end of tomato season in Melbourne. Yesterday, I removed the sad-looking plant…

 
Dry leaves of my tomato plant

 
The fruits were no longer red and juicy

 

Sorry for my sad photos.

I look forward to seeing your lovely garden photos, especially those in the northern hemisphere. I love fresh spring colours.

Have a nice weekend.

Fertilizer Friday: Click on the link for more garden blogs.

After the rain…

Not much is happening on the balcony, since I’m trying not to meddle with the plants too much, and just let them grow for a while.

Here are a few photos taken after this morning’s rain.

Mixed Lobelia around Dusty Miller (Centaurea Gymnocarpa).

Sempervivum

Chilli fruit hiding underneath the leaves. It won’t be on the tree for long :)…

Wet white-green leaves of geranium

 

Have a happy weekend.

Visit Fertilizer Friday for more photos.

A little paint job

I have been saving these sturdy plastic pots which came with new plants. When I ran out of pots (again) last week, I decided to paint them to match my existing terracotta pots.
Left, newly painted pot; right, before the paint job.

I am happy with the result; I only wish I have more of these plastic pots to play with. Here are my 2 new pots of herbs.:

Vietnamese mint (left) and oregano (right)

ps. I used acrylics paint which adhered to the surface really well.

 

And here are some foliage to share, all planted in terracotta pots…

 

Geranium

My indoor pot of String of Pearls

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Visit Fertilizer Friday for more gardening blogs.

Succulents, this n that

Jelly beans… love them!

Did you know I love jelly beans? The succulent that is, not the candy. These lovely blue-green ones make me happy because they grow and grow. But they grew over the pot way too far, and got in the way of a visitor.  Some fell to a heap of dismembered jelly beans on my deck – I was horrified!

 

I had cut them back a little, so these ones below need a new home… Maybe it is a good excuse to buy a pot, but I am determined not to buy more pots. You see, I’ve only got balcony space.

 

 

Love hate relationship

These 2 babies have no where to go, so here they are in my chocolate tins.

The agave (on the left) looks nice now, but I suspect I am going to hate it when it grows up (don’t have to worry about that – it will take a looooong time). It is already annoying me by grabbing my gloves every time I’m too close, or poking me with its evil sharp leaves.

 
Succulents in chocolate tins

But the little baby below is quite a gem (love that green) but still, it has no place to live, except in an old tin.

 

 

Vertical garden – an update

It has been 4 months since I made my vertical garden, and I have to report that things are moving quite slowly in that area…

For this vertical garden, I love plants that spill over the pots. I am happy with the Sedum Gold Mound below. Most succulents take a while to grow and I am rather impatient. So recently I added some herbs (scroll down for a picture).

 
Sedum Gold Mound

Here are my 2 pots of herbs, mint and thyme.

Mint and thyme

The Crassula Diane below needs work. Red on red – not my intention! It was green when I planted it (as shown in the photo below the red crassula) but it turned red a few months ago, perhaps because the weather changed.

 
Red Crassula Diane

The Crassula Diane was green…

 
Green Crassula Diane

Going, going, gone

Plants come and go on my balcony.

I have had my run with bok choys. We have been eating so much bok choys that I don’t think we will be eating more of it in the near future. So at the moment, I have a dish full of bok choys in my kitchen, and a couple of  empty pots in the garden…

 
Bok Choy from the top

 
Dish full of Bok Choys

 

Happy Cactus Monday.

Don’t forget to visit Teri’s Painted Daisies for Cactus Monday links.