Wednesday, April 25, 2007

The Joy of Gardening and Fruits of your Labour?!

For those who know me, this is a very bizarre topic! Whilst I still very much love my kitchen and anything to do with a kitchen, I have to admit that the concept of gardens and plants are beginning to create some interest... read on... I dedicate this topic to my friend Eehui, who is an inspiration to me with her fondness of gardening! *grin* and who introduced me to the world of Waldeck and all the flowers!

I never really understood why my parents and esp my Mum found so much delight in growing fruit trees, roses and herbs... to me, they were just green things in the garden with some colour. But now I do. I have these roses in my garden that I practically stare at every opportunity and I even bother to go and smell them... and I do feel disappointed when they do fade, and become quite hopeful and delighted at the sight of the budding new roses! I even find myself comparing the colour of my lawn... to check that the time spent putting the lawn fertilizer and the soil wetter was worth it, so far, it has worked... the lawn has still got green in it! I have these pink flowered plants, that are seriously such a gorgeous pink... they are camelias, and I cannot wait till they blossom! Honestly, I can't get over what an excellent shade of pink they are! :)

My mum has planted 2 chilli plants in the garden and much to my delight, it is growing and producing chillis, and apparently they are very hot! And trying to grow laksa leaves which is so incredibly hard, they have a higher death than survival rate! Whilst it will be quite awhile before the fruit trees actually do bear fruit, and whilst I have so much more to learn, like I am wondering why the leaves are turning brown on some plants (and yes, I do water them!), it sure is going to be an interesting "journey" and worth the wait... :)

In the meantime, alongside John Howard and the rest of the farmers, I am praying for rain. And tonnes of it, please :)

(ps Will post some pics sometime! I forgot to take the photos!)


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Doesn't gardening come about due to the onset of age? :P

Just kidding yah! Why am I not surprised that you're garden has pink flowers?

Just be careful when handling soil / fertiliser, they can contain harmful bacteria which can cause serious illness.

Oh ... Ee Hui gardening as well, my my ... very interesting.

Liz :) said...

Exactly, I think you're right! A year ago I never dreamt I would be that close to mother nature... :) Thanks, I did use gloves, I havent been that intune with mother nature just quite yet! :)

Yes, Ee Hui is my mentor!!! :) We are going on a gardening excursion soon! :P

Anonymous said...

Have a look at iceberg roses. We have them at home, beautiful flowers. They start off as pink buds but as they bloom, they turn white with a hint of pink. Real hardy too so you'll never have to worry about it dying.

Excursion? To Bunnings / Waldecks? I can't imagine you two 'oooing and aaaaing' over plants. Have fun though!

Liz :) said...

Thank you! I'll remember that!

You're right, neither can I! But I think we actually did when we went - actually I did, Eehui is a pro and expert at this, seeing a garden of flowers is not that weird or mind blowing for her! :P

j a s o n said...

i love food! its a tay thing =)

Anonymous said...

Hi Hi!!thanks for dedicating this topic to me haha...actually i am not an expert in this area lar,i am still in the beginner stage, too many things to learn! i started on this gardening thg simply because i thk i spend too much time seating in front of computer and read & analysing data too much...so just want to breathe some fresh air and looking on "green" stuff...then i started to explore the world of roses :) so Gerard you are back?? how's your trip? abt the excursion..no waldeck etc..much more better than tat..it's Rose Farm!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ee Hui, the trip was good. A little long though, 6 weeks in the US. Now still a little jet lagged, would love to start sleeping normally.

It is good to go out and see nature. Get back to the natural things, interact with life again. You don't even have to be doing anything, sit back, let everything go, admire what was created for us. Wonderful stuff.

I'll be buying some camera lenses which should help me photograph flowers better. Looking forward to it!

Liz :) said...

Yes yes yes - it's the Rose Farm! Actually to be honest, I'm more excited about having the afternoon tea there with the rose petals on the plate! hahaha! :) *grin* I have this wonderful image in my head already - sipping nice tea with scones amidst beautiful roses... :)

Anonymous said...

haha...yes too bad i forgot to take the pictures (cake + rose petals) ..anyway here are some of my photo collections
http://picasaweb.google.com/eehuichang taken using my little canon camera..yes Gerard, let us know when you get the camera lenses, sounds very professional :)

Anonymous said...

I'll let you know Ee Hui, don't know about being professional. All I know is, it is going to hurt my bank balance.

Anonymous said...

yes Gerard, this is an expensive hobby..may be i can take this "hobby" further next time when i have more vitamin "c" :P btw if you would like to use ur camera lenses to capture more roses then the rose farm is worth a go..let us know ya :)

Anonymous said...

Hohoho!!! The rose farm sounds good, we'll organise a sunny day to visit when I return. Can't wait for spring at Araluen, hope the tulips will be great this year.

Anonymous said...

Sure Gerard,it's interesting that you like "flowers".. i really thk that more asian ppl shd know this place, i actually know this place through my lab technician who grows 100+ type of roses in his garden..if you are not a fan of gardening /flowers, still it's good place to have coffee/tea (instead of King St etc.) :)