My Little Pocket Garden

Before I point you to the trees, I need to show you the forest. :)

Presenting my latest project: my little pocket garden, which I've grown and cultivated, bug-phobia and sunburn notwithstanding. :)

I'm sorry I don't have a before photo to share. Just imagine the area without plants. :) It was once a barren, desolate space leading to my kitchen,* that I've longed to make-over. Busy schedules, and the fact that the area doubled as sampayan area, pushed the make-over plans to someday.


That someday finally started a few months ago, and I've worked the space up to a cozy, soothing pocket of greens.

Starting with a few orchids (mostly dendrobiums and some vandas we bought in a garden fair in Megamall), our garden has grown to include hydrangeas; a bromeliad (which has a story, later); a plant with white flowers called Impatience; yellow candles; peach, red and white roses, a pink poinsettia, and even an ampalaya vine now climbing a pole in its little corner. :)


My garden also has non-flowering plants chosen for their unusual leaf shape or variegation. I have a pot of anahaw, a pot of fortune plant, and some plants with variegated leaves I am yet to research the names of. :) I've also assembled my own bonsai, there, extreme right. Notice the latest bloom of one of my hydrangeas peeking out, at left. :)

ALL my plants are potted, because we are renters, and we need to be able to bring the plants with us when we move to our own home. :)


Here's a closer look at my little table of mini- plants: top row, from left -- Chrysanthemum; pink and violet pitimini roses (yup, in the same pot!); white and pink zinnia; yellow pitimini roses.

At the bottom row is my boys' beginning collection of cacti and succulents; and the violet pitimini roses flanked by the two variegated plants whose names I don't know yet. :)

Every morning my husband and I spend a few minutes there, watering, fertilizing, weeding, replanting, or just admiring the blooms. The garden also gives a refreshing, soothing view from our breakfast nook, lending a special touch to the start of our every day. :)


=========

*Yes, our kitchen is outside the house, in our backyard. Apart from the fact that we can't have it inside due to space constraints (I keep a busy kitchen, and I need lots of elbow room!), my husband thought it's best to move the kitchen outside for safety reasons-- the semi-open air quickly diffuses any leaking gas from the LPG tank, lowering the chances of us inhaling fumes, and reduces the hazards of leak-induced fires.

Dancing Lady

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the first bloom of my yellow oncidium orchid, commonly known as Dancing Lady. The blooms look like ladies holding their skirt up sidewards, as if standing up to dance.


The yellow Oncidium is also known in some parts of the world as Golden Butterflies because at first glance, the blooms (which is a spray) look like a group of butterflies dancing on air.

Some internet sites promote this orchid as the ideal starting project for novice orchid growers, because it is relatively easy to grow. My mother in law has a garden wall full of this orchid in her home in Cotabato. As for me...well, the "easy to grow" part remains to be seen.

Euphorbia Mania

I didn't exactly know I was joining a bandwagon when I decided to grow Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia Milii). All I wanted was to have plants that can withstand a lot of sunshine. Our home gets a lot of afternoon sun, especially during summer.



Anyhow, so I found later that euphorbia is the current craze. There are collectors everywhere. And I'm the newest convert. Presenting my (yet) very modest collection...

I have nine varieties, but the three have shied out and I'm still coaxing them to bloom again. One had light yellow blooms, the other, avocado green.

Euphorbia Milii loves the sun and needs very little water. (Overwatering prevents offshoots and inflorescence. Learned that the hard way.) There are over 200 varieties, most of them hybrids, propagated in Thailand.

Calling my friends in the land of Siam... hope you think of me when you see euphorbia milii. :)

Milflores

Million flowers, milflores for short. En anglais, ils s'appellent Hydrangeas.

This bloom is one of the rewards I've received from toiling in the garden, and payoff for the occasional shrieks from encountering the friendly neighborhood wriggly garden bugs. :P

Milflores come in many colors, but the variety I've grown produces a million white and blue blooms. One day, I'd bring me to Tagaytay or Baguio and buy myself Purple and Pink ones.

Malapit na nga pala ang Mothers' Day. Hint! Hint! :)