Garden Summer 2012
28 Jan 2012 4 Comments
in 4. Seasonal Garden Notes Tags: My garden, Taro Plants, White Hibiscus, Yesterday Today Tomorrow
We have eventually summery kind of summer. In the last few days, the temperatures are constantly hot over 30 deg. C. Few days ago, I transplanted two bushes: Escalonia and Loropetalum chinense. They grew much too close together to the red flower carpet rose bush. The Loropetalum seems to survive but the Escalonia is completely dry. I don’t like this plant very much anyway, so I am thinking about pulling it out and replace it with another plant. Yesterday I went to the market trying to find a replacement plant.
Yesterday Today Tomorrow - Brunfelsia australis
In the market I saw an unusual plant. I did not think I had seen it before. I asked the seller the name, and when he told me that it was ‘Yesterday Today Tommorow’….. I thought he was just kidding. He told me with his thick Italian accent that when the flowers opened the first time it was purple, the next day would change colour to light blue and the next day again it would be white. He said the plant could be grown in a full sun position.
When I got home, I googled Yesterday Today Tomorrow…. and the jolly old fellow was not kidding. The botanic name is Brunfelsia and the other common name is ‘Kiss Me Quick’. In Australia, this tropical plant is very suitable for Queensland and New South Wales. In Melbourne and South Australia will need to be kept away from frost. It is best to avoid hot afternoon sun. I am not very sure what to do now, to replace the Escalonia, it will be in the open space in the front yard. It can be quite frosty in the winter and also it will get hot afternoon sun. I am thinking of growing my Yesterday Today Tomorrow somewhere else.
What else are happening this summer? Oh yes, my white hibiscus is flowering for the first time. I have grown it for few years and it was struggling under the shade of next door loquat tree. The flowers are single petalled, pure white with maroon red stamen and anthers….. and the soft sweet fragrance is lovely. I am really glad it is doing alright now. White perfumed hibiscus is pretty rare.
Last year our friend in Coburg gave us some taro bulbs (note: Indonesian is talas/tales) from her garden. They were ready to cook, but instead we sticked them in our garden to grow. Now they are growing lusciously and so far have multiplied quickly. Can’t wait till they are ready to harvest…. then I can cook Chinese taro cake. Yum!
Fragrant White Hibiscus
What else did I do lately? Other than repotting and dividing the last Cymbidium, I also repotted both water lilies, the pink and the yellow one. The pink variety is not as prolific as the yellow one. The yellow one flowers continuously one after another. All the gold fishes are doing alright. From all the babies that they have, there are only six survive to maturity. Three of them orange with pink spots and the other three are black. None of our friends want to have the baby goldfish, even if they are for free. We don’t really know what to do with them.
Taro Plants
Our old and tired looking garden bench looks like new again after it had a new coat of paint. Now we have moved it to the front garden for the birds to perch on….
It has been dried for more than a week and hopefully will really rain tomorrow like it has been forcasted.
Happy Gardening!
Fish Tub & Yellow Water Lily
Repainted Garden Bench
Strangler Fig
17 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in 6. Wonderful Plants Tags: Amazing Nature, Strangler Fig
It was all started with a little bird in that rainforest. The deposit of the bird droppings contained some undigested seeds from the giant strangler fig. It was a fig tree species Ficus watkinsiana that commonly grew in the rainforests of Queensland and New South Wales. One lucky little seed germinated on the rich composted leaf debris inside a trunk cavity of another forest tree.
Slowly the little strangler fig grew to gather strength. Once it was big enough to send aerial roots down the host tree-trunk and penetrated the ground to get nutrition, it grew rapidly. More and more roots grew from all direction and they tangled all around the host tree. The roots quickly thickened and started to look more like many tree trunks that oddly grew fused together. Meanwhile, its trunk and branches also grew up high reaching for the sun light. Finally they squeezed and choked the host tree to death. The poor tree’s roots dried up inside the ground, they could not compete against the strong strangler fig to get nutrition.
Many months and years had past, and the host tree had long lost all the foliage. The dried up trunk and branches started to crumble down, rotted away and eventually broke down to enrich forest floor. The strangler fig tree grew bigger and stronger. Its mighty trunk looked as if it was hollow inside. Few would ever thought that there was another tree trunk once grew there. It was one of many forest trees that become a victim of nature that sometimes so cruel and seems too unfair…..
Strangler Fig - Dorrigo National Park, NSW
Strangler Figs are also known to grow on old stone temple ruins in the forest. The roots also grow all around the walls to make a very bizzare look. The images above were taken by our son who just came back from holiday in Coffs Harbour, NSW.
Dividing and Repotting Cymbidium Orchid
09 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in 3. Orchids Tags: Cymbidum Orchids, Divison and Repotting, My garden
Large cymbidium orchid out of its pot. The knife points to where the division is going to be made.
After the division and roots have been cleaned. The 2 parts will make two new plants
Removed old back-bulbs. I will plant one of them.
After finished the division and repotting, I have two big plants and one small one.
I remember someone who said to me that she hated to grow cymbidium orchids because they needed to be repotted and divided after the plants had been filling all the room in the pot. She said if the plant would be happy to stay in its pot forever, she did not mind. Ha….I said to her just buy the plastic ones! Like most plants that grow in containers, Cymbidium orchids need some attention to be happy. If the pot is too full, there will be no room for the orchid to grow flowers and new shoots. Cymbidium orchid like to stay in a pot that is just large enough and will not do too good in one that is much too large as it will not flower. Also too much medium (orchid chips/barks) in a pot that is too large will cause roots to rot.
Some of Cymbidum orchids are large and it will be a hard work to take it out the pot and to divide them. Plastic pots are better than ceramic or clay pots because it is easier to loosen the roots off the pots. Plastic pots are pliable and can be pressed, knocked and pushed to make plants come out easily.
I have done all the repottings and divisions that were needed last November and December. Most of the Cymbidium orchids that were divided, each made three new plants. I keep all my Cymbidium orchids in the back yard, but one, which I put near the front door. This was why I forgot about it. So this morning, I decided to split the plant into two or three and then would repot them with fresh orchid mix. I know it was a bit late, but I would do it anyway.
I took it out of the pot and cleaned the root ball and it seemed it was going to make only two. I removed some of the old back-bulbs that were crowded in the middle and kept one for each division. One of the removed old bulb had some leaves and roots, so I decided the replant it. On the end, the orchid managed to make three pots, two large ones and one small one. As now it is Summer here, the orchid will need fertilizer that is high in potassium (sulphate of potash) to encourage flower spikes to grow. I mixed the sulphate of potash with blood and bone ( 1 part of sulphate of potash and 6 parts of blood and bone) and sprinkle it on the top of the medium. Fingers cross….just hope they will really flower!
By the way, it was the yellow Cymbidium. The one that has green flowers when they just open and that will gradually become yellow:)…. OMG, it was a hard work to repot and divide Cymbidium orchids. You just have to be quite strong and little bit mean and rough!
The Mythical Chinese Dragon
07 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in Life Tags: 2012, Chinese Dragon Year, The look of a Chinese Dragon
Chinese New Year will be celebrated on January 23, 2012 and it will be the Dragon Year. The mythical dragon in old Chinese legends is a mighty reptile with great power that gives protection and good fortune. It is the first of the four divine creatures followed by the unicorn, the phoenix and the tortoise. The dragon is regarded as the male symbol of Yang while phoenix represents the opposite, the Ying. The two complement each other to create life harmony.
How a Chinese Dragon looks like? The head is the shape of that of camels. The horns resemble dear’s horns. The eyes are fierce and the long beard and mane similar to that of a lion. The ears look like that of the cows, while the feet are strong and have the shape of those of the eagles. While the nails are as sharp as the tiger’s. The scales are large just like a carp.
According to the legend, there are many different types of dragon, and the prominent four are:
- Celestial Dragon that protects Goods and Heaven. It is supposed to have 5 claws, while other dragons only have 4.
- Spiritual Dragon that controls the winds and the rains. It floats among the clouds.
- Earth Dragon that controls water on the Earth: the seas, rivers and lakes.
- Underworld dragon is the guardian of all the precious metals underneath the ground.
Dragon represents one of the twelve animals in Chinese calendar. It is for those who will be born on January 23 this year forward till the end of the dragon year and every twelve years before and afterward. If you are a dragon, generally you are kind and soft-hearted, healthy, respected, energetic and eccentric.
Thinking about this elusive creature, it is clear that for the Chinese and many other Asian cultures, dragons are regarded as good animal that protect and give good fortune. It is the opposite of many western beliefs where dragons are bad and evil creature.
For those who celebrate Chinese New Year, I wish all of you:
