GBBD October 2014

It's hot and rainy season here! Most of time it will be hot in the morning and followed by heavy rain in the evening! I can rest assured the plants are watered well!

Wrightia white bloom

All the photos taken late evening after the rain......

Adenium single flower

Little purple flowers! The only different colour flowers in my garden!

For more bloom visit  maydreamsgardens.com

Betel leave

I was in nursery last month when my eyes set on the betel leave plant. Its' very common plant in Indian population. It's used as decoration leaves, consumed , ayurvedic ,etc.

Usually the leaves are used as decoration during engagement and wedding ceremony. The plant is perennial creeper which survive for long with minimum care. So it symbolically indicate the life long relationship between husband and wife.

I seldom see the plant nowadays. I use to see them in my home town. Planted in Indian houses.

Therefore I decide to buy and plant it in my garden. The leaves look shiny and in heart shape.

 Healing Power and Curative Properties ( from http://www.allayurveda.com) :

Betel leaf has been used from ancient times as an aromatic stimulant and anti-flatulent. It is useful in arresting secretion or bleeding and is an aphrodisiac. Its leaf is used in several common household remedies.

Aphrodisiac: Pan-supari, especially the pan, is prescribed by Ayurvedic physicians as an aphrodisiac. Betel leaf is considered aphrodisiac i.e. an agent which stimulates sexual desire. It is a common practice to offer masalapan to newly married couple before retiring to bed. It adds to love making and pleasures.

Scanty or Obstructed Urination :Betel leaf juice is credited with diuretic properties. Its juice, mixed with dilute milk and sweetened slightly, helps in easing urination.

Weakness of Nerves: Betel leaves are beneficial in the treatment of nervous pains, nervous exhaustion and debility. The juice of a few betel leaves, with a teaspoon of honey, will serve as a good tonic. A teaspoon of this can be taken twice a day.

Stomach Disorder: 

Taken betel morsel (pan supari) prepared with catechu, quick lime, betel nuts, cardamom etc. after meals cures digestive problems and eliminates flatulence (caution: do not add tobacco in this).
Fomenting the stomach (incase of children) with heated leaf of betel cures stomach ailments.
Boil 3 betel leaves with little black pepper in 250 GMS water and strain it. Taking 2 tsp. of this decoction twice a day cures indigestion
Headaches : The betel leaf has analgesic and cooling properties. It can be applied with beneficial results over the painful area to relieve intense headache.

Respiratory Disorders : Betel leaves are useful in pulmonary affection in childhood and old age. The leaves, soaked in mustard oil and warmed, may be applied to the chest to relieve cough and difficulty in breathing.

Constipation : In the case of constipation in children, a suppository made of the stalk of betel leaf dipped in castor oil can be introduced in the rectum. This instantly relieves constipation.

Sore Throat : Local application of the leaves is effective in treating sore throat. The crushed fruit or berry should be mixed with honey and taken to relieve irritating cough.

Inflammation: Applied locally, betel leaves are beneficial in the treatment of inflammation such as arthritis and orchitis, that is inflammation of the testes.

Wounds : Betel leaves can be used to heal wounds. The juice of a few leaves should be extracted and applied on the wound. Then a betel leaf should be wrapped over and bandaged. The wound will heal up with a single application within 2 days.

Boils : The herb is also an effective remedy for boils. A leaf is gently warmed till it gets softened, and is then coated with a layer of castor oil. The oiled leaf is spread over the inflamed part. This leaf has to be replaced, every few hours. After a few applications, the boil will rupture draining all the purulent matter. The application can be made at night and removed in the morning.

Lumbago: A hot poultice of the leaves or their juice mixed with some bland oil such as refined coconut oil can be applied to the loins with beneficial results in lumbago.

Problem of Breast Milk Secretion : The application of leaves smeared with oil is said to promote secretion of milk when applied on the breasts during lactation. 

planting green beans again

My garden was invaded by snails. They comes in variety. big, small and medium size. I can easily see ten of them at one place. All my vegetables was eaten and damaged by this pest!

All my seedling were gone in a night. I planted 15 green beans seedling but only left is 2 green beans climbing on the trellis.

After putting so much effort like salt, egg shell, etc....nothing work out. Finally with advice from nursery guy, I put snail poison. The next morning I found about 60++ of them death! I feel very guilty but I have no choice...... I think the soil I bought from the nursery might have contain a lot of snail eggs........ phew.....

Here is the 2 green beans....climbing safely at the moment.....

Winning book

It's really great to win something! I'm not the kind of lucky person who get luckily draw or so....but it's really a big surprise to win the below book. I try my luck on a contest at http://stephgreenspace.blogspot.com/ 

She have beautiful potted garden and a good journalist! I have read her article in Strait times paper few times. It's really good.

This is really a good reference book on plants that I really wanted for so long!

Finally the book arrived last week. It's really a great reference book for me! Thanks Stephanie!

pineapple progress

Pineapple is growing slowly. More leaves are adding on. I found some tips in growing Pineapple from website :http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-pineapples.html

A few things you should know about pineapple plants:

Pineapples don't need much water. They have very tough leaves so they don't lose much water through evaporation. They can get by on very little.
Pineapples don't need much soil or high quality soil. They belong to the family of bromeliads, and like all bromeliads they do not have a big root system.
Pineapples get a lot of their water and nutrition through their leaves.
Pineapples like slightly acidic soils, which is what most gardens have anyway.
Pineapples grow in full sun, even in the hottest climates, but they also do well in dappled shade.
Pineapples grow very happily in pots or tubs.
What pineapples do not like is
soggy, waterlogged soils,
having their leaves burned with concentrated fertilisers,
frost.

I read somewhere that the leaves colours indicate the health state of the plant. I'm not so sure if mine is doing well but I think I have to put more hand on this plant. Oh yes, do some weeding too!

Serai after a hair cut

Serai or lemongrass has been growing quietly at a corner of my garden. On and off I take some for my cooking. They look like a big bunch of weed or "lalang" from far!

I love the aroma of cooking chicken with them!

I did tidy the plant last weekend. A few hair cut and clean up the weeds around them.  

Butterfly pea

Butterfly pea plants have been invasive in my garden as of now! All the seedling are welcomed here!

 I just love the flowers so much! They have very striking blue colours !

This is how the seeds look like. The other day my neighbour took about 20 of this seed pods! She just enjoy looking at the flowers!