Saturday with Stags and Slabs

Last Saturday, I noticed the stags are growing. They needed wider slabs to give them more room to grow. I decided to remount them to bigger slabs.

Tree fern slabs

I opted to use copper wire than iron wire. These are easier to bend and color blends well with the slabs.

...then I put 2 pieces of slabs together ...

and secured the stags to the wider slabs.

Before...

After

I know it's kind of late to greet but to all the mothers out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Fern Finds

I had been waiting for this moment to purchase my next fern. An ongoing bridge construction prevented me and my husband from taking the usual way to the garden store so we took the longer route instead. I did not mind at all if our travel time took another thirty minutes because I was thrilled when I saw the eco-rich tree ferns in the mountainous road up north. I can imagine how beautiful a garden could be with this tree fern standing tall at the center surrounded by ornamental garden plants. In the mountains and forests, they are wild. In the garden, they beautify the place, they seem so refined, sophisticated and queenly with its curled young fronds growing at the center top. Like palm trees, they give an interesting warm and tropical look.

Cyathea known as tree fern

Tree fern with curled young fronds at the center top

My husband and I took some time to stop over and had coffee while enjoying the cool breeze of summer with the scent of pine trees around. With a temperature of 36 degrees Centigrade back home to 20 degrees Centigrade in Baguio, we surely savored every sip of brewed coffee from the coffee beans of the mountains of Kalinga.

My favorite Cafe Americano while hubby preferred Capuccino

During the first visit, I was not able to acquire this kind of staghorn fern as I was told it was only one of the "collections." It was not for sale until they were able to produce their own. For months I waited. And now, I finally had one which  I can call it my own. Overjoyed, I went home carrying the young stag like a baby with another plant given to me for free by the kind lady.

Platycerium Bifurcatum

the "giveaway" plant

Some stags that I have...

 Young Platycerium Grande

Platycerium Andinum

P. Walchii

P. Wandae

...and this fern also called the upside down fern.

Arachniodes Standshii

Saving For Rainy Days

As Mr. Sun continues to cast its sweltering, glowing rays to the earth's surface, a parade of ants of different kinds are common sight in the garden. I thought the kids might be leaving crumbs of food since they often eat in the yard that was why ants kept coming back, I made it a point to keep the grounds clean. Always. But these tiny workers and soldiers alike just love to march along the ground. Puzzled, I asked our helper why such minute creatures never get tired of walking, traversing the ground the whole day, everyday.  I always get the same answer: since it is summer time, those ants are just "saving for rainy days," as the saying goes.

 fire ant workers

marching little red ants

So, are these ants good or bad in the garden? First, bad because of what I hated most about them. These tenacious little creatures called fire ants have vicious sting that is painful and can be dangerous enough to cause some allergic reactions or something close to that effect. Unknowingly, they would be creeping, crawling fast to my feet and up towards the extremities and bite then the next thing I knew I was stamping them away like crazy. Oh, how those burning, piercing stings itch afterwards!

 fire ant up close

Ants can loosen the soil in young plants, causing them to die. I've noticed that ants are always present when aphids thrive in plants. Spraying a mixture of water and detergent helps in getting rid of them both. Attacking my son's newborn hamsters was the worst thing they ever did. Like the carnivorous piranhas, fire ants devoured all nine baby hamsters in just a day. Horrible!

baby hamsters

So much for the gory part. On the positive side, these little social insects can improve air circulation in the soil, improving water drainage with their burrows. In short stories, ants are always perceived to be hardworking, helpful and industrious creatures. Aside from being such, they seem to be brave soldiers, ready to defend their queen and their kingdom come hell or high waters. Anything that causes disturbance in their turf means war. 

Simple Treats

School has ended and that means taking a break from helping the kids out in completing their school assignments, accomplishing projects in every subjects and reviewing for their final exams as well. While the kids can call it a day from their daily school activities and the start of their playful summer vacation, I guess I deserve a simple treat for myself: more time in the garden and blogging (which includes updating my profile), visiting some of my favorite plant shops and go buy some few plants.

My eyes feasted at the sight of Platyceriums and Aspleniums upon visiting my favorite plant store. Compared to Asplenium, Platycerium such as P. Coronarium is by far quite costly. When I started appreciating ferns, I can only afford to purchase the not-so-expensive ones, thinking they might not be able to survive in my own care. With some happy and a few heartbreaking moments and with lots of trial and error experimentation, little by little I came to accept the fact that gardening is not only learning how to plant. It includes determining the peculiarities of the weather conditions, knowing some facts about the soil and discovering the uniqueness of one's own home that will someday be called the new habitat of plants. I came to learn the art of suppressing sentimental  attachments if an infested plant has no hope of survival. A terminally ill plant will only threaten the well-being of other plants so I might as well get rid of it. Although gardening may seem an extravagant claim, the excitement and experiencing the wonders of every new growth is always magical and just  as rewarding to me.

Plant store with different kinds of ferns and garden blooms

In my attempt to grow a Heliconia Rostrata, I find it challenging as I am faced with some garden pests. Since it thrives in almost wet and moist soil most of the time, slugs and snails are common problem. This false bird of paradise to me is like the inflorescence of the Vriesea bromeliad, one of the first bromeliads I have. Although totally different from each other, I find the red and yellow-tipped blooms of both plants colorful and eye-catching in the garden.

Heliconia Rostrata or Lobster's claw

Vriesea bromeliad or flaming sword

Along with the H. Rostrata, I also purchased a few plants with berry-like drupes and tiny blooms that come in white and cherry red. I had a hard time in identifying the name of the plant but it appears to be a Cornus to me.

Cornus with cherry red berry drupes

Cornus with white berry drupes

After transplanting these newcomers into their new abode, an unexpected intruder came along....waiting to be kissed to be with his princess...

 Toad, Anura Bufonidae

A Fern That's Not a Fern

Look what an aunt of mine gave me. It's commonly called a foxtail fern but it doesn't belong to the fern family. As the word "fern" comes from old English fearn, it means feather. With dense foliage giving it a fluffy appearance, it resembles a fox's tail. Others call it a bottle brush fern.

A young Asparagus Densiflorous Myersii or foxtail plant

Believing it might be invasive and can grow rapidly on the ground, I preferred to leave it in the old pot. I don't know but there is always something about old, previously used pots. For me, I find it attractive as their appearance improve with age. The crusty white deposits left in the pot were some salts and trace elements from the water and medium used previously. Sometimes, plants could benefit from them by converting these elements into soluble forms that will make it again available to the plants needs.

The shape of this pot allows unrestricted growth of the plant. I can't wait to see these branches with green fluffy foliage draping over the edges of the pot in my small garden. 

Bits and Pieces

Utilizing the available resources was an essential thing to consider in gardening. Not knowing what to do with old broken clay pots stacked in the corner of my small garden, I opted to ditch them so I could make use of the space I primarily needed for in a garden.

 When I visited an aunt just recently, I saw pieces of broken earthenware covering the ground so as to keep the soil from being too soggy and wet. I thought it looked quite creative to put them in bowls, pots and other containers. Then it struck to me the idea of how to make use of broken bits and pieces of clay pots that I have at home.

Like a jigsaw puzzle, putting altogether the bits and pieces of these earthenware in the container pots was quite fun.

Topiary before

....and after.

Clay pot is a porous material, which being able to absorb water, helps to distribute moisture throughout the medium more evenly and helps to stabilize soil temperature.

Majesty Palm with crazy cut from clay pots

An unknown author once said, "The greatest wastes are the unused talents and untried ideas." In that case, I may not have the talent but I have a few humble ideas...

Beating the Heat

Summer is official in the Philippines. Weather in Pangasinan has a prevailing temperature of 34 degrees but it feels like 36 degrees Centigrade making it a dry season. Where the scorching heat is too harsh for the plants, finding ways and means to beat the heat are the main concerns to sustain the plants’ needs. Frequent watering will help the plants in a way, but the dry air will cause the leaves to lose the water they’ve absorbed at a faster rate.

Some plants love broken shades. So grateful I have these palm trees even for a small garden that I have, they add a tropical look. 

Foxtail Palm, Wodyetia Bifurcata

Hyophorbe Laginicaulis, Champagne Tree

Verichia Merillii, Manila Palm Tree

Majesty Palm

Others fronds burn easily that a patio umbrella is needed for a filtered sunlight effect. Ferns are sensitive to bright light and they may find it too intense for them. Now I know where I should put these ferns...(sigh)

                      Staghorn fern

Asplenium Nidus

Patio Umbrella

To sustain the requirement of constant humidity, I surround the containers with moist pebbles.

Pebbles help in increasing the humidity as the water evaporates.

Or I simply put the pebbles here...

I opted for white pebbles.

Daily misting is a sure way to give the plants exact amount of humidity. I would not want to oversupply them with water as the soil may turn soggy. When the humidity is low, I mist the plants several times a day especially during daylight hours.

At any rate, I do keep plants in close group, rather than scattered about to help ease their need for humidity.

I am linking this post to Carolyn at thisgrandmothersgarden as I join her in her Walk in the Garden Challenge for this month.

Loving the Cryptanthus

Cryptanthus falls under the family of bromeliad. Like the fern, it is stemless. With unique colors that come in  bronze, gray, red, brown, green, pink and even black, the frondescence are arranged in a star-like manner that makes the plant more interesting. They seem to have relatively stiff, dry, scaly, tooth-edged, crinkled leafage.

Notice the small Bromeliad Cryptanthus in the huge bowl planted in my dish garden. Since it grows low in the ground, this plant is just enough for a dish garden. I thought it was beautiful not to be noticed along with the other plants grown in the container bowl, I decided to repot it before it started producing offsets.

Cryptanthus,  Dusty Emerald in front of the fountain. I waited for the dark before taking the shot  so one can appreciate the Cryptanthus, beside the Sanseviera (Pagoda) and Juniper.

Look what happened when I transplanted the Cryptanthus....

Cryptanthus Zonatus Rariflora

After four weeks, it produced an offshoot. This made me smile…

C. Rariflora or Dusty Emerald with an offshoot at the base of the main plant

My fascination abound when I learned about Cryptanthus Bivittatus, Pink Starlite. I find the combination of pink and brown vertical stripes on the foliage attractive. Depending on the exposure of the light, I notice the brown changes to green...

C. Bivittatus, Pink Starlite

C. Fosterianus, Melanie has variegated foliage.

C. Fosterianus Melanie with brown, gray and bright red

Notice how it changed its color from red to green...

Up close of the foliage

Similar to the above plant, the C. Fosterianus Shockwave is black instead of red. At first, I thought it looked like the stripes of a zebra. Taking a closer look, it resembles a recorded tracing of an electrocardiograph (ECG) or a PQRST wave. 

C. Fosterianus Shockwave

Close up shot of a leaf

An ECG wave represented by  PQRST.  Source:  En. Wikipedia

I wonder how my ECG tracing would look like if ever my Cryptanthus gives me beautiful, wonderful pups...I am pretty sure my heart would be leaping with joy and excitement at the first glimpse of them...