A Quick Update.

9 Nov 2011 -  

Thunderstorms and heavy downpour with light hail overnight.
New kangkong / water spinach seeds germinated
Kangkong seedlings transplanted to patch B.
Coriander harvested. Coriander flowering.
Sown more pak choy, corn, spinach, carrot seeds.
Tung O / Edible Garland Chrysanthemum plant flowering.
Water chestnut plants taking off.
Harvesting rocket, spinach, snow peas, coriander and pak choy.

White flies problem.

Grapevine moth caterpillars on vine leaves.

The snow peas are slow to flower but once they do, their flowers quickly turn into pods and grow to maturity very soon.

So this (above) are unopened grape flowers of my Carolina Black Rose.

And this (above) is the flowers blooming. I could see both male and female flowers.

And this (above) is the cluster of grapes!!!

My pyrethrum daisies are a pretty sight.

They are the daisies which produce this chemical 'pyrethrum' that kills garden pests. I guess no insects will come close to them.

Never be sick of admiring my strawberry flowers - such daintiness, such sweetness in smell.

My hydrangeas are flowering soon but their leaves suffered burns by spring sun.

The lilies look even better this year, more blooms!

The Tung O / Edible Garland Chrysanthemum has flowered. I read that at this time, their leaves will be bitter. I hope the plant will self-sow before it dies.

Coriander flowers - I never knew they would be great at attract useful bug predators to my garden.

I am successful at growing choy sum (above) this round.

The pak choy and gai choy are allowed to flower so I can have new seeds, millions of them. Really enjoyable to watch bees clumber over the flowers out of my kitchen window.

Hooray that my water chestnut plants are growing!!! Hope to harvest some nice fresh crunchy corms in autumn!

Spring Harvest & Flowers and Aphid Control

24/25 October 2011 - Cloudy and drizzly.
25 October 2011 - Pioneer bean plants (sown much earlier) emerges.
25 October 2011 - Sown more water spinach/kang kong seeds in pots.
26 October 2011 - Sunny day
26 October 2011 - Loads of aphids on the underleaves of artichokes.
27 October 2011 - Warm spring day.
28 October 2011 -  Warm and windy day. Rains expected in the evening.  It's our 11th wedding anniversary! Off to have a nice meal!

Yesterday was a warm spring day.  My boy and I spent early morning watering the front garden.  I took the advice of one very helper gardener/blogger, Scarecrow, and blasted the under-leaves of my artichoke plants.  Their leaves were virtually coated with green aphids :

There were also lots of tiny winged insects which I strongly believe are lace-wings. However, I did not take chances and blasted all of them off the leaves. I was amazed at what a strong jet could do. Fortunately I have invested in a few fantastic nozzles. When I examined the plants later, they had most of the insects removed. They were on the ground so I decided to spray them with soap solution, in case they crawl up the plants.

Mr/Mrs Spotted Neck preening his feathers on the fence.

It was also a wonderful day watching the mynahs and spotted necked pigeons come feed in our garden. Oh I can stand at the kitchen window just watching these creatures. I told my son I wish I could stroke the pigeon in my hand but I know he/she would just feel feathery haha...

Mr/Mrs Spotted Neck balancing on the plate for seeds. Very funny to watch.

Mr/Mrs Spotted Neck decided to have a sun-bath.

I harvested more rocket from the planter. Oh they taste so yummy with sandwiches. Even my husband and son love them :

Also harvested my son's favourite herb, Coriander. He would eat them fresh off the plant :

The few pots of herbs (Vietnamese Mint, Bay, Coriander, Thyme) are doing well bathing in morning sun daily :

We were counting lady bug babies on the peach tree. There were more than 15 of various sizes. Oh thank you lady bugs for doing a good deed feeding on the aphids!!!

The first spring rose has opened. My only rose plant, a standard, was also plagued by aphids. Thankfully, my boy discovered them and we were able to spray with pyrethrum. My husband kept 'threatening' to pull up this rose as it is useless. Of course I objected because I have pruned it into a beautiful healthy plant. Was it my imagination, it actually have a mild fragrance now! :

Pak Choy flowers. Edible, pretty, dainty and very fragrant. They attract bees :

 This year, our fig (brown turkey) 'Figgy' is looking better than ever. But it only has two figs at the moment. I yearn for more! :

 Our grevillea has beautiful curly flowers.  I am going to try get some sweet nectar, just like the honeyeaters :

 As usual, the arum lilies never fail to disappoint. Such a pretty sight :

Carolina Black Rose Alive!!!

How exciting! I am totally over the moon as if I have struck lottery. That was how my hubby described me. My Carolina Black Rose Grape vine is alive! I found 3-4 green buds on it. A while ago, it looked like a dried forked twig and I have sort of lost hope that it would live. I will have to fertilise it and plan the support soonest, oh as well as protection against my golden retriever Marco. The pomegranate, which I have no clue about its name, is putting on beautiful red leaves. I plan to spray it with a mixture of pyrethrum and white oil in case of white flies or scale attack as last seasons.

I have propagated two pots of Aoenium. As I am clearing up more planting areas with my lawn revamp, I may need new plants.

Planted a little pot of coriander here in Patch C after the seeds germinated.

Most of the seeds - kang kong (water spinach), chilli padi, tomato silvery fir, cucumber, bittermelon - I have planted and pots kept in this plastic container (to imitate greenhouse environment) have germinated. It has been a really cold spring start and they are growing very very slowly. I wish I have a glass or green house to speed up things.

The pot of chives has also germinated. It is doing better out in the cold.

A new pot of thyme germinating too.

I had to remove growing pups from my original aloe vera pot as they were overcrowding the pot. This two are some of the babies I have removed. I think soon I can start some plant sale?

Herbs and Vegetables Update

My 6 snow peas are towering, flowering and fruiting.

The chilli fire plant looks a bit haggard but I think it will pick up when weather warms up. I have removed the plastic around it and the fleece above it which I used in winter to protect it from cold, winds and frost.

This little rosemary bush is doing well. I propagated it from my original rosemary plant. It does not get much sun and had powdery mildew at times. Not the problem has cleared and it is taking off at its site.

I harvested some yummy greens for dinner : silver beet

Here are the mustard greens (Gai Choy) and spinach growing under net. The spinach are so slow. I think once the weather warms up, it will take off and then start produce flowers instead.

I gave this tuft of lemon grass a hair cut. It was all brown and straggly. Wondering if it will be okay. Wondering if they will grow. All five clumps of lemon grass looked really bad after the winter. Come the next winter, I will have to protect them if they survive this season.

Planted coriander in Patch C where the kaffir lime and lemon grass are.

This little clump of chives (Gu Chye) is doing well and clumping after I harvested it. I intend to buy a few more pots to plant at this spot so I can cook up a dish with squids or fried bean curd.

One strong parsley seed has found its way next to the shed where it does not get much sun but it is growing well.

Tomatoes, Cucumber, Capsicum and Coriander

A cloudy day with predicted rain. It's indeed very rewarding to see the fruits of my labour. Two yellow capsicums are ripening under the last few days of hot sun : I harvested one capsicum along with a few tomatoes and a bunch of coriander. Hmmm...something for my lunch :

Few days ago, another batch of ripened tomato silvery fir and a large cucumber for dinner :

Looking forward to harvesting more greens such as buk choy, silver beet and sweet potato leaves...