Some Plants...Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

Some plants just love to be touched by the rays emanated by the sun. For them, the sun is like a gentle kiss from nature’s lips and warm arms that embrace their tiny and delicate petals. Without it, efflorescences lose their vibrant colors, the leaves turn pale, and the stems sag, their buds droop, refusing to open. Plants become glum sans the radiant glow of the sun. Glad I was able to grow some of the sun-loving plants in my humble garden.

White Angel

Yellow Bush

Ploemele Reflexa, Song of India

Schefllera Arbolicora variegated

Some plants do not thrive well in full sun but do well in partly shaded garden. They shy away from the harsh heat because it can burn their delicate foliage and fragile petals. Exposure to too much sun or to very intense light may compromise the vigor of the plant leaving them dry, dehydrated. Some of the plants often bought in Baguio can’t withstand the scorching heat but some were able to adapt the temperature, gradually.

Coleus

Spathiphyllum Wallisii

Some plants choose to grow under canopy of trees. Where the humidity is high and the weather is warm, a tropical climate is an ideal place for them. A sudden change in temperature might put them at risk and prognosis may not be good… The chance for recovery is slim and almost next to impossible.

Staghorn Fern

Wart Fern

Asplenium unfurled frond

All the plants in my garden possess one thing in common: they all grow in the hands of a cheerful and willing gardener. When I was a little girl I was told many times by old folks that talking to plants will help them (plants) grow ten times faster and healthier. I tried to figure out how could that be then I thought that perhaps it has something to do with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide that takes place between plants and animals. "Talking" to plants show how plants and humans mutually benefit from each other. Plants give off oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. On the other hand, humans breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide as well. Do I make sense? Any way, I believe in the old Chinese proverb: “The best fertilizer in the garden may be the gardener's shadow.” One's presence in the garden is the best fertilizer other than the chemical and artificial ones growing plants can have.

I may be a little late but still I'm joining Carol at maydreamsgarden for GBBD this June 2012. Thank you, Miss Carol for hosting such a wonderful meme.

This Month of June

If there is one significant month to choose from, I consider it to be month of June. It's been a year since I decided to try on blogging, so I suppose this is my first anniversary in the web blog aside from the fact that hubby and I also celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary this month.

Happy anniversary!

Our anniversary started off with a thanksgiving mass at the first hour in the morning followed by a simple dinner in one of our favorite diner fifteen kilometers away from home. The place is cozy where I can have a view of the vast mountains and the lush trees around while enjoying the sumptuous meals they served. Perhaps it was the garden with different kinds of ferns was the reason why we ended up in this deli in celebrating this special moment. Besides, as a coffee drinker, it's the only dining shop I know in town that serves a rare kind of coffee. Find out why...

Kalua Pork with Salmon, Osso Bucco and Chef's Salad in Vinigrette

Cozy ambience

Phymotosorous with Asplenium ferns

Phymatosorous Scolopendria

The best part of the simple yet meaningful celebration was when we get to experience the best tasting coffee we've ever had, the Coffee Alamid. What's so special about the coffee? I guess aside from obtaining them from civet cat's fermented droppings, the coffee blended well with my gustatory cravings for a different kind of coffee. Not the black coffee that I used to have.This beverage tasted like chocolate and....hazelnut?... Sweet, smooth that even my taste receptor cells sent signals to my brain saying they can't be from civet cat's droppings!

Fixated

Every person has to go through some developmental stages as he takes his journey to adulthood. One must experience and undergo the process accordingly or else he may not be able to move on to the next stage of development and becomes fixated. Fixated may also mean focusing one's attention to something...obsessively.

What used to be a boring and long trip is now one of my method of relaxing from a day's work. Suddenly, I find driving fun whenever I see lush trees, ferns and shrubs along the roadside.

If I am fixated with tree ferns at this point in time, I don't mind being such because just by looking at them, they bring delight to my senses and they please my mind. Fixated but not that obsessed, I can only imagine and daydream about them. Scared of taking the risk of growing them in my garden, I think the place might not be suitable enough for them to survive.

Magnificent Cyathea

Dense growth of  ferns swarming over shrubs and trees 

 Shade ferns are replaced by weedy sun ferns 

 Appreciating tree ferns growing wild in the mountains, rainforests and even along roadside trees are good indications of preventing erosion and promotes stability of the soil and fern roots are not invasive. Decline of shade ferns is a result of exploitation of tropical rainforests for timber. It breaks my heart to know that some of them are close to becoming scarce due to deforestation and unauthorized logging.

Erosion of mountains

Forests give an ideal habitat for ferns. Some ferns do well in low light and in high humidity while others thrive under the sun. I saw these type of tree ferns growing in the mountains under dappled shades. The soil was moist, almost clay but porous.

Row of Cyatheas in the mountain

Look at the magnificent tree fern. Who would have thought that beneath the majestic beauty are thorny stalks. Up close, presence of spines were all over the hairy stipes. At first I found them quite scary. Nobody wants to get pricked by these tiny hard thorns...The spiny stipes seemed to protect the delicate, soft fronds from predators and even from intruders.

Spiny stipes

Even the stem of a young frond has thorns around it

Spines with golden thick hair in the stipes of mature fronds

Some ferns grow like weeds but can add interest and drama to a garden when blended with several ornamental plants. 

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.

Medenilla with cherry red berry drupes

Medenilla 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