What Do We Love About Christmas?
What do we love about Christmas;
Does our delight reside in things?
Or are the feelings in our hearts
The real gift that Christmas brings.
It's the end of the year and time to reflect upon the year's happenings. This year is the only year that I have became a full-time homemaker after spending many years working in corporate offices.
Gardening gave me great pleasures and networking since started blogging (this is my 100th post!) about plants in February this year. I have found many friends (that's you!) who share generously their experience in gardening and growing plants that I have never known before.
Below is a pic of my Gloxinia in its second flush of blooms before I prune all the leaves.
While I love to discover and grow new plants, I have never put any effort in discovering garden creatures. Below is a pic of a creature that I took but I do not what it is ;-)
Although I am married and older, most of my friends are single and young and they are my livewire! I am behind the little ball in the pic below.
My other favourite past-time is baking. I have brushed up on this skill by baking lots of cakes this year. Thanks to all my good friends who finished off all my cakes even when they weren't baked well in the beginning. My current best is fruitcake using an ordinary recipe my friend, Joy found. I called it Fruitcake Joy as I have baked many loaves with her this festive season.
I am also in charge of gifts to reward kids at our children's church, something which I have been doing for the last 8 years. This year, we had gift shop 3 times. Below are some of the items I normally get for the kids.
I hope that Year 2009 has been a fruitful year for you!
Gardening gave me great pleasures and networking since started blogging (this is my 100th post!) about plants in February this year. I have found many friends (that's you!) who share generously their experience in gardening and growing plants that I have never known before.
Below is a pic of my Gloxinia in its second flush of blooms before I prune all the leaves.
While I love to discover and grow new plants, I have never put any effort in discovering garden creatures. Below is a pic of a creature that I took but I do not what it is ;-)
Although I am married and older, most of my friends are single and young and they are my livewire! I am behind the little ball in the pic below.
My other favourite past-time is baking. I have brushed up on this skill by baking lots of cakes this year. Thanks to all my good friends who finished off all my cakes even when they weren't baked well in the beginning. My current best is fruitcake using an ordinary recipe my friend, Joy found. I called it Fruitcake Joy as I have baked many loaves with her this festive season.
I am also in charge of gifts to reward kids at our children's church, something which I have been doing for the last 8 years. This year, we had gift shop 3 times. Below are some of the items I normally get for the kids.
I hope that Year 2009 has been a fruitful year for you!
I stumpled upon some potted greens on a rack at the Grocer Supermarket at Bangsar the other day. The green was so fresh and nice, just like vegetables ;-) I thought that they were edibles. But later, I discovered that they were ornamental plants.
The plant is the dragon fruit plant from the Hylocereus Undatus family and is said to be an effective bio-purifier. It's not only refreshing and helps to reduce stress, it's also easily grown. So it is really suitable for home and office decorating and serves as a good gift for loved ones.
The two plants (above & below pics) are actually the same plant. Both are at different growth stage. At the beginning, it will have only two leaves. Then as the plant grows, little stems that look like cactus will appear. The bigger the cactus the smaller the leaves till they dissappear.
The seedlings is said to be easy to care for. They do not require any fertiliser, just spray water. These seedlings will do well in air-conditioning room, indoor or 'semi-outdoor' (under shaded).
So, the next time you eat a dragon fruit, think of the possibilities... grow those seeds!
The plant is the dragon fruit plant from the Hylocereus Undatus family and is said to be an effective bio-purifier. It's not only refreshing and helps to reduce stress, it's also easily grown. So it is really suitable for home and office decorating and serves as a good gift for loved ones.
The two plants (above & below pics) are actually the same plant. Both are at different growth stage. At the beginning, it will have only two leaves. Then as the plant grows, little stems that look like cactus will appear. The bigger the cactus the smaller the leaves till they dissappear.
The seedlings is said to be easy to care for. They do not require any fertiliser, just spray water. These seedlings will do well in air-conditioning room, indoor or 'semi-outdoor' (under shaded).
So, the next time you eat a dragon fruit, think of the possibilities... grow those seeds!
A trip back to Ipoh recently, gave me the opportunity to introduce to you the garden where many of my plants come from. This garden belongs to my sister-in-law, Janice.
If you observe closely, you would definitely agree with me that it is quite an extra-ordinary garden, especially for those who stay in terrace houses in Malaysia :-D
Other than the bed of plants infront of the house, the rest of the plants are in containers.
Janice loves orchids. The orchids (pics below) were all in bloom at the same time when I was there!
She has so many varieties of orchids and most of them are hung onto this shade that's built in the house compound. Below the orchids are many ornamental ferns and allies.
Plus a little pond for aquatic plants...
Some attractive spillers on the wall and other beautiful ferns along the same side.
I can see that Petunia is her other passion. She mentioned that the light purple/pink one (the one at background of the second pic) is the easiest to grow. Ok, I know what kind of Petunia a beginner should grow ;-)
Here is a collage of some of her plants and garden ornaments.
Maybe one day my garden will look as wonderful as Janice's.
If you observe closely, you would definitely agree with me that it is quite an extra-ordinary garden, especially for those who stay in terrace houses in Malaysia :-D
Other than the bed of plants infront of the house, the rest of the plants are in containers.
Janice loves orchids. The orchids (pics below) were all in bloom at the same time when I was there!
She has so many varieties of orchids and most of them are hung onto this shade that's built in the house compound. Below the orchids are many ornamental ferns and allies.
Plus a little pond for aquatic plants...
Some attractive spillers on the wall and other beautiful ferns along the same side.
I can see that Petunia is her other passion. She mentioned that the light purple/pink one (the one at background of the second pic) is the easiest to grow. Ok, I know what kind of Petunia a beginner should grow ;-)
Here is a collage of some of her plants and garden ornaments.
Maybe one day my garden will look as wonderful as Janice's.
This black cryptanthus has been delivering pups non-stop since I got it a few months ago. The two pups in the pics below are the second and third ones. The first one has already been given away.
Now it is time to 'twist' the second one out as it has reached one third of the size of the mother plant. See, I have propagated another plant by using the offset. It's as easy as it can be :-D
Now it is time to 'twist' the second one out as it has reached one third of the size of the mother plant. See, I have propagated another plant by using the offset. It's as easy as it can be :-D
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