This Is Just Lovely

One of Nissa’s gifts during my birthday is this lovely plant called Rattlesnake Calathea (the one in the middle). It is commonly called prayer plant. I have another variety of this in my garden.

I didn’t even know that this could be used as indoor plant. I transferred and repotted some plants yesterday. The garden is doing good.

Garden Finds

Quite ashamed. I think it’s been more than a year since I posted here but you can always visit my main blog DREAMS AND ESCAPES (arlene1956.wordpress.com).

I am presently enamoured with white flowers. Aside from those I have posted here earlier, I was able to find more blooms yesterday. Here are some plants I haven’t posted here yet.

These are called button flowers, otherwise known as Globe Amaranth and Bachelor’s Button.

My white Ruellia. I used to have only the purple ones but over the years, white and pink sprouted.

Ah, my scented Kamuning. It replaced my dead Gardenia.

Just bought these yesterday, an orange and yellow Cosmos.

Yeay for white button flowers.

It is called Bridal Bouquet and has white flowers too

Snow White. Look at the variagated leaves. They look like flowers of the plant.

Sunshine. What a lovely name for a plant. It bears white flowers too.

Which is more colorful, the orange or yellow Cosmos.

My pink Ruellia. Used it to greet the new month.

There are actually plenty more. Will upload them some other time.

Oh, It’s Papaya

Every now and then, a papaya seedling grows in our backyard garden but it never reaches that stage where it would bear flowers until now.

I love papaya for the simple reason that the green fruit is best in our Filipino recipe called tinola. Tinola is best with chicken cutlets sauteed in onions, garlic and ginger. You add sliced papaya when the chicken is almost done then you can also add fresh moringa leaves and green pepper. Simmer until everything is cooked.

I took some shots of our lone papaya tree bearing flowers and it is fruiting at last.

The lovely flower of the tree.

Look at that, the young fruit is just a bud.

Our two kitties at peace with the world beneath the papaya tree.

SNAKE PLANTS

Commonly known to us as Sansevieria ot mother-in-law’s tongue. There are around seventy species of snake plants all native to tropical and sub-tropical regions.

I only have two varieties in my garden now. I have lots of the dwarf ones. It used to be that these plants are just ignored by some gardeners but lately, this has become a prized plant in one’s garden. Most pots are sold by the hundred and even thousands.

The Snake Plant cleans air better than most other indoor plants as it has the ability to absorb excessive amounts of carbon monoxide. Additionally, it emits oxygen and filters other toxins from the air such as benzene, xylene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde.

You could use them indoors, even in your bedrooms.

 

 

Catching Up

Spent an afternoon yesterday and an early morning today cutting the carabao grass closer to the roots. It’s a monthly activity that cannot be avoided. Tooks some shots early this morning while the sun was still hiding.

The carabao grass grows rapidly so I decided to cut it closer to the roots.

I miss our Koi fish at the pond.

I need to transfer some of those prayer plants.

A cluster of pink Bougainvillea.

My calamansi trees bear fruits at all times of the year.

Quite a nice surprise. It may turn into a lovely butterfly yet.

One of our jackfruits trees….early fruiting!

 

Greens

Took some more shots of my ornamental plants early this morning. More greens in the garden.

Planted this a year ago as a very thin cuttings then when it bloomed, it rewarded me with a very nice and soothing scent.

 

I keep forgetting its name.

 

I know this as white grass. Do you know its scientific name?

 

My larged-leaf taro. It’s edible. I use it for my “laing”.

 

My Eugenia plant. You can shape it any way you want.

 

Bougainvillea flowers atop my Arius tree.

 

I think this still belongs to the family of Caladium.

 

A flowering Adenium

 

 

 

My prayer plants. They fold their leaves in the afternoon.

 

Most of them are green, my flowering plants are just the Vinca,  Zinnia, Fukien Tea, Crossandra, Bougainvillea, Bleeding Hearts, Pink Angels and Shrimp plants.

Practicing With My New Camera Phone

It’s been a while, and I mean the last time I updated this site was more than two months ago. I love my new phone camera. So easy to take photos. Tried it again this morning taking photos of plants thriving in the garden.

Fire spike or mottled toothed thread.

 

When the flowers mature, they would look like  green Celosia.

 

They are called Golden Candle or shrimp plants.

 

My Pink Angels but I am sure there is another name for it.

 

This is where my Gardenia used to be. I miss its lovely and scented blooms.

 

My Crossandra flowers. They bloom everywhere in the garden.

 

Bleeding Hearts. Would you believe, the actual flowers are the red ones at the tip.

 

My Calamansi trees. Can you see the green and light yellow fruits?

 

 

Latest Blooms

So I wouldn’t have to adjust these high res shots, I am posting them all here. So glad for the garden visit a while ago.

Pretty, pretty flowers in almost every tip. My dwarf pink Plumeria

My Orange lily. Planted them in several pots at the back of the garden and they are flowering now.

My ever reliable and sturdy Crossandra.

Yellow Shrimp plants. Replanted a few cuttings a few months again and they are now blooming too.

Why do I keep forgetting the name of this plant?

My blue ternatea. It has so many pods and I don’t know what to do with them. I collected the dried ones to give to friends and for future planting.

A Shrimp plant in different color and different shape.

I keep uprooting this one but it keeps on blooming. It is susceptible to aphids.

Ah, this is it. My kadyos (pigeon pea). Finally, I could see the flowers at the tip. It won’t take long before harvest. So excited.

I am nurturing an Orange Bougainvillea but it is taking so long to flower.

And it’s that kind of peace and quiet that you can only find in a garden.

 

Flowers And Blooms

Finally!

I can’t help but be happy about this. My blue ternatea’s first bloom! Planted this a few months ago. The seeds were given by our friendly neighbor. It is thriving so well.