The Rain

It's been raining unpredictably lately and I've just been stressing over whether my newly potted plants will survive this wet spell. Just wanted to share that the rainy may appear to be a friend but can, to lazy amateurs like me, be a greater foe!

My balcony has an open roof-top and whenever it rains, it feels like it poured. Being the complacent beginner that I was, I assumed that my plants would be drinking enough and I didn't have to water that much. I was also worried that the roots would rot more than they would dry. Never was I so wrong. Within a couple of days, two of my best greens dried out, despite the heavy downpour just that very day. Not all my plants died because as it turned out, some had better access to the water.

One big warning for me: Just because Nature's watering doesn't mean I can neglect. So fellow urban gardeners, if you have a balcony just like mine and are considering letting Nature do its job, do consider doing yours too and check those greens of yours before it's too late!

Summertime Blossoms. Can you guess from where?

All you need to pot a plant

These photos were, again, taken at night. A big thank you to my friend who stayed & took them for me while I occupied myself with the plants.

Here're the items I used for re-potting:
Organic compost, my hand shovel & pair of scissors, Japanese loose tea bags, medium-sized kitchen bag, the plant I intend to re-pot and my new container from Ikea.

Trimming the kitchen bag. 

Ripping the tea bag and laying it flat.

First, I trim the bag so it fits nicely in the container. Then, I poke a few holes at the base of the bag and use it to line the container. Then I prepare to line the base with the tea bag that I've ripped open. I use it as a base, primarily to minimize the loss of soil while ensuring that excess water can drain easily.

This is what the base of the bag should look like after it's lined with the tea bag. 

I start filling the bag with soil once the prep-work is done. I usually use a mix of potting soil, compost and the mixed soil I get from nurseries. You might want to research the type of soil your plant favours. My orchids tend to have little to no soil - I use just charcoal because orchid roots are sensitive to the amount of water they sit in. Too much and they start rotting.

Filling the bag with soil. 

This time, I am re-potting the false heather I bought from Ikea. The plants you get from nurseries, supermarkets and Ikea usually come in unattractive plastic pots. Some people choose to keep the plants in those pots and place them in more decorative ceramic pots. I usually re-pot mine, primarily so they have a bigger space to grow and also because I like having more than one type of plant in each pot.

Placing the heather to the left of the pot.

I've trimmed some branches off my lemon-balm and in the picture, you'll notice that I've cleared off most of the leaves, leaving just some at the top and a nearly bare stem. These stems are then inserted into the soil. Once they're where I want them to be, I place them in the sunniest spot of the house and wait for those lemon balm to take root and the false heather to adapt to its new home.

Newly potted greens

If you're adventurous and would like to try growing a plant from seed, just be sure to follow the instructions given at the back of the pack. Seed packets are sold in all supermarkets that have a plant section and of course, in the nurseries. They usually feature a picture of the plant in bloom or with fruit and clear instructions on care for the plant.

A periwinkle seed packet. 

The seeds come in a sealed packet. 

Here I have a sample of periwinkle seeds. The outer package is usually paper while the seeds are contained in a sealed bag within. If you have a bag of seeds but don't intend to plant all of them at once, make sure you seal the inner bag again. Otherwise, you'll find it hard for your leftover seeds to germinate when you eventually decide to plant them.

Gardening can be as easy or as tedious as you want it to be. If you're an amateur like me, there's no harm in starting out simple!

Potting plants

We shifted into our current flat nearly two years ago. Before the move, I'd re-potted my Indian rubber plant in a super big pot and placed a few of my small cacti at the base, along with the zig-zag. My rationale had been to make use of the moving service and save myself the hard labour of shifting a huge plant. It worked. My Indian rubber grew and it was really only a couple months ago that I realised it's supposed to be a tree. Very intelligent, I know. But since I'd also seen this plant in a nursery being shaped as a big "bonsai", I decided to saw off its branches the other day. I'm hoping it'll still thrive and I get to cultivate it as a home-plant. 

A picture of a baby bird we saved (which unfortunately didn't survive) with my bonsai as a backdrop. 

A restriction I set for myself when I shifted into the new pad was avoid making holes in the walls, no matter the purpose. But I am always tempted by those hanging, draping plants and was aware that orchids grow best when hung. Within months, I caved in and hammered a hook out on the balcony. I remembered it was the beginning of the year and the morning sun shone into the right of the apartment. I stupidly forgot that the location shifts as the year progresses and decided to place the hook in the rightmost corner, where I assumed the plant would be able to get max. morning shine. Within weeks, it shifted and the left of the balcony had most sun. My orchid (the white one I featured in a previous entry) grew really sad and withered. I've not placed any hanging plants there since and decided that I am not going to get any plants that need to be hung. 

I am glad that I had excess containers from IKEA that were under-utilised. I decided to make use of them to re-pot my dying herbs. They are so nifty and I can hang my plants virtually anywhere now, without making any holes in the wall. I've been posting pictures of these containers so I won't include one here. But do check my next entry on how I pot my plants in them. 

Weekend of rest

Had a pretty long weekend to plan and think about the plants to be potted in my new containers! Will be sharing how I plant my greens and herbs in the next entry.
Meanwhile, I'm keeping my eyes wide open for more plants that are suitable as HDB greens...

A new pot of plant. Taken at night from the kitchen window.