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By Sandy, on December 3rd, 2009
Zinnia Elegans is a gorgeous choice for gardens. Zinnia comes in a wide variety of colors, and its large, bright blooms really give a garden a sense of cheer. There are even varieties of zinnia that are as jumbo as three feet in height! Moreover, Zinnia Elegans can easily be grown from seeds. All these factors make Zinnia a very popular flower in gardens.
Collecting seeds of Zinnia Elegans is fairly easy. As the blooms fade, air dry the flowers by hanging them upside down.
 
(Left: Zinnia seeds that are not yet ripened Right: ripe Zinnia seeds)
Continue reading Zinnia Elegans: Collecting and Saving Seeds
By Sandy, on November 26th, 2009
Last night Yik called and told me that there was a program showing on TVB Pearl that might be of my interest. So I turned on the tv and watched the program, and yes, it surely is my cup of tea.
This program is called Grow Your Own Drugs, a six-part series presented by James Wong, an ethnobotanist trained in Kew Garden. James shows us how we can make simple, natural remedies to help ease the symptoms of some everyday ailments with plants which can be found in our gardens or flower shops. In the program, James shares some amazing recipes, from Marigold lotion for motorizing skin and clearing acnes, to Viola eczema cream and Elderflower lozenge. Continue reading Grow Your Own Drugs
By Sandy, on September 3rd, 2009
In the gardening class which I took last weekend, I have learned how to transplant a tree. While I have never thought that transplanting a tree is an easy task, I wouldn’t expect that it could be quite difficult either (especially on a hot summer day). And here, I would like to share some key points of tree transplanting.
Root pruning can greatly increase the chances of successful transplanting, especially for big trees. We should prune the roots 3 months – 2 years in advance. By severing the roots at or just beyond the drip line of the tree to be moved, the long unbranched roots will be broken. This will prompt growth of new roots near the main trunk, compact the existing root system, and increase the tree’s chances of survival once it is moved. Continue reading Transplanting a Tree
By Sandy, on July 15th, 2009
I bought a pot of Episcia (aka Flame Violet) seedling in October last year. Since then, it has been growing beautifully in my room, with its first flower blooming in April.
Thru some research, I have learned that Flame Violet can be propagated by stolon cuttings. This is my first time growing Flame Violet. Everything to me is new and interesting. And surely, I would like to try stolon propagation. While I was wondering when I should cut the stolons of my Flame Violet for my experiment, my dear brother accidently cut off two stolons from the plant with the rotor blades of his newly bought remote control helicopter. Ok. That’s great! At least I was saved from thinking too much more before taking any action. Continue reading Propagate Flame Violet by Cutting
By Sandy, on July 10th, 2009
I bought my first pot of African violet a few months ago. While the newly acquired African violet is blossoming beautifully, I didn’t aware but only until another gardener pointed out to me that my African violet actually had multiple crowns.
As a curious gardening novice who like to try different things, I decided to take up this challenge and separate the crowns. It has been almost three months since I separated the crowns. Seeing that the separated crowns of my African violets are now growing healthily, I consider this “operation” as a successful one. And here, let me share with you how I did it.
Continue reading African Violet Care – How to Separate Crowns
By Sandy, on July 2nd, 2009
After days of preparation (researching on moss graffiti, collecting necessary ingredients and tools, thinking up a cool graffiti design, etc), I have finally made my first few moss graffiti with some moss slurry.
 
Thru some research, I have learned that while certain moss can grow only on soil, some others can grow only on hard surfaces. Since I am making moss graffiti on wood, it is wise to get moss from a hard surface as well. Continue reading My First Moss Graffiti
By Sandy, on June 13th, 2009
I have been interested in making a moss garden since the very first day I started making tabletop gardens. With the decoration of a few stones, sticks, and a small plant or two placed on top of a carpet of moss, I can imagine myself creating a fun, modern version of a bonsai garden.
I have had this fun idea in mind for so long. Yet, I couldn’t kick start the project for I wasn’t able to find the number one essential ingredient of this garden – the moss.
So, last weekend, with the suggestion of my bonsai class instructor, I took the train to Tai Po, and along the Lam Tsuen River at somewhere near the Tai Po Waterfront Park, I dug out some moss 😛
Continue reading I Want Some Moss!
By Sandy, on May 19th, 2009
 We know that good drainage is the key to healthy plants, but the containers that we find most attractive are often the ones without drainage holes. But we can drill the drainage holes by ourselves, and it is much easier than what most of us would expect. All we need is an electric drill and steady hands.
And here, let me show you how to drill holes on our containers.
Continue reading Drilling Drainage Holes by Ourselves
By Sandy, on May 8th, 2009
 We know that good drainage is the key to healthy plants, but the containers that we find most attractive are often the ones without drainage holes. So, to broaden my choices of containers, I decided to go ahead and try to drill drainage holes in the containers by myself.
Because this was my first time drilling drainage holes, I chose a wooden Japanese bowl as my container for I knew that it would be much easier to drill holes on wood than on glass. And as expected, this was so easy.
Continue reading How to Make Container Garden – Money Bowl
By Sandy, on May 4th, 2009
 It is quite easy to do cutting propagation for coleus. Last month, I took four cuttings from my coleuses, and three of them have survived. I guess this wasn’t too bad for someone who propagated plant from cutting for the first time, and I have already started propagating my second batch of coleus cuttings a few days ago.
So here, let me show you how I do cutting propagation with my coleus.
Continue reading Plant Propagation from Cuttings – Coleus
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