Orchid In Zen Arrangement

I bought this branch of orchid last week and now they are starting to wilt (not all flower drop but few started to fall down), I trim away the unwanted bits and cut the stem short for another floral design.

Green Farm

I'm testing the hydroponic way of growing vegetables. It is unbelievably simple. As usual, me and hubby like to involve the little gardeners to do the stuff.

Practical ways to grow orchid

Moth Orchid

 Doritis champorensis (correct me if I'm wrong)

Dancing Lady Orchid

Ya, I know, these orchids are gorgeous. BUT, they all are DEAD!

It was few years back, way before I took gardening seriously as my hobby :((( 

Gerbera Floral Design

Just thought of this simple floral design last weekend.  Hope you like it.

Read more ---->

Basil

Basil, do you love the smell? I love love love! I add basil into fried rice; stir fry basil leaves with minced pork, chilies and onions; add some fresh basil leaves into pasta; stir fry lala (clams) with chilies and basil leaves; stew chicken with basil leaves.......and many more!

Gardening Lifestyle

petunia from my garden

May Sarton, a 20th century poet and novelist once wrote:

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.”

I truly love May’s philosophy, that says gardening to be much more than just a hobby, it is more about a lifestyle, a gardening lifestyle. A garden is your own personal statement, it is absolutely up to you to determine what and how you want it to be.

Wishing you have a great week ahead!

How are you going to spend your weekend? 

I'll be in the garden :)

via artistgarden

Zebrina Pendula

The reason I like about Zebrina Pendula is because of its colour, distinct leaf-patterning and small long almond shaped leaf. When I bought this plant from local nursery, I was told that it is very easy to take care. Not so true! Afterwhile, the roots and stems started rotting. I did research, it was due to wet soil. I find this write up is fairly simple to understand - Tradescantia - How to Grow Wandering Jew Plants,  it lists down the growing condition for Zebrina Pendula.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Trees

hmm....shall I trim my fiddle a bit shorter?

I've been hesitating to write a post about fiddle leaf fig tree in this blog. Reason being MIG is a gardening blog rather than a home decor and ID blog. But I think it is undebatable. Home decor and interior design have been part of my lifestyle way before I started gardening. It is therefore, I consider gardening a branch out of my interest in home decor, and both are inseparable.

via The Story of Cotton Tree

Happy Mother's Day to all the great mummies!

Caladium

For leafy and non-flowering houseplants, I like Caladium, particularly those miniature ones. 

Caladium leaves can be shaped like hearts, arrows, or lances. These tropical plants grow from tubers, most known for their colourful foliage, such as red, pink, rose, white, chartreuse, and green. The brilliant foliage of this classic plant is often translucent, which makes them light up your garden.

New leaves, New Life

New leaves coming out, signify new life, and they bring new hopes.

Happiness is seeing new leaves coming out from this already turned bald rose brunches.

Hello, weekend!

I like spending my weekend at home. These home-made cookies are best to go with my cuppa cappuccino....hmm......life....is....good...

Whether you are spending your weekend at home, or at work, or in malls....

Happy Weekend to all of you!

Orchid floral arrangement makeover!

tada! New Makeover!

Those cut flowers we bought from florist normally last for about a week or one and half week before they start showing sign of wilting. No one like to see the rotten flowers and the wilted leaves, but before these flowers get any further rotten (about 20-30% rotten), we can do a makeover for them!

Here what I'll do.

Planters/Pots

You may decorate with some figurines

I have always liked planters or pots, as they relate to both of my interests - home decor and gardening. 

Some times ago, I received a flower basket (in ramie material) from my sister. I love the ramie box bag written " ROYAL POST , ENGLAND". So I keep it in view that I could reuse it one day. I have this habit of keeping wrapping papers, ribbons and trays from floral arrangements that I received as gifts. 

A simple way to add something new into your house is to change the look of the vase or pot. There are many ways to do this, such as wrapping the post with sheer cloths and ribbons, changing the outer planter or pot, or simply add some small figurines to the plants.

Happy Weekend!

How to grow potted rose plant bought from nursery shop?

First day brought back from Cameron Highlands

Have you ever bought some potted rose plants or other plants when visiting Cameron Highlands, or from any other floral nursery shop? How many of you have successfully grow the plants you brought back home since then?

I was so excited that my friend bought me 4 pots of rose plants from Cameron Highlands. Each pot has at least 10-15 flowers and buds. I treat these plants like my babies, I nurture them with lots of efforts and love. I make sure I'm the only one who does the watering but not my helper nor my children. For the first few days, I left these plants indoor to avoid "transplanting shock" as these plants have just came from a rather cooling climate.  Every morning, I would take them out for morning sun. With my diligent care and unconditioned love, I expect the roses will grow and eventually more flowering to come.

However, after the first week, 2 pots started to show wilting instead of growing :(

After 1 week, leaves and flower buds started to wilt, cut out the dried leaves and stems to prevent further
dehydrating process

The wilting process was too fast that within 3-5 days, one pot almost considered dead. The change of climate has made the plants to dry out and dehydrate. I know I have to stop the dehydration in order to save the plant.

What I did to the remaining 3 pots was, I cut out all the dried leaves and stems as well as the wilting flowers and buds. As you know, the dehydrating process is like a disease, it spreads so fast to the other part of the plants. 

I managed to save the plants, at 2nd week, new leaves started forming.

2nd week - plants show sign of growing

6th week - new healthy plant and buds established after transferred to ground

How to make cut flowers last longer

Love the light pastel colour of these roses, the combination of light pink, orange and peach.

I was asked about tips on how to make cut flowers last longer. I did some research and here I summarise the 5 most practical ways to preserve cut flowers so that they could last longer.

I learned that the secret to keeping cut flowers looking good as long as possible is to minimise the growth of bacteria in the water and to provide nourishment to replace what the flower would have gotten had it not been cut. 

Miniature Roses

Full bloom

Amongst many flower plants, miniature rose has a special place in my heart.

Miniature roses are true roses, bred to stay small in size. They have smaller flowers than standard rose bushes, but they come in a variety of types and colors just like the standard rose plants. 

"Miniature roses are perfectly scaled, smaller versions of larger roses, with all the colors, forms, substance, and often, fragrance of full-sized roses. Like other types of roses, each variety of miniature rose has different characteristics, with plant size ranging between 6 inches and 4 feet or more and plant shapes that include bushy, compact, climbing, and cascading."  ~ source : Gardening All-in-One for Dummies

I have a special pot consists of 3 miniature rose plants (pink, orange and yellow). I bought it from a local nursery. It was a tiny pot placed at the corner of the shop.  It din't attract much attention as it wasn't flower that time. I spotted her and took her home without knowing there are actually 3 plants in it (as it look rather a tiny plant). 

I gave it to my daughter as a gift. We both take care of the plant with due diligence and much of love. My daughter would water the plant and took her out for morning sun everyday. 

Not until one fine day, we saw rose buds started coming out. It was pink buds, then we found yellow buds, what not, there was orange buds too! Me and my daughter were overly happy. 

The roses remained planted in small pot for 1.5 years! One fine day I decided to give my miniature roses a new life. hahaha.... I decided to transfer them to ground instead of planting in pot. I managed to clear a small corner for them, a spot where I think will be suitable for roses as it gets direct morning till noon sunlight. I water the roses everyday and perform fertilisation once a week.

After two weeks of transfer, new buds are forming. There were not 3, not 5, there were about 10 buds! 

My humble Miniature Roses is about the size of 12x12  inches

Full bloomed miniature rose is about 1.2x1.2 inches

To give you a better picture for the comparative sizes, the one on the right is the miniature rose, the one in the middle is the common normal size rose. Yah!!!! That's my miniature...how cute it is, I know :)

Simple Orchid in Glass Vase Arrangement

Fresh flower is the fastest way to freshen up a living space. A simple cut flowers in a glass or ceramic vase instantly change the look of a room.  

Today, I bought some fresh orchids and just cut few long green leafs from my garden to make this simple and classic arrangement in unused coffee glass.