Future garden loading - Day 6

I'm on a mission to attract as many butterflies as possible to my garden. To this end, I need to (over)load it with brightly coloured flowers. That's why I opted for moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora, or purslane) as a ground cover, 

Today, I located a nursery where they stocked it. I took 220 plants, which is as much as my car boot could carry. I'll go back for more next week. This should keep me busy in the garden for a few days anyway (I can only work there when it's not too hot and if my toddler happens to be asleep at the same time, which means not more than 2 hours on a good day).

The nursery also had what I think is another type of Portulaca, i.e. Portulaca umbraticola. It is very nice and colourful but I don't think you can step on it like P. grandiflora. I may add a few anyway.

Garden in the making - Day Four

Weekend means gardening. Another 100 ficus benjamina went into the ground for the path to the guest bungalow, which is being renovated. The araucaria finally found its place too. Humans and dogs seem appreciative.

The "dry" garden is almost finished. A lot of cacti and agave-like plants were added to what was already there. The surface needs to be raked nicely. Work for tonight maybe.

We bought goava plants and some of the flowers went in too in the part between the gate and the house and along the west wall, but no pics yet. It's still a work in progress.

Future garden loading - Day 5

10 pink and 10 white Catharanthus roseus (? not completely sure):

Another 100 or so Ficus benjamina (can you picture more hedges in the making?):

And about 50 Euphorbia milii:

Any idea for a weekend pastime? I told you gardening is growing on me, didn't I? There are worse addictions...

Garden in the making - Day Three

This is my soon to be vegetable patch. You've got to imagine lettuce, okra, sweet peppers, red sorrel and spinach here.

I have my caretaker to thank for this part. Tilling with a traditional hoe is not something I can easily do with an 18-month old baby on my back. She doesn't seem to want me to put her down while gardening. (And no, there is nothing like rotovating here).

Future garden loading - Day 4

More plants... Here is today's pick:

Two more plumerias, supposedly white:

About 30 hibiscus:

A dozen orange flowers Lantana camara supposed to repel snakes:

A dozen crotons:

And three spiky two-tone plants I can't name, for the drought-resistant corner:

I'll try to get all in the ground after 4pm when the sun is less scorching.

Garden in the making - Day Two

I'm getting more and more motivated to work in the garden despite the obvious (blisters in the hands, sore muscles, sweat, and young children distracting and/or undoing what you've just done). Again, it doesn't look much, but it's mine, and it's a beginning.

The ficus benjamina went in from the main gate to the small gate:

And the philodendrons now frame the main gate and the small gate:

A supposedly yellow plumeria is given pride of place on the curve leading to the house:

This is a decorative pineapple (it will give small, inedible pineapples):

A few crotons (not sure the tall red leaves are crotons though) with a Cordyline terminalis and miscellaneous, still unnamed flowers:

And the first of hopefully many hibiscus:

Overall, it's still a bit sparse, but I think it will look good when we fill the gaps with low, fast-growing flowers.

Garden in the making - Day One

Today I started landscaping work in earnest. Being a single mother of two, including one special needs child and a baby with a high fever for a few days now, things didn't go as fast or as far as I was hoping, but I'm pretty pleased with what I was able to do. At least, the plants that came without a soil ball attached are now planted and will hopefully survive.

I started with a ficus benjamina hedge between the main gate and the door. It gives me a good notion of how many I'll need in fine. Nothing much to see so far. Tomorrow hibiscus, crotons and other plants will come in behind the (future) hedge. And philodendrons will be planted left and right of the gate. Hopefully.

Then I started with the farthest part of the garden, where the hose doesn't reach and I used drought-resistant plants there. I traced squares and alternated them so that I'll be able to fill with different plants once I'm done with those I bought this week.

I'm rather pleased with the result even though it doesn't look like much yet.