Tip to Induce Flowering in a Bleeding Heart Vine

The first bloom of the Bleeding Heart vine didn't last long. The flower's stem was too thin and the flower detached prematurely due to strong winds. In its place though the vine produced more clusters of flowers. Each cluster is called a raceme (rey'seem). A raceme is an elongate cluster of flowers along the main stem in which the flowers at the base open first. Compound raceme or branched cluster of flowers

Shown below is a compound raceme or a branched cluster of flowers. This branched cluster is called a panicle (pa-ni-kul).

Camia or White Ginger (Hedychium philippinense or Hedychium coronarium)

Our Camia plant (also called White Ginger) continued to bloom profusely with the rains and cool weather. With so many flowers, it's so extraordinarily fragrant. I smell it when I open the bedroom window.

Pansit-pansitan or Shiny Bush (Peperomia pellucida)

It is also locally known as Ulasimang-Bato. Recently, we've started adding this plant as part of our veggies. First, because it grows readily almost anywhere. Second, because of its medicinal properties. It is one of the 10 recommended medicinal plants of the Department of Health. The 10 are: Bawang, Lagundi, Akapulko, Bayabas, Ampalaya, Niyog-niyogan, Sambong, Yerba Buena, Ulasimang-Bato and Tsaang-Gubat (BLABAN-SYUT). We take it as a salad. The barest preparation is to add some vinegar after thoroughly washing it. You can also add some chopped onions, black pepper, cucumbers, etc. Here are some of the plants on a shallow pot.

Dishwashing Water for the Lush Lawn

In a recent entry, I wrote about the benefits of a lush lawn. Here's another. When there's excess water, like in this case dishwashing water, simply throw it on the grass! Same thing goes for laundry water.


Now there's an earth-friendly tip!

Bleeding Heart Vine First Bloom

Several weeks ago, I've been busy working on the trellis of our Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae). It was hard work, but little did I know that the vine will be showing its first bloom much sooner than I thought! Wow!