Just happy with my Tillandsia giving off flowers. 🙂
Tillandsia Blooms
Category Archives: garden
Beezzy Bees in the Garden
These white flowers, I don’t know the name blooms in bunches once in a while and the flowers will last for just half a day.
Its sweet scent will cover the entire area and the buzzing bees of course.
The bee with blue and black bands below is a regular visitor of my Lantana camara plant .I noticed him flying around that plant  just last month. and it keeps on coming back.
Bitter Melon in My Yard Garden
Bitter melon or popularly known as ampalaya in the Philippines tasted bitter. Hehe 🙂 Seriously now…  I love it, it’s one of my favorite vegetable and it’s really good with omelette . Others, especially the kids don’t like the bitter taste of it, so after chopping, the mother  will squeezed it with salt to extract and remove the bitterness. I like it  bitter where nutrients are not drained out. I tried it eaten raw, chopped with a dash of salt. This would also make a perfect blend for sinuglaw, a recipe of mixed grilled meat and fresh raw fish cured in vinegar, lemon and spices. The young shoots were also good for cooking, even the leaves, I can add it with any dishes, but not too much because it will overpower the taste of your recipe.
Planting this tropical climbing vine them does not need any major preparations. I just used the seeds taken out from the bitter melon which I bought from the local supermarket. I sow the seeds on the spot where I wanted them to grow. The ones that grow at the back of our house turned yellowish in color and not looking healthy maybe because the area was too hot for them.Â
My bitter melon plant keep on producing  fruit and my neighbors were also enjoying it. In just one seed there’s a lot of fruit to harvest. It’s worth to be planted in the yard.
Growing Mung Beans
I decided to plant mung beans or commonly known in my country as Mongo beans out of curiosity. I wanted to see what and how they will turned out as they mature as plants. I only see them as seeds and sprouts. I was thinking that maybe planting mung beans will be just an easy task because I remember myself sprouting these seeds when I was still in grade school but I really never get the chance to see them full-grown.
Mung beans are nutritious and rich in protein. We can have them  at a low price and a cup of these beans can feed the family. Both the seeds and sprouts are commonly served in a variety of  Filipino dishes. Makes a good dessert too, like Halo-halo.
I remember when I still lived with my parents, before my mother will add the cooked beans to her recipe, she will saved some for me in a bowl. When it cooled down, I will add crushed ice, powdered milk and brown sugar or sweetened milk if there’s no powdered milk available, but I liked it more with powdered milk. 🙂
Okay, back to my plant. I soaked the seeds in water until it germinated before sowing it out in the prepared bed at the backyard, where it can get a full sun. And I was right with the thought that they were easy to take care of.
The seed pods were hairy and becomes hardy and brittle as it matures.
They changed in color from green, turned to darker color, then to complete black. I had to tie them for support as they tend stoop down.  The black ones can be harvested and the shell  gets drier and brittle as it matures. You don’t want the seeds to explode and shattered on the ground. I placed the pods in a metal pan, and had it sun-dried, to remove the excess moisture.
After drying I stored the beans in the jar, I was so happy with the experience, seeing this plants grow and being able to harvest them.
Field of Cabbages on the Mountainside
As we we’re climbing up on a mountain, we passed by a field of cabbages. The farmers were still there taking off the weeds and most of them were women. We brought one huge cabbage head. The harvested crops will then be carried by a horse, the best and most fitted guy that can mount these vegetables crossing a terrain like this. It will then be picked up by a truck and  delivered to the city’s markets.
Green Onions in Containers
I wanted to show you my green onion plants. It’s one of the “must have spices” in our kitchen. And always an important spice for my noodle recipes. So, I planted just enough that will satisfy our needs.  I started out by planting  just a small part of the white stalk with roots which I bought from the supermarket. From then on, I am  no longer  spending money for green onions with the benefit of getting fresh produce.
When I needed some, I just cut  a part using scissors or knife, leaving the roots to grow back again.
I don’t  have a big space for gardening, We only have a small place. So most of my plants were planted in containers. I planted in used plastic bags, plastic pots, clay pots, or recycled containers.  I put strings on some of the light weight pots so I could hang them to keep them free from hoppers, slugs and snails.
These are my green onion plants.  🙂
Tomatoes: A Gift from Nature
I was really having a hard time growing tomatoes in my garden. I sowed the seeds, eventually, it sprouted and developed into a young plant. I felt happy and satisfied seeing that it did well. I watched over it everyday.  But when its flowers were starting to bloom, That’s  the time when  the real challenge took place. Aphids were attacking my plant. I tried searching for solutions in Google and followed the suggestions. I tried the water and soap solution, garlic solution, chili solution, and oil solution. I planted marigold as a companion plant for my tomatoes and tried it with mint and basil. I kept planting over and over again. I planted them in containers and even made  a raised bed for my precious tomatoes.  I was able to plant on the four sides of our yard. But all my attempts  ended with failure.
Then at long last I got tired and stopped…. hehe 🙂
I came to a point of accepting that planting tomatoes was really not for me.
After a long while, I started planting again hoping that  I will make it.  And I gained same result. It’s a hands up for me.
One day, I noticed a tomato plant growing in our yard, but I just ignored it, thinking that it will not survive. It keeps on growing and its  flowers bloom. So, I inspected it and was amazed that it’s clean. No aphids!  I cultivated the soil around it and  installed a support for the plant. It continually grow and bear fruits. Lots of tomatoes in just one plant that I was able to share with my neighbors. This is a gift from nature. Thank you for letting me experience the joy of having this plant.
Pechay Planted in an old Frame with Screen Used for Printing Shirt
Actually, I used any recycled flat trays that are available in the house, but mostly, it’s the plastic shallow  trays  that comes along as packaging of some fruits and vegetables bought from the supermarket. What I did was, I just poked some holes on it, fill it with soil, sprinkle the seeds all over, then finished it with another layer of soil (just a bit). The problem with shallow trays is that they will get dry so fast, so I really have to look for it. If I will go for a walk and will not be around for a couple of days, I’ll secure it in a place where it will still be watered. What I really love in using these flat trays is that I’m not having a hard time in transplanting the seedlings to another container or bed because the roots are not that deep. I also tried to plant the seeds to its supposedly final pot or container but there is lesser chance that it will grow compared to using a seed starting tray or anything that  can hold soil.
The one in the picture is an old frame with screen used for printing shirts. I think, I have about, eight  of  it at the back of my house. I still wanted to make use of it instead of throwing it right away so I planted pechay ( bok choy) seeds on it.  Few days later, I’ve been very busy with school which gave me no time to transplant the growing seedlings. And when I did, I was able to transfer some of them but some died because they were competing for space and water. I decided to leave the healthiest pechay in the tray, I think he liked it there already.
This is another pechay that I planted in a plastic container, tied it with a wire then hanged it on the sides to save space and keep it from snails and grasshoppers.
Filling The Empty Shell
Truly what’s done cannot be undone.
But it doesn’t stop me to move on
Like an empty shell that has been filled.
Life is filled with moments.
Fate will demand to let go a dear one
 It will break me but I must walk the walk.
It’s not the end of my  story yet
It’s just that their part of my story has come to an end.Â
Say goodbye to what’s lost
And appreciate what is still there.
Look forward to what’s coming next.
In every end comes a new beginning.
Live life.Â
” A trash like the empty shell can still be meaningful. It’s impossible to put the egg yolk back inside the shell. Same with people, we must not let this emptiness to us  drag us down and becomes rotten. and decompose without fighting. Who knows that this thrown out empty shell can still have its use and be meaningful? Same with us, there are times which we may think that we reached the end of the line, but there’s always a way if we hold on. God will make a way when there’s seems to be no way. Be happy. It’s great to be alive!”
Dabawenyo Life 