Saving the Bamboo Plant

Recently, I mentioned that my bamboo plant was drying out and I suspected that it was due to the move plus the erratic weather here in Singapore. I shifted its position so it now sits in sheltered sunlight for the bulk of the day and gets direct morning sunlight. I also had to drastically trim off all the leaves that looked yellow or dried out. After two weeks, the new leaves are out and looking much better! Although the plant on the whole still looks pretty sad and bare...

Newly grown out leaves on the pretty much bare branches

A little tip on saving our bamboos. They do need a fair amount of water and if your bamboo plant is looking unhappy, consider shifting its location. If you are facing the same problem as I did (yellowing, dry leaves), you might also want to consider "saving" it by trimming off most of its unhealthy leaves along with the stems. Do make sure to check the condition of your bamboo stem before cutting it bare - if the stem is green, it is likely to be healthy and will grow back even if you trim off most of its leaves. However, if the stem is looking dry and has largely turned brown, you might want to hold off on trimming and consult your nearest nursery for advice; they might be able to figure out what's going on with your plant.

And that's all the sharing for today. Happy gardening on this cheery day!

A wall of bleeding hearts

Weeks ago, I reorganised the balcony and said that I was building a wall of bleeding hearts to keep out some of the traffic and get some privacy from (imaginary) prying neighbours. I am happy to share its growth thus far:

This plant definitely enjoys full-on sunlight. You can just see it straining to get more. I'm just really glad it's growing out and can't wait to see the wall complete!

Sprouts

I bought "Known-You" seeds from Eco-city for tomatoes and red coleus plant months ago but was stuck with a pile of work. The other day, when I finally managed to get a break from work (and from being ill), I thought about them. The main worry I had was, would they still germinate and sprout? After all, it's been months and I have to admit, I didn't quite take care of where to store these seeds. Nonetheless, I decided to try my luck with the tomatoes, since I just managed to get some nice planter pots from Daiso. Plus, I felt confident that my shelf would be an ideal place for the tomato plants.

It's only been 5 days since I planted those seeds and they have sprouted!! In addition, I now have seedlings from the lime and yellow watermelon we had at home recently. My husband scoffed at me when I dumped the lemon seed into the pot last night. Yes, I know lemons grow on trees. But hey, I can have it as a bonsai. I hope. Besides, I am of the opinion that it pays off to try dumping seeds into your existing pots because you never know what kind of surprise you might get.

Front right pot of baby lime plant. Cased in greenhouse from Ikea

Growing mess of yellow-watermelon seedlings

Tomato seedlings basking in the sun

So here's hoping all of you have fun trying out those seeds you've always thought of planting and may your little seedlings grow!

Raindrops on the background

I just couldn't resist switching the template of this blog to reflect the kind of weather I would like for this part of the world!

Ok, maybe I wouldn't want it to be rainy everyday. But I do wish that when it rains, it would rain moderately and when it's sunny, it wouldn't be too scorching. Primary reason being, my bamboo is facing a crisis! I guess it really enjoyed the previous location and now that I've shifted it, it's getting a little bit more of the afternoon sun. The leaves have been looking so sad, I decided to crop most of the branches off. As a result, it is looking rather bare... I am not going to post a picture of it looking sad and bare but I would like to report that the vines have been growing slowly, but definitely in the right direction as planned.

Another thing I've been trying to get my hands on are good lavender seeds. Amazon has some wonderful sources but unfortunately, they only ship within the country! I wish I knew a source here we could rely on to get wonderful perennials and plants like lavender, shiso.... The search will continue and when I do track it down, I will be sure to share!

Cheers and hope everyone's been enjoying their holidays & weekends with their plants~~