New Year 2015

It's 3 more days before New Year 2015!

2014 had so many ups and downs! All to be remembered, learned from and appreciated!

I never really concentrated on the garden on the 1st half of the year. Nevertheless the garden plants and vegetables have survived well! Pest are doing a lot of damage when I turn my back. For 2014, snail was my biggest enemy! I have declare war with them. I can't tolerate and have peace with them.

One of my resolution for year 2014 was to reduce pesticide however, I didn't achieve the target. Hope I will be more environmental friendly  next year!

 I hope 2015 bring more joy and Happiness to all of us!

Wishes

I would like to wish all blogger friends who celebrate Christmas "Merry Christmas!" To the rest Happy Holiday! Hope all have a wonderful moment with loved ones!

GBBD- Dec 2014

This is the last month for the year 2014. Time fly so fast! In 2 weeks time we are going to celebrate new Year 2015!

This will the 2014 final show of flowers in my garden. The flowering plants look good as always! Sending out a lot of cheery flowers to brighten up the garden! Butterflies and dragon flies everywhere to be seen!

My favourite pink hibiscus is back flowering after long time. Something attack the plant and they started to shed all the leaves previously!

Someone have been munching the yellow hibiscus!

The white collection of flowers in the garden

To see more bloom around the world please visit http://www.maydreamsgardens.com

Ocimum tenuiflorum @ purple tulasi

Dark thulasi or karun thulasi in tamil is favourite plant in Indian house. They are very important ingredient for ayurvedic medicine too.

I got this plant from stem cutting. It was just a try but it work out. The thulasi plant have grown so much from the initial stage. I plant to plant them in larger pot this week.

From WIkipedia:
Ocimum tenuiflorum, also known as Ocimum sanctum, holy basil, or tulasī, is an aromatic plant in the family Lamiaceae which is native to the Indian Subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian tropics. It is an erect, many branched subshrub, 30–60 cm tall with hairy stems and simple opposite green or purple leaves that are strongly scented. Leaves have petioles and are ovate, up to 5 cm long, usually slightly toothed. The flowers are purplish in elongate racemes in close whorls.

Lemon and more lemon

My lemon plant is producing so much fruits at the moment. Most of them i squeeze to prepare lemon juice or "Air limau Nipis" in Malay. It's refreshing drinks and does reduce cholesterol.

It can be used in cooking too! 

Green beans harvest

Harvest time is really something that I look forward in my garden. Most of time I lost the race to pest in my garden but sometimes I do get some rewards!

Green beans have been producing good harvest from my garden! It taste so sweet fresh from garden. To tell the truth I never taste this flavour in market bought ones!

Another view

cucumber - another try

This is my another trial on cucumber. My previous plant died while bearing fruits. They wilted all of sudden and dry off. I uprooted some and found so many worms on their root. I guess they are some pest larva.

I have seen a lot of Orange insect eating the leaves. I never really put attention on them as I thought the pest are just munching on the leaves. I think they have done enough damage to my plants with depositing their eggs in the soil.

This time I watch out for them. The cucumber plants have started to produce flowers and bear a fruit. My eyes are wide open to find any pest! I hope when I turn my back on my garden none of the pest attack the plant!

pineapple fruiting

This is far beyond my expectation! My pineapple plant have started to set fruit. This is really a big surprise for me. I hardly care for them except watering done once a day. Once in a while I will put some fertilizer.

The young fruit is red in colour for now. This is my first time to see pineapple young fruit!

I read somewhere that it takes another 6 months for the fruit to mature! It's a long journey but I more than happy to see the ripe fruit! 

GBBD November 2014

It's raining everyday now in Malaysia. The weather is so unpredictable. It will be very hot in the morning and heavy down pour in the afternoon.

Rain bring a lot of joy to plants....Yes I know but when I turn my back to my garden many snails make a party! They have a big feast on my vegetables, young shoots and young seedling. I'm cracking my head to race the snail. They come out in big amount and the eggs are hiding in so many places that it's really hard to eliminate them. I'm on the losing part I guess....

Anyway flowers blooming in the garden give me so much happiness to me.

Adenium in full bloom. Some of them drop down at the car porch.

Yellow colour is striking in my garden!

My white hibiscus is back !

My favorite school time flower in bloom too!

Red is colour of bold! Red is colour of love! and Red colour is a must in my garden! ;)

Another portion of garden with white theme. Kangkung flowers are pretty too!

For more flower blooming around the work visit http://www.maydreamsgardens.com

Ubi kayu @ Cassava

Cassava or Ubi kayu is famous tuber plant in Malaysia. This is another plant that I'm putting my hand on. I got few cuttings from a friend. They are easy to grow from stem cuttings. If you have space in your garden may be you can try like me.

Cassava is very high in carbohydrate. The highest next to rice. There are few ways to cook cassava. My favorite is to boil them until soft. then drain the water and sauté with indian spices to add flavour. Another way is to fry them.

Anybody have other recipe to share with using cassava? I bet many home chef are around ! ;)

Kuchai @ Chives

I decided to try to grow some new vegetables in the garden. One of them are Chinese Kuchai or Chives. I'm not sure if Western Chives and Asian Kuchai are the same.

In Malaysia we cook kuchai like normal vegetables! They taste great when sauté with ginger and Tauhu. The leaves are also added into noodles. They taste good!

Mine was planted from seeds. It takes longer time to grow this way. For faster growth it's better to grow from the bulb.  I sow few seeds but only 2 become the survivors. They really look like onion plant at this stage.

From Wikipedia: 

The plant has a distinctive growth habit with strap-shaped leaves unlike either onion or garlic, and straight thin white-flowering stalks that are much taller than the leaves. The flavor is more like garlic than chives. It grows in slowly expanding perennial clumps, but also readily sprouts from seed. In warmer areas, garlic chives may remain green all year round. In cold climates, leaves and stalks will completely die back to the ground, and re-sprout from its roots or rhizomes in the spring.

Beans - the new batches

All my previous batches of beans was munch down by the snails.

Now since they are no where to be seen, I have sowed and transplant the new batches of beans seedling to the ground. Currently they are sharing the bed with the chillies.

The little green beans is learning to climb the trellis. They have very soft stem. Hope they give handful of harvest for my cooking!

I would like to wish HAPPY DEEPAVALI to all Hindu bloggers and Happy holidays to all others in Malaysia since it's Public Holiday on Wednesday. To the rest have fun. Hope all of us have very wonderful time with our loved ones!