Christmas Turkey!

Fooooood !!
Imagine the anticipation to eat, lingering smells of roast and pizza filling up the house ..
All the laughters, teases, catching ups, card games and more food !!

We had roast turkey on Christmas day!! Our first time for my parents and inlaws (and their families). Being Chinese, we also had roast chicken (2 birds) just in case. 4 large pizzas for growing nephews & nieces; not forgetting a tin-barrel of deep fried keropok. My hubby made tuna sandwich (his proud recipe) and had 4 angels to assist him. Watermelons and pink agar-agar as dessert.

Coffee break specially brewed by 'Ah Ma' (who's also my mum-inlaw) to accompany with cookies and more food !!

We were filled to the brim that we voted (unanimously) for a 'light' dinner. ;-)

I've created a video clip from the pics we (Daniel & I) took, now looking for suitable christmas tune to go with it.

Zinnias for a sunny garden

Growing Zinnia is said to be easy; "No flowers are easier to grow than zinnias - just plant, stand back and watch them grow into cheerful, brilliantly colored blooms perfect for cutting. The red and bright-pink varieties are especially attractive to butterflies." - quote eHow, http://www.ehow.com/how_6794_grow-zinnias.html
Zinnias need three things to survive: sunny spot, dirt, and some water. If you want your zinnias to thrive, they'll need lots of sun, good soil, and regular water. Zinnias are not particular to soil, are drought resistant and has disease resistance. Zinnias member of the large Aster family of plants, originate from Mexico and were brought to Europe in 1613. They are named after a medical professor, Johann Gottfried Zinn.

I bought 2 black-bags of Zinnias, one (Ferrari) red, 'Heartland Red', and the other pink from USJ nursery, and transplanted into a 16" shallow terracotta pot. The same pot once housed Bluewings-Torenias. Perhaps we over-watered, because the red faded and died after 3 days from transplanting. It is placed to face west for full 5-6 hours noon-sun; protected from heavy downpour from the roof of porch. Our madagascar perinwinkle (catharanthus roseus) and yellow flower (still think it's Kerria) are indicators for pot-watering.

theflowerexpert advises: Zinnias are sensitive to root disturbance, so be especially careful when transplanting. If the taproot is disturbed, the double flowers may revert to single forms. The plants may also self-seed in the garden ... Most zinnias will bloom around three months to bloom from seed.

theflowerexpert advises: the growth is slow or leaves look pale green, fertilize with a soluble or controlled release fertilizer. Pinch young plants when they are 4-6inches high to promote compact, bushy growth. Good air circulation helps prevent onset of fungal leaf diseases. Deadhead spent flowers weekly if possible to promote additional bloom and maintain plant appearance. http://www.theflowerexpert.com/flower-blog/default/2006/01/07/How-to-Grow-Zinnias.html?page=comments

It is mentioned that Zinnias are annual plants and propagate through seedlings. So we see how this pot goes. Will keep you updated.

Update on Jan 3: It lasted less than a month since purchased and celebrated Christmas with us. After pulling out a decaying red Zinnia (in the background), pink Zinnia started to faded quickly and turned brown within a week. I think I should stick to single-flower Zinnias!

Blooming during Christmas

Madagascar periwinkles reaching for the stars .. hehe

We love having 'Apricot Delight' (white pinkish with red dot in the middle) but it grows slower than the other two ('Grape Cooler', 'Pacifica Red').

It's thriving in this single pot. Must avoid from heavy downpour contact - ruins its blooms & foliage and further damage, root rot. Avoiding rain would mean daily watering or else you'll find its foliage all shriveled up. Careful not to over-water.

Zinnia, our latest addition. We had red Zinnia, red like the color of ang-pou or the Ferrari red. But the pink Zinnia did better, slow blooming. On a lookout for any sprouting of new stems. It is placed receiving full sun for 3-4 hours; that's wonderful for our garden (west). Try hard not to over-water ;-P


Minor Vinca periwinkle, we fondly called it 'ChengEng periwinkle', gift from brother-in-law. After a month of transplanting onto ground soil, it showed our first double-blooms!

Liquid fertilizer fortnightly to induce blooming is recommended.

Lovely crimson-red flowers striking against its dark foliage. Dark foliage with shiny sheen of red blush.

Liquid fertilizer fortnightly to induce blooming is recommended.

Love cultivated like a garden

Surprise! Surprise!

Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing. --Jim Rohn

I didn't see it coming, because hubby orchestrated so well without a glitch. The celebrative feeling of christmas and winter solstice round the corner camouflage this day; but hubby and everyone (loved ones) made it so special for me.

T-H-A-N-K ^__^ Y-O-U !!

Mini blooms in millions

You've got that "cheery" feeling

18 days since we brought from the nursery, thriving calibrochoa despite rainy season and approx. 4-6 hours of sunlight. I'm delighted receving its continuous blooms even after I had it divided into 3 pots. Its colours brings the kind of cheery feeling when strolling in the garden. It blooms better when facing west as compared to a pot-stand facing north.

From top: Northwest corner window-sill (1st & 2nd); Southwest corner window-sill.

Lastly, North-facing next to our main door. When faded bloom fell, leaves behind a black hollow dot in middle. Kind of cute, like a tiny-black-face on a green starfish! ;-)

*cheery feeling: bright and pleasant; "a cheery hello"; "a gay sunny room"; "a sunny smile" (wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn) / showing or suggesting good spirits (thefreedictionary)

Update on 03/02/2009; This plant has not re-flowered since to my disapointment. Perhaps I need to relocate them for full sun throughout the day.

Place them in full sun, shade will severely limit the number of flowers. Superbells are self cleaning, you do not have to pinch off spent flowers. It can take the heat of hot southern summers making it a good replacement for petunias, and they can be perennial in zones 7 and warmer. www.shelbylandscaping.com/html/calibrochoa.html; http://www.naturehills.com/product/trailing_rose_superbells_calibrachoa.aspx

Going Gets Tough, Tough Gets Going

Cement blocks in our yard. What a surprise when my hubby lifted the fallen blocks to find little frog pinned underneath but still alive!

It must have been there for many hours. And we suspect that it was a stray cat's handiwork.

Frog saved by the block ;-P

After 3 months from the nursery, an episcia bloom.

We had a garden maintenance a week ago. Landscaper accidentally knock this pot-stand over. Poor Episcia hit hard on the ground.

The next day, I noticed there were broken stems hanging loosely - I managed to salvage half of it and re-potted. Suddenly I become an Episcia grower. [Updated May-1,'09]

I did some pruning and removed dead leaves. Thankfully our (only) episcia plant survived, show & tell with a striking red bloom. A knock to life!

10 days to Christmas !

A Stuffed Turkey!

A Mistletoe!

A Decorated Tree!

Melodious Songs!
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/Xmas/away_in_a_manger.htm

for many merry faces .. ;-)

As we journey through Advent - this weekend, to contemplate on the anticipation of the coming Christ. A papal quote that for this season, the Church is called to be hope, for itself and the whole world.

My thoughts - 2008 brings the good and the bad, ups and downs; not forgetting major changes; awakening in our faith, politics, racial issues, world economy, natural disasters. Of the many things we took for granted, we learnt to care, empathise and outreach. And as the year ends, "we hope" for happier tidings to come; while we anticipate the coming 2009.

Have a Merry Christmas week because - "Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present." Jim Rohn

We hope this Christmas enriches your life;
May each day be happy and bright,
Overflowing with pleasure and love;
May your Christmas be filled with delight.

By Karl Fuchs

A photogenic dragonfly

Wishing to keep it as a pet. When distracted, it seem to fly off to distance then return to this spot within 3 seconds. It must be sun-tanning! Been around for 4 days, at that spot, then it went missing after a couple days of heavy downpour.

When mating, dragonflies form a heart shape (symbol of love). They symbolise our ability to transform ourselfs through a spiritual awakening. If you see a dragonfly in an unusual place or setting, it is probably a good symbol meaning luck, transformation, or spiritual awakening. It is also said to symbolise the ability to see reality, to see through illusion. http://blog.spiritsun.net/2008/07/25/spiritual-symbols-butterfly-and-dragonfly.aspx

The dragonfly has been maligned in many cultures in Europe and western world. E.g. a Romanian folk tale says that the dragonfly was once a horse possessed by the devil. Swedish legend holds that trolls use the dragonflies as spindles when weaving their clothes, as well as sending them to poke out the eyes of their enemies. The Southern United States term "snake doctor" refers to a folk belief that dragonflies follow snakes around and stitch them back together if they are injured.
In East Asia and among Native Americans, the dragonflies have a far better reputation, can also be said to have positively influenced modern day views about dragonflies in most countries, the insect's namesake "dragon", has a positive image in the east, but association with evil in the west.

For some Native American tribes; they represent swiftness and activity, and for the Navajo; they symbolize pure water. It is said in some Native American beliefs that dragonflies are a symbol of renewal after a time of great hardship. In Japan dragonflies are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness, and they often appear in art and literature, especially haiku.


Dragonflies typically eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants and butterflies. They are therefore valued as predators, since they help control populations of harmful insects. Dragonflies are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic. Adult dragonflies do not bite or sting humans, though nymphs are capable of delivering a painful bite. (wikipedia)
Traditional uses as medicine in Japan and China; a delicacy in Indonesia. Vietnamese have a traditional way to forecast rain: "Chuồn chuồn bay thấp thì mýa, bay cao thì nắng, bay vừa thì râm" (Dragonflies fly at low level, it is rainy; dragonflies fly at high level, it is sunny; dragonflies fly at medium level, it is shadowy).

Lifespan can be as short as six months or as long as six or seven years. Most of a dragonfly's life is spent in the larval stage (nymph), living in water, breathing through gills, and feeding on smaller aquatic animals -- sometimes even tadpoles and small fish. As an adults, they live for about four more months.

"For the Japanese; an auspicious symbol, with its wonderful iridescent colors".

Good morning to Bright, Sunny and Yellow

2 months later, Yellow Alder (Turnera ulmifolia) grown quite bushy and blooming profusely - blooms once but everyday!

a) Our Sunday morning greeted by 6 bright-yellow blooms

b) New stems emerging.

d) Torenia Wishbone 'Bluewings' in the background (brought by in-law) have all faded and died. Now, countless seedlings has emerged - have yet to snap a pic when they are bigger and significant. I'm scarce-watering, for fear of root-rot.

c) Checkout the grasshopper. What do Grasshoppers Eat? Grasshoppers are herbivores. They eat plants, and lots of them.

November Rain

These were the last few blooms mid-November, I snapped pictures after a heavy shower. November has been filled with torrential rains for 2 to 4 hours. Sometimes it rains twice in a day (broad daylight and dark night). Makes me wonder how pretty shrubs could withstand all those abuse.

Miniature Roses, Heliconia, Sanchezia and calathea doing well. Those didn't are Ajuga and Wishbone. I saved Madagascar Periwinkle by pushing its pot inwards away from the heavy downpour. Periwinkle 'Apricot Delight’ didn't do well like 'Terrace Vermilion'.

Good thing though as these rains bring lovely cool winds into our home and strings together the melodious symphony of rain pitter-pattering on our roof. These soothing sounds of nature lulls us to sleep.

Calibrachoa (small petunia, million bells)

An exact beauty at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, Texas (US) http://purpleranch.blogspot.com/2008/04/calibrachoa-at-purple-ranch-lavender.html.

Here's Jim McCausland on Calibrachoa, "This plant - like small petunias, and for years that's what many botanists thought they were. More recently Calibrachoa came to be recognized as a separate genus. This plant spreads and mounds like petunias, but its 1-inch-wide flowers resist the geranium (tobacco) budworms that chew petunias. Since Calibrachoa freely drops its faded flowers, you never have to deadhead. Treat Calibrachoa as a warm-season annual in Sunset climate zones 2–24. However, in mild-winter areas of California (zones 8, 9, 14–24), Calibrachoa can be grown as a perennial (it's hardy to about 23°). Million Bells, the first series on the market, comes in both trailing and mounding forms. The new Superbells series has slightly larger blooms in the blue, pink, red, and white range. For warm tones, look for the MiniFamous series." http://www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/article/0,20633,713304,00.html

Initially Calibrachoa (sometimes known as "Million Bells") are thought to be closely related to the petunia. However on further examination it has been found that there are major differences in chromosomes and breeding behaviour between Calibrachoa and petunias. The name Calibrachoa comes from Antonio de Caly Bracho, who was a Mexican professor of pharmacy (wikipedia).

It grows up to 6-12 in. (15-30 cm) and 1/2 the size of a petunia. Prefers Full Sun / Partial Shade. Blooms repeatedly. Its foliage are herbaceous and propagate through stem cuttings (plant does not set seed, flowers are sterile, or plants will not come true from seed) - patented cultivars unknown. Usually cuttings from firm stems with two leaf nodes (rooting hormone not required) stuck in regular potting mix, kept warm. Plant three to four cuttings per hanging basket, which will finish in 6-11 weeks. Calibrachoa will take 1-2 weeks longer than petunias.

Recommended to grow in hanging-baskets or where you can control the water saturation because it will flower less or dies when plants roots gets too wet all the time. Calibrachoa is considered to be relatively heavy feeders (200-300 ppm nitrogen); so be sure to keep plantings fertilized to prevent yellowing and lack of flowering. Most of the propagators suggest pinching the plants when they are transplanted, and then repeatedly pinching at 3- to 4-week intervals as needed. Once established it can handle heat and drought.

I bought this Calibrachoa in a plastic 6" hanging-pot from Bukit Rimau nursery today. Had it transplanted into 3 pots shown above. Hanging-pots doesn't appeal to me as you need to reach really high up for frequent light waterings, fertilizing and impossible task to check for pest. Calibrachoa in 2 baskets is placed at our single-window sills (outdoor facing West). While the one in a tall stand is placed next to our main door (North). Unlike the Old Fashioned Vining Petunia, it doesn't have any scent but it's vivid purple color will attract appreciating eyes when one passes by our porch. My fingers are crossed that mine will look as lush as Purple Ranch's and spreads like Jim McCausland's!