Practical Gardening

Assemble the Trellis Frame - Part 2

2012-01-26T17:27:00.000+08:00

This is the second part on the series, Assembling the Trellis Frame.

In the first part, two topics were discussed: the assembly of the trellis frame outline and an explanation of the terms used to describe the components that make up the trellis frame. Shown below are the parts that make up the garden trellis frame.

In this second part, the assembly of the rest of the horizontal and vertical members of the trellis frame will be discussed.

Assemble the Horizontal Members with Trellis Anchors

Wind one inch of the wire on one of the leftmost trellis anchors so it grips the vertical wire too. The vertical wire shown below is part of the trellis frame outline.
Rest the remaining metal wire on top of the inner trellis anchors.
Wind one inch of the metal wire at the rightmost trellis anchor and cut it.
Use a four-inch long thin tie wire to lash the metal wire to the L-hook trellis anchor as shown below.
Repeat for all the inner trellis anchors on this horizontal member. For the rightmost trellis anchor, wind one inch of the wire so it grips the vertical wire. The vertical wire shown is part of the trellis frame outline.
Do the above steps for the second horizontal member.

Assemble the Vertical Members with Trellis Anchors

Wind one inch of the wire on one of the topmost trellis anchors as shown below.
On the next trellis anchor down, loop the metal wire once, tightly.
At the bottom or last trellis anchor, loop one inch of the metal wire on the anchor and then cut it. Shown below is the joint being completed with a pair of pliers. The horizontal wire is part of the frame outline assembled earlier.
Do the above steps for the two other vertical members with trellis anchors.

Assemble the Horizontal Members with No Trellis Anchors

Loop the metal wire on the existing leftmost vertical wire as shown below.
Straighten the wire until it reaches the rightmost vertical wire and loop it as shown below.
Where the horizontal wire meets with the vertical wires, use this technique to strongly joint the wires. Here are the other methods to join the wires.
do the above steps for the two other horizontal members with no trellis anchors.

Assemble the Vertical Members with No Trellis Anchors

Loop the metal wire on the existing topmost horizontal wire as shown below.
Straighten the wire until it reaches the bottom horizontal wire and loop it as shown below.
Where the vertical wire meets with the horizontal wires, use this technique to strongly joint the wires. Here are the other methods to join the wires.

Shown below is the completed rectangular garden trellis frame on the wall.

Assemble the Built-In Trellis Starter

The built-in trellis starter is optional because you can actually make a temporary trellis starter that you can pull out once the vine is established on the trellis frame. I chose to assemble a trellis starter for this garden trellis because the frame is too high up and because I intended this garden to be a permanent fixture on the wall.

The trellis starter is simply comprised of diagonal members that originate from a central trellis anchor at the bottom and connect to the lower edge of the trellis frame as shown below.

Here's the trellis starter as an add-on to the trellis frame.

Viewed from another angle, here's the entire garden trellis frame with the trellis stater.

And, finally, the Bleeding Heart Vine as it was positioned on the trellis starter. The two bamboo sticks were the temporary climbing structures for the vine.

Assemble the Trellis Frame - Part 1

2012-01-16T12:43:00.015+08:00

Drilling and mounting the trellis anchors is just half of the work to be done to complete this DIY wall trellis project. It's actually the easier half because you have a power drill to do the bulk of the work for you.

In assembling the wire trellis, you'll be limited with manual hand tools like pliers, vise grips and other trellising materials. Expect plenty of brute force for bending, forming and setting the metal wires. So it is important to plan ahead with the sequence of tasks to do so there is minimal wasted effort. You save time on rework. As well, you save your knees from undue stress of climbing up and down the ladder to assemble this big trellis.

Assemble the Outline of the Trellis Frame

Working on the outline of the trellis frame is the easiest task. By completing this first, you will get a visual grasp of the project's physical scope or bounadary.

Choose any one of the four corners of the rectangular frame outline (top-right, top-left, bottom-left, bottom right) as starting point.
With a pair of pliers, wind or coil one inch of the metal wire tightly around the trellis anchor. In the photo below, the bottom-right trellis anchor became the starting point. The vertical metal wire is the start of the trellis frame outline.
Move the metal wire to the next trellis anchor in a counter-clockwise manner. If the wire is vertical at the anchor, just let it pass the anchor (more on this later).

If the wire is at a corner (in this case, uppermost-right), loop it once, tightly, around the trellis anchor as shown below.

Here's the trellis anchor at the opposite corner (bottom-left).

If the wire is horizontal, use a four-inch long thin tie wire to lash the metal wire to the L-hook trellis anchor. A pair of long-nosed pliers will help in securing the thin tie wire as shown below.

Remember, the metal wire is thick gauge metal wire. Repeatedly looping the wire against the trellis anchors is not only cumbersome, but also deforms the metal wire. And you want the wire straight, as much as possible.

Here's the finished metal wire still straight and securely fastened to the trellis anchor by the tie wire.
Continue moving the metal wire to the rest of the trellis anchors along the frame outline.
Upon reaching the starting trellis anchor, wind one inch of the metal wire on the trellis anchor. Shown below is the starting trellis anchor. The one inch off the end of the metal wire was wound around the trellis anchor, as shown by the horizontal wire coming from the left.

The outline of the trellis frame is bounded by the outer trellis anchors. These are the trellis anchors that the outline passes through.

Horizontal and Vertical Members of the Trellis Frame

Shown below is a view of the completed trellis frame showing the members of the trellis frame.

The horizontal members are the trellis wires that run from left to right. Two types of horizontal members for this trellis frame are:

Horizontal members that pass through inner trellis anchors. There are 2 pieces in this trellis frame.

Horizontal members that do not pass through the inner trellis anchors. There are 3 pieces in this trellis frame.

The vertical members are the trellis wires that run from top to bottom. The two types of vertical members for this trellis frame are:

Vertical members that pass through inner trellis anchors. There are 3 pieces in this trellis frame.

Vertical members that do not pass through the inner trellis anchors. There are 4 pieces in this trellis frame.

In part 2 of this series, the assembly of the horizontal and vertical members, as well as the trellis built-in starter, will be discussed.

Drill Trellis Anchors in Concrete Wall

2012-01-13T10:40:00.013+08:00

After marking the drill points for the trellis anchors on the concrete wall, it's time to take out the power drill for a spin. As you will be working on concrete, ensure the power drill is switched to the "hammer drill" setting and not the "normal drill" setting which works for metal and wood only.

In this connection, you should also be ready with the appropriate masonry drill bit to be used for drilling holes on the concrete wall. Masonry drill bits, as opposed to the regular drill bits, will work only on concrete.

Because you'll be screwing the trellis anchors into the holes, you'll also be needing plastic expansion shields. These are also called plastic expansion sleeves or fasteners. One expansion shield used in this garden project is shown below.

Prepare the Drill Hole for the Expansion Shield

The drill hole that needs to be made should be deep enough to accommodate the expansion shield. Some power drills have a measuring gauge/rule to get the correct depth, but if your power drill doesn't have that, there's a way to obtain the correct drill hole depth.

Ideally, the open end of the expansion shield should be flush with the wall's surface, when fully inserted. See the sample below.

If the expansion shield's open end protrudes (hole not deep enough), the plastic piece will protrude even further when the trellis anchor is screwed in. The excess plastic material that sticks out then needs to be removed with a blade cutter. This is especially so if the garden trellis is to be painted.

On the other hand, a hole that's too deep will embed the expansion shield deeper inside, leaving a depression at the surface and compromising the stability of the trellis anchor.

Also, be sure to use the right diameter masonry bit. The drill hole should be just big enough to allow the expansion shield, but remain snug inside. If the expansion shield is not snug inside the hole, it won't grab the surrounding concrete. Instead, it will turn with the trellis anchor as the anchor is screwed in. This will loosen the hole even further.

Screw in the Trellis Anchor

Position the trellis anchor so it's perpendicular to the plane of the wall's surface. Slowly screw it in as shown below.

Hold the trellis anchor with one hand to maintain the trellis anchor's position, as you screw it in with the other hand.

Depending on the porosity of the surrounding concrete and the size of the hole, some trellis anchors may pose a challenge and will be hard or tight to screw in. In this case, use a pair of locking vise grips. Lock the vise grip lightly on the other end of the trellis anchor. Slowly turn the vise grip clockwise while maintaining the perpendicular position as shown below.

Again, you may need to assist the turning by holding the trellis anchor with you other hand. Ensure that it doesn't wobble as the trellis anchor is screwed in.

Once you have started screwing the trellis anchor, resist the temptation of unscrewing it. Doing so increases the chance of loosening the drill hole. Also remember, that when the shield expands, it will split. If you fully unscrew the trellis anchor, check if the expansion shield is still usable. Otherwise, replace it with a new one.

Shown below is a trellis anchor that was successfully fastened to the wall.

The trellis anchor should be secure and reasonably immoveable. A trellis anchor that wobbles indicates a loose or damaged hole. In this case, find a bigger expansion shield or cement the trellis anchor in the drill hole with epoxy clay.

Marking Drill Points for Trellis Anchors

2012-01-12T21:26:00.004+08:00

Trellis anchors are what support and secure your wall trellis to the concrete wall. Too few anchors and your garden trellis may collapse sooner than you think. They should be strong and adequate enough so they can withstand the weight of the vine. The trellis anchors also provide support to the branches of non-clinging, non-twining garden vines.

It is important that trellis anchors are positioned so that they're evenly spaced. This ensures that the load of both trellis and vine is balanced. And when a storm or typhoon comes, a well-secured and balanced trellis assures that the high impact that strong winds place on the vines do not compromise the trellis' stability.

How Big is the Trellis

Decide on how big your trellis will be. Be aware of the boundary of the trellis frame. This is especially so if you have an aggressive vine. Incidentally, the vine shown above is a Bleeding Heart and is not an aggressive vine. But this trellis was designed for other vines as as well.

Note surrounding poles, wires and cables in your property as well as the neighbor's. Provide a clear gap of around a foot or more between these structures and your trellis. This will allow you to cut or pull back vine growth should the vine branches meander beyond the trellis frame.

The photo below is a magnified view of the top-left corner of the previous photo.

The topmost and leftmost trellis anchor is shown on this photo. The trellis' top edge is 10 inches below the wall's top edge. The trellis' left edge is 14 inches to the right of the wall's left edge. There is also a gap on the right edge of the trellis.

How Big are the Trellis Squares

Decide how big will be the trellis squares. It would be an overkill to put an anchor on every square. Remember, although anchors can become supports so branches don't slide down the wall, anchors can also become limits or hurdles. This is especially when you need to move around branches. You will have to pull out the entire branch to get it past the blocking anchor.

This particular trellis has 48 squares (6 squares high x 8 squares wide). Each square has a height of 10" and width of 12". The height of the entire frame is 60" (6 squares x 10") and the width is 96" (8 squares x 12").

The trellis anchors are placed every two squares. Vertically that's every 20 inches, and horizontally, 24 inches. The photo below shows the blue crosses which indicate the placement of the bottom trellis anchors. Six are shown.

Tools for Marking Drill Points

Use colored chalk to mark the drill points. Short horizontal and vertical marks will intersect to mark a "cross" that will be the exact drill point. Optional tools for drawing true horizontal and vertical lines or marks include the plumb bob, framing square, carpenter's level and chalkline.

Notice the blue chalk marks made on the rough concrete wall. For pin-point accuracy, draw a finer and smaller cross with a pencil when you're about to drill. A clean hole was drilled at the center of the cross.

Trellis Starter

At the bottom of the trellis frame, you can build a built-in trellis starter or opt for a temporary trellis starter. A built-in trellis starter can make use of a V-configuration at the bottom.

The trellis starter is a narrow ladder and this is where you position a young vine. This particular trellis only has one trellis starter located in the center. It has a wide V-configuration to allow the upward spreading of the vine branches from the center. You could actually have two trellis starters at opposite ends of the frame. With two trellis starters, the vines would meet somewhere in the middle of the frame.

Planning ahead and marking the drill points makes it easier for you to drill in the trellis anchors with no worries.

Easy Trellis Starter Tip

2012-01-09T20:09:00.013+08:00

Wall trellises are relatively easy to assemble and mount. In a recent project, I attempted to build a wall wire trellis on faux stone panel. It turned out very well and although it posed a few challenges, was actually easier than I thought. The position of the trellis though was higher off the ground because of the way the post was built.

The faux stone panel adorned the top part of the post while the lower part had some decorative side mouldings. Although not impossible, I thought it would be awkward to put some trellising materials on this lower portion of the post. Wall wire trellises are best mounted on flat-faced walls rather than on walls that have ridges or bumps like in this case, concrete moldings.

Low Garden Trellises

Some gardeners work to assemble a big trellises that they envision will be covered by robust climbing vines some day.

Do remember however that plants always start small. And sometimes gardeners transfer a young vine to the trellis only to realize that the vine is still too small to reach the newly built trellis.

Did the garderners make the mistake of building a trellis that's too high for the small vine to reach? Not at all!

Building a trellis structure whose bottom edge is too low is a waste of trellising material. It also covers the lower part of the wall unnecessarily. Remember, vines grow upwards anyway. Some gardeners would even just let the young vine just grope along the wall until they reach the wall trellis to gain support - eventually.

Trellis Starter for a Quick Start

In my experience, providing small young vines, especially the clinging or twining types, with a trellis starter allows them to grow much quicker. It gives vines a shorter distance to move from point A to point B, or ground to trellis. Essentially, what you do is give the plant a bridge to cross to "get to the other side and be on it's way."

Trellis Starter Materials

You can be flexible with what materials to use for a trellis starter. Most would simply use twigs, sticks, bamboo rods and the like. And that would work. Here's an example of a piece of bamboo rod with twigs that was initially used to support the vine in its new location.

Others make use of scrap materials like twine, metal wires, even screen. My choice of material for a trellis starter is the insulated solid strand wire. Solid strand wire is a versatile gardening material for garden projects. And you don't need a lot of it for many applications. In fact, I've only used scraps of this material in garden projects.

Advantages of an Insulated Solid Strand Wire as a Trellis Starter

Stiff enough yet bendable

The wire, as a trellis starter is stiff enough to retain its form. Yet it's thin enough to allow you to jab it into the soft soil. With a pair of pliers, you could easily bend it. In the photo below, I used a pair of pliers to bend the trellis starter and hook it to the trellis structure. I then planted the other end on the ground.
Does not rust nor rot

Even if you leave the trellis starter on the trellis and forgot about it, there are no worries. Unlike twigs or sticks, this trellis starter does not rot and will not invite termites later on. The insulation as well as the wire material does not rust nor deteriorate.
Easily pulled out

The smooth surface of the rubberized or plastic insulation makes it much easier for you to remove the trellis starter when you no longer need it. Usually, this is the time when the primary vine branches would have have reached the trellis and took hold.

For twining vines, like the Maiden's Jealousy example above, a quick upward tug is all that's needed to remove the trellis starter. If the vine has established itelf well, carefully shake the trellis starter a bit. This will loosen the grip of the twining vine branches. Then slowly pull it out.

Now imagine if a dried branch or twig was used instead as a trellis starter. The vine branches would likely be intertwined with the twigs so much that it would be difficult to loosen and pry it away.

One practical way to remove the trellis starter then would be to cut it away piece by piece. But you'll be left with a tangled mess of vine branches, as there's no more twigs to take the slack.

Because of the hassle, some gardeners just don't remove the trellis starter anymore.

Shown below is the base of the Maiden's Jealousy vine with the trellis starter removed. Notice how clean it now looks.

The base is clear of trellising materials and the vine's trunk has become thicker. You're now free to plant additional ground cover or simply let the garden lawn grass to take over the bare patch.

Shown below is a fully established vine climbing in the garden trellis structure. The trellis starter has been removed and the primary branches have become robust. Secondary vine branches have sprouted and the vine has taken over the trellis.

Collecting Honey and Beeswax Remaining in the Honeycombs

2012-01-06T18:50:00.011+08:00

After extracting the pure honey by lightly pressing it out, I was left with five wrung-out honeycombs that still had honey in it. I learned much later that beekeepers use a centrifuge to separate the honey. I suppose the centrifugal forces that press against the spongy honeycombs further squeeze out the honey and fiters it.

Anyway, I had the idea to liquefy the spongy mass of honeycombs and then strain out the remaining honey. To do this, I heated a small amount of water in a pan. I then dumped of what's left of the honeycombs in it. Everthing seemed to have melted quickly. I then poured the entire honeycomb mixture into a plastic tray to cool.

Separation of Beeswax from Honey

Once the honeycomb mixture started cooling, the yellow wax-like substance separated and formed on top. And it did that on its own. This yellow part is beeswax. The honeycomb structures are made from this substance. The texture and hardness of the newly formed beeswax was like that of the newly dripped wax from a candle.

Although the beeswax hardened as it cooled, it wasn't brittle. I was able to pry and lift almost all of it. Show below is the beeswax, which molded into the shape of the tray.

The beeswax is soft but doesn't droop. It is rather pliable and can be folded or rolled. What I did is to fold and roll it into a compact form that resembled a bar of soap. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do with it but decided to store it away.

Filtered Honey Mixture

The liquefied honey mixture that passed through the strainer was poured into another glass jar. This filtered liquid mixture is shown below and held against the light.

You can see some fine impurities that settled at the bottom and some that floated to the top. The color isn't as dark as that of the pure honey in the other jar.

The residue that was filtered and remained inside the strainer was mostly debris from dead honeybees, bits of beeswax and other organic matter. I threw this away.

See, a lush and thriving garden not only gives you flowers that you can appreciate and enjoy. Sometimes nature gives you a bonus - honey - with the help of hardworking honeybees.

Extracting Pure Honey from the Honeycombs

2012-01-05T18:29:00.013+08:00

Discovering not one, but five honeycombs inside what I thought was an empty upside-down garden pot was both thrilling and astonishing. Who would've thought that in this quiet little corner of my backyard garden, a colony of honeybees was thriving?

Immediately, several jars of sweet luscious honey cropped up in my mind. Even if we don't normally eat or cook with honey, I was still excited to get my hands on real pure honey.

Here's one of the honeycombs and you'll clearly see the familiar hexagonal shape of the cells. You'll also see some dead bees on the surface.

You'll also notice the white-colored cells near the border of the honeycomb. These cells are all empty. Towards the middle of the honeycomb are the brown-colored cells. These honeycomb cells are either are filled with honey, bee pollen or have bee larvae (drone pupa) in different stages of growth or development. My mistake was to think that these were honeybees that died. Around 20% of the honeycomb's cells had young honeybees in them.

Here's a close up of the honeycomb cell. I believe the yellow substance is beeswax that makes up much of the honeycomb structure for the bees to store honey and pollen.

Beekeepers by Accident

But now the question is, how do I get the honey from the honeycombs? I'm not familiar at all with beekeeping practices. Unknowingly, we were beekeepers by accident. But I knew I had to somehow find a way to collect the honey that was sticky and smelled and tasted sweet.

All the honeycombs felt soft, much like putty. Surprisingly, the frame of the honeycombs was keeping everything together. Here, I folded and tore one of the honeycombs to see the inside cross-section. You'll clearly see the two opposing layers of the honeycomb, each with their own set of cells.

For size comparisons, you'll see a dead honeybee on my finger and several honeybees inside the cells. Maybe it was my handling, but some of the sticky honey had started to drip. In fact some of the honey already trickled down the bottom of the pot after positioning the pot right-side-up. I wasn't able to salvage it though because it mixed with the dried caked soil inside the pot.

Free Pure Honey

Not all was lost though, as I managed to put much of the pure honey inside a glass jar. I only had to lightly squeeze the honeycomb and the dark honey oozed out. The honey had a consistent viscosity. The color was dark brown, very uniform and had no impurities.

This is the jar that I filled up. Notice there was a slight froth that formed on top of the honey. Over time, this froth disappeared. I assume all that froth was just air bubbles.

After getting all the dripping pure honey from the honeycombs, I was left with a honeycomb mass. Much of it was beeswax but I was sure it still had honey in it. I was hesitant to throw it away and thought of a way to collect the remaining honey.

Honey from Bees in a Flower-Rich Garden

2012-01-04T09:07:00.010+08:00

A sure sign that your flower garden is truly abloom is when you see nature's popular pollinators - butterflies and bees - busying themselves, fluttering and flying from one flower to another in a feeding frenzy. Such is the case in the garden at our backyard.

For several weeks already, bees have been grazing my ear whenever I visited a little corner in my backyard. This corner, as shown in the photo below serves as a tiny nursery of sorts. Here I grow seedlings of different plants, both ornamental and vegetable. This area gets filtered light and is well-protected from the harsh afternoon sun.

The bees do not bite and are not in swarms. They're not noisy either. I didn't give them much thought although I found them annoying at times and likened them to flies.

In the garden nursery, I store a few spare plastic potting bags and unused empty garden pots. One of the empty garden pots is an ordinary small garden clay pot that's virtually undisturbed. It was inverted to function as a small flat stand for a seedling bag as shown below.

I didn't even find it strange that not a few bees would enter and leave the drain hole of the inverted empty garden pot. This went on for few weeks. It was summer after all.

Bees and Ants

One day, however, I saw a trail of red ants lining the side of the inverted garden pot from the ground towards the pot's drain hole. At the same time, a lone bee was struggling to get out from the drain hole. Suddenly, I realized that the usual bee activity seemed to have diminished in the last few days.

Was the bee activity replaced by a growing trail of red ants? Did the bees die? Or were dying as indicated by the struggling lone bee?

Honeycombs Inside the Garden Pot

After brushing away the trail of red ants with my hand, I lifted the inverted garden pot. Nothing was on the ground. But the empty garden pot seemed a bit heavier. I peered underneath into the inside of the garden pot and it wasn't empty at all!

There were five honeycombs inside the size of small dinner plates. The picture still shows the four honeycombs positioned at the bottom of the garden after I pulled out one.

The five honeycombs were hanging vertically and apparently stuck to the bottom inside of the inverted garden pot. I don't think any of them was touching the ground.

Initially, what I saw inside the garden pot gave me a bit of scare, I must admit. I've never seen a real honeycomb upclose before, whether honeycombs in a beekeeping business or otherwise. So when I saw the rounded yellowish sides of the honeycombs, I thought it was a snake. The regular pattern of the honeycomb cells looked like the scales of a yellow-colored snake. The thickness of the honeycombs was roughly an inch, so the rounded edges resembled the body position of a coiled snake.

And the ants? My guess is they were in for the honey.

I suppose the next question now is how to extract the honey from the honeycombs.

Top Three Gardening Goals in 2012

2012-01-02T17:38:00.013+08:00

I suppose the consequence to writing a "Year-In-Review" article is to write a "Top Resolutions" article. I'm not too much into blog resolutions, but this time I'll make an exception.

I guess I'm just inspired, considering the sizeable amount of material (tips and projects) that went into this gardening blog last year. Imagine, I started with 3, relented with 5, and then finally churned out 10 tips in the article Best Gardening Tips and Projects for last year.

Of course I'd want to continue with some of the successes I've had. There were failures and mistakes, and hopefully, I learned from those. There are many goals (more like "wants") that I can think of for this year, but I'd like to focus a bit on three. This way, even if I'm busy with the regular garden stuff, these three are always on my radar - so to speak.

New Year Gardening Resolutions in 2012

Vermicomposting for Fertilizer

Is vermicomposting part of gardening? Some may argue it isn't. But in may case, I'd like to think it is.

In this area, I've started something a bit already and want to pursue it. The idea of creating fertilizer passively via composting fascinates me. There are several ways to compost dried leaves and kitchen refuse and these have worked for us quite well. But the idea to have composting worms digest scraps to create nitrient-rich vermicompost with their castings seems so amazing.

Why so? Well, consider composting worms as your quiet little workers who will happily convert your kitchen and yard waste into fertilizer, 24 x 7, without complaints.

Granted, the first batch of vermicompost will be harvested probably 3 or 4 months after setting up the worm bins, the succeeding harvests should be much regular and continuous after that. That is assuming you have multiple bins with composting worms in them all working at the same time.
Read More and Participate in Garden Forums

There is a veritable trove of wisdom (or should I just say "information") out there on the internet as far as gardening is concerned. For instance, I've been successful in identifying a few plants over at the gardenweb forums.

The folks there are knowledgeable and mostly friendly. There are many members and contributors and so the interests are diverse. You can find help for information on any plant or tree, at least from my experience. The fact that the entire forum is well organized by categories and hierarchies makes searching quicker and convenient.

For this year, I plan on reading more gardening blogs (like this one) and participating in garden forums (fora?). The PEX garden forum looks very interesting. The nice thing about this particular forum is the local flavor it lends to the daily discussions that are well participated by enthusiastic members and contributors. There is so much to learn and gain from all the sharing once you get through the incessant jokes and banter.
One Blog Article a Day (OBAD) Challenge

This one qualifies more as a gardening blog goal.

Writing for this blog can be difficult at times. This is especially when you have a self-imposed minimum length of 500 words (subtitles included) for each published blog post or article. Some days, so many things just get in the way of composing your thoughts. All the more so, when articulating these thoughts in a blog post. And it gets harder. The longer you omit writing articles, the more difficult it is to get back on the groove of writing.

And that's exactly what I want to avoid in my blog writing this year.

As far as article writing is concerned, there's so much that I can write about. Really. There is actually more - not less - that can be written. Sometimes, I feel that, all I have to do is go out in the garden and think of a way to improve any part of it, big or small, and I have an idea for an article (or several articles, even).

I've learned to take pictures of garden DIY projects as they happen. I copy the digital photos to my hard drive. Later, I retrieve them and let the thoughts of that project inspire me into writing. Naturally, I include the photos in the articles.

So the challenge is really in writing the articles. And that is why I'm embarking on this OBAD Challenge (One Blog Article a Day) as a goal. But the goal is not to write one article a day for just this blog. It's to write at least an article per day for the whole domain of blackdovenest.com, which has 4 blogs.

So, here's to a Prosperous and Floriferous New Year!

Best Gardening Tips and Projects in 2011

2011-12-30T17:28:00.030+08:00

For me, 2011 was one busy and exciting year for gardening. There were so many highlights (and a few lowlights) that peppered most of the year. One was the first bloom ever from our Mysore Clock Vine (T.mysorensis).

We planted two vines from cuttings we took from Tagaytay and the highlands of Batangas two years ago. It was a long wait, so you could imagine the sheer joy we felt after seeing the first flower. Sadly, the joy was short lived. After another flower, the vines have not bloomed since.

The other highlight was the successful growing of our Bengal Clock Vines (T.grandiflora) from a few saplings we were able to pick from Los Banos. This was after several frustrating failed attempts to grow this vine from cuttings from a friend in a nearby neighborhood.

But as far as the list goes, there were noteworthy gardening tips and projects that made it to this year's Top Ten Gardening Tips.

From this list, in chronological order, you will find easy to implement tips and techniques that will make you think "why didn't I think of that?"

Top Ten Gardening Tips for 2011
(click on the titles for the links)

How to Paint Garden Stepping Stones

Tired of those old concrete steppping stones in your garden that're starting to look moldy and just plain "old"? Try brightening them up a bit by applying a fresh coat of paint that complements the color of your home or garden. You'll also get a bonus tip in an article on how to prepare no-slip or anti-skid paint.
How to Fix Garden Hose Kinks

Fix those troublesome garden hose kinks that spoil your time when watering the plants. Hose kinks also make your garden hose susceptible to damage that will result to leaks. This is a simple solution using scrap materials around the house to put an end to those garden hose kinks.
Homemade Lawn Aerator Using a Garden Rake

Give your garden lawn a fresh breath of air! Lawn grasses have been known to benefit from aerating, which loosens compacted soil, and at the same time provides oxygen to the roots. But store bought aerating gadgets and equipment can be expensive.

If you have the time, you can build this homemade aerator using simple hardware supplies.
Homemade Vine Guard

Having trouble with aggressive and unwieldy vines? These kind of invasive vines are known to climb and clamber on structures that should be off-limits, like wires and cables.

But how do you protect these structures from the aggressive stems and branches? Here's where you can build a basic yet effective vine guard to stop those invasive vines.
Drip Irrigation Using Soda Pop Plastic Bottle

Water that isn't absorb by your garden plants is wasted water. This typically happens where the soil is compacted or there are runoffs.

By having slow drip irrigation for your plants, you can be sure their thirst during very hot weather is quenched. And no worries, this DIY project is made from simple household materials and done in a few minutes.
Disposing Thorny Plant Stems and Branches

After pruning and trimming thorny plants and bushes, it's oftentimes difficult and sometimes dangerous to dispose of cut stems and branches.

Here's a very simple tip on how you can dispose pruned branches and stems that have needle-like thorns. Old newspapers and some twine is all you need.
DIY Bamboo Trellis in a Container

This lovely plastic garden pot with a built-in bamboo trellis can be moved anywhere where a climbing vine will flourish. And that trellis isn't just staked to the soil. It's actually joined to the garden pot. This is a two-part series where you will also learn how to paint on bamboo.

Although this garden project is a bit involved, you'll truly appreciate its value once you're ready to showcase your vines' bountiful flowers. Transform that ordinary plastic pot into a garden container with a built-in trellis now!
Cheap Garden Pots Using Coconut Shells

Running out of small garden pots for your plants? Did you know that coconut shells, considered as agricultural waste in many places, can be an alternative?

Here's where you'll find how you can be creative with a coconut shell around the garden.
Build a Wire Trellis on Faux Stone Panel

Faux stone panel is effective in decorating walls. But gardeners can add the warmth of green plants against the cold facade of stone.

If you think buiding a wall trellis on faux stone panel is impossible, then think again. With a few hardware materials, you will be able to mount an effective wire wall trellis without ruining the faux stone panel.
A Gardening Secret Tool for Projects

Here's a nifty little tool that I've been wanting to write about for quite some time. Plumbers and carpenters use it because of its usefulness for so many applications.

It's one indispensable product that I consider a little-known secret for gardening projects.

There you go! This year had a bountiful harvest of gardening tips and projects. Definitely, a couple of items in the above list are easy to do. Hopefully, in the year to come, we will be busier than ever with new gardening ideas that will make our garden thrive and flourish.

A Gardening Secret Tool for Projects

2011-12-28T16:52:00.005+08:00

As a hobbyist around the garden, I've dabbled on simple garden projects from plugging holes and cracks on a concrete wall to building garden wire trellises. In many of these garden projects, I found an exceptionally versatile product that you can work with so much ease and has proven to be indispensable, at least for me.

The product I'm referring to is epoxy clay. This epoxy clay, as pictured below is advertised as a wet and dry sealant, meaning, supposedly, you can apply it on wet and dry surfaces.

Little-Known Secret

Maybe because this little product is more associated with plumbing jobs, that not many people know it can be a gardener's secret tool. In my case, it was only when I saw the properties of the hardened and cured clay did I realize how the product can have so many practical applications, and not just in plumbing. I've used it successfully in a wide range of simple garden projects from plugging holes in the garden concrete wall to fixing a broken garden wire cage. The clay is easy to work with and takes the consistency of putty when it's ready to be applied. The ease of use of this little-known secret product is summarized in the product label in 3 steps: Mix, Mold and Apply.

How to Mix, Mold and Apply the Clay

Materials

Epoxy Clay which comes in two parts: Part A and B
Shallow pan or bowl with water around 2 inches high

Procedure

Open the Epoxy Clay can and expose the contents of the containers of Parts A and B as shown below.
Dip your fingers in the bowl of water and wet both of your palms.
Pinch equal amounts of Parts A and B from the can. The combined mix of both parts should all be used in about 3 minutes, so consume sparingly.
Mix the two parts thoroughly by kneading with the fingers and rolling the mixture in between your palms. Mix until a uniform color is achieved.
To fill up holes, depressions or cracks, push the clay mixture into the depression and spread the rest so it becomes flush with the surface.
To join two items (like wires) together as in a weld, keep them motionless by using vise grips or clamps. Apply the clay at the joint and taper along the edges where the clay gets in contact to the adhered surface. A bigger surface contact between the clay and the joined items ensures a stronger bond.
Let the clay dry and cure for a minimum of 3 hours.

Tips and Warnings

Always plan in advance and get from the two parts as needed. Use sparingly so you don't waste clay mix that hardens.
Break up the mixed clay into small parts if there are several areas of application. Drop the still unused clay in the bowl so it doesn't quickly dry and harden. Do plan on consuming all the mixed clay in 3 minutes.
When finishing up, soak your hands in water to moisten the leftover clay on your palms and fingers. This will soften the remaining clay and will be easier to scrub off.
Be mindful of possible loads that the hardened clay will be able to support, especially in the future. So be on the safe side and use adequate amounts to ensure a strong bond.

Strong Jointed Garden Wire Trellis

2011-12-10T12:12:00.009+08:00

A wire garden trellis relies on a sturdy interconnection of metal wires for vines to climb a pre-defined garden trellis design. Although there are a few methods for joining crossed trellis wires, one must choose the method that best addresses the purpose of the garden trellis project. Garden vines that are expected to become robust and heavy in the future would definitely require thicker wires and stronger joins at the wire intersection.

In my experience, the use of epoxy clay for joining metal wires is always the easiest method to do. You only need a little of the clay portions, a small bowl of water to facilitate mixing and you're ready to mix the clay and apply. The result is often a neat-looking and adequately strong wire joint as shown below.

Trellis Wires that Don't Meet

For the clay method to work, the trellis wires need to be together and motionless when the clay is allowed to cure and harden. But what if the trellis wires don't even touch each other?

You can use a vise grip to somehow hold together the two wires, although the next problem is how to apply the clay properly at the intersection. It is very likely that the vise grip holds the two at the intersection as well.

In this situation, what you can do is to apply a combination of the two easy methods: the Wire Lashing and Epoxy Clay which are #2 and #3 in the methods to join garden trellis wires.

How to Create a Stronger Wire Joint

Materials

Thin tie wire
Epoxy clay
Pliers

Procedures

Start twining the thin tie wire on one of the trellis wires. Stop when you reach the intersection point. In the photo below, the tie wire was twined on the vertical wire. Use a pair of pliers to keep the coil tight.
Using one hand, pull the two crossing wires together so they touch.
Without releasing the two crossing wires, coil the tie wire on the rest of the vertical wire with the other hand. Use the pliers for a tight grip. The joint (Wire Lashing) should appear as below.
Mix the clay as instructed. When the clay has been mixed thoroughly, pinch a couple of bits as shown below.
Diagonally position the two clay pieces opposite each other on the trellis joint. They should form an "X" on the joint.
With your fingers, carefully join the two pieces together so they form a rough ball on the wire joint as shown below.
Continue pressing and forming with your fingers so a smoother and neater clay ball is formed. Slightly feather at the edges of the ball that meet the trellis wires. This will make the bond stronger due to the bigger surface area between clay and trellis wire.
When the clay is smooth and neatly formed, leave the joint to cure and harden. An overnight curing time is preferable. Shown below is the cured and hardened clay on the joint with the tie wire reinforcement.

Tips and Warnings

If the formed clay is too soft after completing the ball, inspect it a few minutes later to ensure it doesn't droop. You may still press the clay to re-form it.
When the joint is good and starts to dry, ensure it is undisturbed as it cures and hardens.

Methods to Join Garden Trellis Wires

2011-12-09T18:39:00.013+08:00

I've often made various types of wire trellises in the garden. These trellises are usually wall-mounted and provide a valuable garden structure for many garden vines to climb. Garden wire trellises would typically have wires crossing each other to form square or diamond patterns.

Shown below is a flowering young Bleeding Heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) growing on a wall-mounted garden trellis. The trellis is made from wire with a 12" x 12" square pattern on a 8 ft. by 6 ft. frame. It is anchored to the wall with long L-hooks screwed to the concrete wall. The wires have been painted (brown) to weather the elements.

Usually, the wires are joined or connected at the intersection where they cross. This is especially so if the vines planted for the trellis are sprawling vines.

Sprawling vines don't have natural climbing capabilities so they don't cling nor twine to garden structures. Examples of sprawling vines include bouganvilleas, allemandas, jasmines and many others. If trellis wires are not connected where they cross and are far apart, sprawling vine branches may fall through at the gaps.

Here are three methods you can use to join wires at their intersection:

Coiled Wire

This method is done by wrapping or coiling one wire ONCE on another stationary wire as shown below. You need a pair of pliers to tighten the loop of the coiling wire while keeping the stationary wire straight. The coiling wire in the photo is horizontal and the stationary is vertical. This technique virtually makes the two wires inseparable.

A drawback to this method is the need to pass an entire length of the coiling wire around the stationary one. You might have to pass it through tight spaces. Another problem is it's a bit difficult bend and form thick wires (gauge 14 and below), even if you use pliers and vise grips.

If the coil isn't tight enough, there is also the tendency for the coiled wire to slide along the other wire. In the photo above the coiled wire may slide downwards if the coil isn't tight enough and the sprawling garden vine branches become heavy.
Wire Lashing

This method involves a thinner tie wire that lashes or ties together the two crossed wires at the intersection. There are several ways to tie the crossed wires and the one below is probably the simplest.

You need a pair of pliers to tightly twine the tie wire on one of the wires while crossing the other. In the photo above, the tie wire was twined on the vertical wire. If the tie wire isn't tight enough, the wires may slide horizontally or vertically.
Hardening Clay

This method makes use of a plumbing tool called epoxy clay. It is referred by other names like plumber's putty or sealant. A little known secret in the use of this clay is for joining small items together, sort of like welding them together. Follow the package's directions for mixing the clay and applying it. Keep the wires together and motionless while waiting for the clay to completely cure and dry. Below shows hardened clay joining two wires at the intersection.

The joint looks cleaner and flatter, and the hardened clay prevents the vertical and horizontal sliding of the wires.

It is also possible to combine any of the above methods for sturdier joints in the garden trellis. If you intend to grow heavy and aggressive vines in this garden trellis then it is necessary to combine methods for sturdier joints in the garden trellis.

Growing Garden Vine Saplings - T.grandiflora

2011-12-08T11:15:00.008+08:00

In a recent post, I discussed a flourishing T.grandiflora vine that I trained in a garden pot with a built-in bamboo trellis. This vine was from a group of seven very young vines or saplings that my wife and I saw by the roadside. This is at a college campus where we went to find seedlings of the T.grandiflora.

We were a bit skeptical yet very much hopeful in growing this lovely Thunbergia grandiflora vine. From the seven young saplings, here's the biggest and healthiest-looking that I separated to grow on the trellis.

It's sitting on the catch basin's concrete cover in the middle of our front lawn. The photo was taken right before I replanted it in the newly built trellis.

Fortunately, it thrived and bloomed on its new trellis. The rest of the vine saplings survived and had no trouble growing, albeit more slowly. After a couple of months, I realized I had more vines than I wanted. I have to admit that giving away several of these vines did cross my mind. This is especially so when you realize how big and aggressive the T.grandiflora can be. My wife wanted to keep them all, however.

Experiments with the T.grandiflora Vine Saplings

So left with six healthy looking young vines that were still in thin plastic bags, I had to find a permanent home for them. Fortunately, this situation also gave me an opportunity to learn more about the growing and flowering habits of the Thunbergia grandiflora. I knew the vine can become vigorous when left on its own, without pruning. Once established, it doesn't need plenty of care to grow.

I already have a T.grandiflora vine in a garden pot with a tall trellis. But is it possible to have a heavy flowering vine without all the thick foliage? Is it possible to have a flowering bush instead, without the benefit of climbing in a tall trellis? Will it flower and thrive in the shade rather than in full sun?

These are just a few questions that I'm willing to answer with experiments on the remaining T.grandiflora vines.

Growing the Vine in a Garden Pot with a Low Trellis

This is an experiment on growing the vine in a medium-sized (9-inch diameter) garden pot with a low (20-inch high trellis). I intend to keep the vine bushy by pinching and cutting off tips as often as possible. The small trellis will be there mainly as a support cage for the bushy vine. The vine grows fast so I need the discipline to monitor it's growth and trim it practically everyday - something akin to cultivating a bonsai.

Here's one of the young vines that I replanted in the pot and has started climbing the low trellis.

Growing the Vine in a Wall-Mounted Trellis

Wall-mounted trellises, especially wire trellises, are what I'm adept in making. So I've assembled a wall trellis for the rest of the young T.grandiflora vines. I just lined the young vines under the trellis and most are tall enough to reach the bottom wire. For the shorter ones, I just staked temporary bamboo sticks to train them until they're ready to start twining on the garden trellis.

Trellised T.grandiflora in a Garden Pot

2011-12-07T18:05:00.013+08:00

From the loot of seven Thunbergia grandiflora small saplings we took home, all seven survived. That's an excellent survival rate but then, these are saplings. They have rooted well already and will continue to grow unless you intentionally kill them. Internet sources say T.grandiflora is easily propagated by cuttings. But we discovered otherwise with a neighbor's T.grandiflora vine. I suspect we would've succeeded using the soil layering technique on the neighbor's vine, but it would be presumptuous on my part to say that that acquaintance of mine would readily agree to my "plan B".

Among the seven vine saplings, I picked out the tallest and most robust and put it in a garden pot with a built-in trellis, which I made. This particular sapling had thicker stems, greener leaves and well-established growth. This vine flourished and flowered, and I had to move it a couple of months after it first bloomed.

Reasons for Moving the Trellised Garden Vine

It's a good thing that this garden pot had a self-contained trellis, otherwise there was no way to move it. But I had to relocate it because:

The lawn area had to be cleared and the garden pot was sitting on the catch basin cover in the middle of the lawn. The lawn grass had grown tall because of the rainy season and now needed cutting. The lawn grass at the edges of the catch basin cover was thick and needed some hefty trimming. And because of this, the vine in the pot would just get in the way. So the garden pot, heavy with filled-in soil, had to be relocated or moved away, at least temporarily.
I wanted to show it off. That's right, really showcase it. I admire the T.grandiflora's showy lavender flowers and would love to have passersby to gawk at them too. The vine already had around eight flower buds in different stages of growth. I knew it had a few weeks of continuous flowering. in its new place. A corner in our front porch was the ideal place to put it.

And shown below are the beautiful flowers of the T.grandiflora, with some flower buds shown on top.

Here's another photo showing the sides of the flower buds. Did you notice the Christmas lights and wreath on the door. Yup, it will be a floriferous Christmas this year.

Getting Rid of Ants

Here's an interesting consequence of the garden vine's relocation. When the T.grandiflora vine's garden pot was sitting on the catch basin cover in the middle of the lawn, ants were always on the vine's tender shoots - everyday. I've often wondered how to get rid of them. But when the vine was transferred from the garden lawn to the porch, there where no more ants. My theory is that, in the previous location, ants were crawling from the ground or possibly from the catch basin cover where there was access to water.

Now, I don't know if ants are good or bad for the T.grandiflora. I do know that the vine yielded its flower buds even when it was still in the garden lawn (meaning, with the ants). Of course, the growth stage from flower bud to full bloom is another matter. But given the preference, I'd rather not have ants, in the garden, porch or elsewhere.

Build a Wire Trellis on Faux Stone Panel

2011-12-06T13:57:00.021+08:00

Faux stone panels have long been used as decorative siding tiles on walls and masonry projects. The tiles, which give the impression of stones joined together, adds a 3-dimensional interesting texture to an otherwise smooth and plain structure like a wall or post.

For some, a structure decorated with faux stone panel tiles is enough. For eager gardeners however, adorning such decorated structures with trellised vines adds the nice green accent of natural foliage to the cold facade of stone. Assembling a garden wire trellis on faux stone panel isn't difficult. It's mostly a matter of knowing the properties or characteristics of faux stone panels, which will allow you to find the suitable wall anchors and their placement on the panel.

The photo above shows a square post in our porch that has faux stone panel for its siding. On the right side is a Tristellateia australasiae vine, also called Maiden's Jealousy or Shower of Gold. It is potted in a temporary black plastic pot but will eventually be planted in ground at the base of the porch post. The white thin bamboo pole is a temporary support.

Characteristics of Faux Stone Panel

Faux stone exactly imitates the genuine look of natural stone. However, it does not depend on nature for its supply and is abundantly available due to its mass production. It is sometimes referred to various names such as Faux Rock Siding, Simulated Stone, Stone Veneer, Manufactured Stone, Architectural Stone and many others.

Here are some of its characteristics:

Made of concrete

Faux stone is actually made of concrete (and some with polymers) which makes it so economical. Real stone is so much heavier compared to concrete. The faux stone is fashioned out of moulds and therefore actually have similar patterns. It is up to the installers to cut and make placements to make the stones appear randomly laid..and more difficult to install.
Stones can be of various colors

Aside from the texture, the beauty of faux stone also lies in its colors. Faux stone can have a color scheme which can be pleasing. The stones seem to be carefully chosen for their similar colors. The colors however are only surface deep, because faux stone is simply made of concrete. Some contractors add a coat of clear varnish to make the stones shiny.
Installed like tiles

Faux stone are essentially concrete tiles with patterns. Since faux stone is light, installation is fast and easy. Natural stone installation is more intricate and meticulous. Although the stone placement in faux stone appears random, the joining of tiles can have a defined simple pattern.

Knowing the characteristics of faux stone, you're now ready to mount a garden wire trellis on the faux stone siding.

How to Install a Wire Trellis on Faux Stone Siding

Materials

L-Hooks or Long Screws - These will act as anchors to mount the whole trellis structure.
Clay Epoxy - Used for cementing the anchors to the faux stone panel.
Steel Wire
Pliers with wire cutting tool
Power Drill
Quick Dry Oil-based Paint
Paintbrush

Procedures

Determine the joints where to place the garden trellis anchors. It's much easier to position the anchors at the joints, or where 2 or 3 faux stone tiles are joined. The gaps provide space where to position the anchors. The photo below shows possible joints (encircled in yellow) where to position the garden trellis anchors.
Position and insert the garden trellis anchors into the identified joints. The garden trellis anchors' screw or threaded part should fit inside the gap as shown below. It should be horizontally straight and not slant in an awkward angle.
Use a power drill if the joint gap has a too small diameter, too shallow or is not straight. Avoid drilling into the stones and never use a hammer to hit a nail into the stone. Faux stone is mainly concrete and could easily crack with enough stress.
Once the the garden trellis anchors fit in all the joints, use clay epoxy to cement the threaded part of the anchors into the joints. Allow the epoxy to completely cure and dry. Shown below is one of the mounted anchors. Notice the clay epoxy's color blends well with the faux stone.
Use the steel wire to tightly connect all the mounted garden trellis anchors. Ensure there is minimal slack in the steel wire. Paint the steel wire as well as the garden trellis anchors. Shown below is the bottom part of the garden trellis.

Here's the completed garden trellis as it is mounted on the porch's post with the faux stone siding. As an option, you can put a trellis starter at the bottom to help your young vine reach the trellis.

After a few months, here's the Tristellateia australasiae vine or Maiden's Jealousy well established in the garden trellis.

Effective Deterrent Against Invasive Climbing Vines

2011-12-04T09:04:00.013+08:00

Many months ago, my Thunbergia mysorensis (Mysore Clock Vine) grew so lush that vine shoots started climbing the guy wires that support a utility pole near the property's perimeter. Removing the vine branches from their firm grip on the guy wires was difficult. I thought of joining the two guy wires together with duct tape so the vine won't be twining either one of the two vines. See the photo below.

It worked well initially. But then the duct tape joining the two wires started to deteriorate. The tape cracked and became torn. Much of it peeled away to the point that the garden vine shoots managed to slip through the torn flaps. Aside from being an eyesore, it became so ineffective that I had to severely cut back the now thick foliage of the garden vine. The removed foliage exposed the right side of the trellis as shown below.

So I researched further and found a way to create a homemade yet effective vine control guard that I made from scrap materials. Here's a brief rundown and review of that success story.

Features of the Vine Control Guard

Thick Diameter

Thus far, I've not seen a single shoot that was able to wrap itself around the vine guard. Without the vine guard, the vine shoots could easily hold on to the 1/2" thick guy wires. Actually, the vine shoots have no trouble twining on structures that are 2" thick and below. The thinner the structure, the more difficult it is to pry away the vine stems that have entwined on it.
Smooth Surface

The smooth surface of the vine control guard makes it difficult for the twining vine shoot to gain a reliable hold on it. With no grooves, cracks or ribs on the vine control guard, the vine shoots simply side downwards. The wide circumference and smooth surface of the vine control guard acts as a blank wall.
Height of the Vine Guard

Usually, the shoot of the twining vine grows upwards and attains a height of a foot and half before it begins to droop due to gravity. Because of the vine shoots' tendency to twine with each other, this results in:
- Restricting of upward direction of growth due to a pulling effect.
- Adding more weight to the entwined shoots, which drops them down further.
Because the vine guard is two feet high, vine shoots from the horizontal trellis won't reach the easily "grippable" guy wires.

Effectiveness of the Vine Control Guard

The vine guard's effectiveness therefore lies in preventing the vine from reaching the guy wires. Once the tip of the vine shoots reach the guy wires or any other vine structures, they quickly gain hold and won't let go. They proceed to wrap themselves continually on the entire length of the guy wires.

When the vine has established itself on the guy wires, it becomes extremely difficult to pry away and remove the vine's branches. This is more so, when the vine takes over the structures on top of the utility poles like wires, cables and electrical components like boxes and tranformers.

Limitation Due to the Scaffolding Effect

When garden vines droop because they can't climb on any garden structures, they eventually rest on existing vine vegetation. As more vine shoots entwine with each other and drop, a layering of vegetative growth occurs (see photo below). This is a scaffolding effect that can allow top level garden vine shoots to piggback on existing layers. Eventually, the topmost garden vine shoots will reach and take hold of the guy wires. It is important, therefore, to be vigilant before this happens.

Simple Solution to Thwart Wayward Vine Shoots

At this point, you could pull or push away garden vine shoots that attempt to twine or are just twining on one of the guy wires. In the photo below, a very light and thin bamboo pole was used to pull away some wayward vine shoots that have found their way towards the to of the vine control guard. One of the nodes on the bamboo pole can be used as a hook to pull away the shoots from the vine guard. After pulling away, the vine shoots simply drop on the rest of the vine foliage.

Here's a detailed photo on the pulling away of the garden vine shoots from the vine control guard.

Ultimately though, the vine would need some serious cutting back especially in this area where the guy wires are located to ensure the garden vine's growth is trained and contained.

Garden Pruning Scissors Quick Cleaning Tips

2011-12-02T08:42:00.016+08:00

In my long experience as an avid gardener, I've always appreciated the ready availability of reliable garden tools. It is quite frustrating to search for garden tools for half the time while in the garden. Equally irritating is to realize that the found garden tool isn't working as expected for some reason, e.g., jammed, rusty or dirty.

Gardening is supposed to be an enjoyable and relaxing experience and so I avoid getting into this situation especially on a daily basis. That's right. Everyday, it has been my early morning ritual to deadhead plants whether for spent blooms or unwanted shoots. Although deadheading can be done manually, I prefer to use a pair of garden pruning scissors.

Shown below are the blades of garden pruning scissors after a deadheading session. Notice the leftover trimmings and clear sap on the delicate blades.

That dripping sap will quicky collect dirt and debris when allowed to dry and then continually reusing the scissors thereafter. This could gum up the blades and will require you to clean it the way I clean my garden pruning shears, which typically work harder (pruning thicker branches and stems) in the garden.

Make the Task Simple and Easy to Do

So in my daily morning ritual, I've devised a very simple and quick cleaning routine on the garden pruning scissors right after my deadheading session. This ensures I always have a ready and reliable gardening tool the next time I need it - usually the following morning. The trick here is to apply the KISS principle or Keep It Simple, Sweetheart. Keeping the routine simple makes you want to do it consistently because it's so quick and easy!

Prepare the Cleaning Aids

Prepare a small rag. A small piece torn off an old discarded cotton t-shirt is enough. This what you'll use to wipe clean the garden pruning scissors. You only need to do this step as needed. Throw the rag away and replace it once it's too dirty to reuse.
Spray a liberal amount of lubricant like WD-40 on the blades of a clean pair of garden pruning scissors.
Spread the lubricant on all surfaces of the blades with your finger.
Gently wipe off the lubricant with the rag, letting the lubricant soak into it. There's no need to wipe the scissors dry. A bit of lubricant coating left on the garden scissors is fine.
Put the rag in a place where you will pass by when storing away the garden pruning scissors. I put my rag in a corner outside of a window because this is where I always pass by when going back in the house. Alternately, you can put it near where you store the scissors.
Put the garden scissors in a plastic case (if available) and store it in a safe place such as a rack, drawer or cabinet shelf. The garden pruning scissors is now ready for everyday use.

Steps for Quick Cleaning and Care for the Garden Scissors

After every pruning or deadheading session, get the cleaning rag and hold one of the scissors handle.
With the other hand holding the rag, wipe off the sap and debris on the blade along the length of the held handle.
Wipe in a direction AWAY from the scissors' joint or fulcrum. This is indicated by the yellow arrow in the photo below.

Wiping the blade in the opposite direction (towards the joint) may push sap and dirt into the garden pruning scissors' joint - and these may be harder to remove.
Repeat the previous 2 steps for the opposite handle and blade.
Shake off any loose debris from the rag and return to its storage.
Return the garden pruning scissors to its storage.

Tips and Warnings

If your scissors has plastic handles, avoid holding on to the plastic handle when cleaning the blade, as shown below.

Instead, hold on to the scissors metal part that is closer to the scissors' joint as discussed previously.
Do advise your family members to refrain from using the the gardening tool for other purposes like cutting thick cardboard, carton, etc. This will quickly blunt the cutting blades of the garden pruning scissors.

Cheap Garden Pots Using Coconut Shells

2011-12-01T19:00:00.018+08:00

The coconut tree is sometimes touted as the tree of life especially for countries in Southeast Asia. Almost all parts of the tree can be used.

The leaves and fronds are used for many handicrafts and all sorts of matting material. The roots have some use in cooking. The tree trunk is nowadays used for cheap coco lumber. The fruit of course has a 1001 uses - mostly for cooking, eating and beverage. Its usage extends even at the stage when the spent fruit is already considered agricultural waste.

Previously, I only saw discarded coconut husks and shells as fuel material for cooking in an outdoor stove. Well, no more. The photo above shows how half a coconut shell works well as a garden pot for an Adenium obesum. Notice how the bluish garden stone's uneven surface cradles the rounded bottom of the coconut shell and prevents it from rocking.

Cheap Garden Pot Alternative

The coconut half shell is suitable as a garden pot for the following reasons:

Has natural drain
A garden pot needs to have drainage holes and the shell has these pores, sometimes called "eyes", where water can drain out. In germination, the functional pore in the endocarp allows sprouting of the coconut shoot from inside the seed. See the illustration below.
Tough shell
The shell being referenced in the illustration above is called the endocarp. The endocarp is the tough covering of the coconut's meat. Unlike the husk part, or the mesocarp, the endocarp is very hard and will not rot as quickly.
Size is right for most small plants
The shell as a garden pot measures anywhere from 5 to 8 inches in diameter and can easily contain most small plants.
Natural color
The natural earth color of this garden pot lends a rustic color to any garden. It doesn't need to be painted and may be used as is.

Materials

Coconut shell half - This is readily available in the wet market area of select Asian markets.
Nail - 2 to 4 inches, 1 pc.
Hammer
Plastic caps or cans - To be used as improvised support and drain tray.

Procedures

Ensure most of the white coconut meat (endosperm, in the illustration above) has been removed. Scrape out any sizeable bits still attached to the inside of the shell.
Wash the inside thoroughly.
Remove, by pulling out, any loose fibers of the husk (mesocarp) still attached to the outside of the shell.
The functional pore of the shell may sometimes be adequate for a drainage hole. For bigger shells, you may need to punch out the plugged pores of the shell as additional drain holes. With a hammer and a nail, punch these pores.

Shown below is the bottom of the garden pot showing a functional pore (drainage hole) and the 2 plugged pores.
Because of its round bottom, you will need a support to keep the shell stable and at the same time double as a drain tray. Shown below is a kids' snack jar with a plastic cap, which can be used as an improvised drainage tray.

Remove the plastic cap from the jar, invert it and and position it under the garden pot. Here's how the improvised drainage tray supports the garden pot with a growing Schefflera arboricola or Umbrella tree plant.

Tip

Here's a way to add interest to the plants in the garden pots. Vary the height of the plants by using different lengths of pvc pipes. Shown below are two 4-inch diameter pieces, which were previously painted.

How to Paint on Bamboo Surface

2011-09-24T12:47:00.008+08:00

Bamboo is one versatile material used around the garden. Whether used whole as a bamboo tube or split into bamboo strips, it's generally sturdy and lasts long. It's especially useful for staking plants as well as for creating trellises for vines.

The simplest way to prolong the life of bamboo and make it attractive is to apply oil-based paints on its surface. An oil-based paint, such as the regular quick-dry enamel, dries to a tough shiny finish after drying. Two coats of this, one dried thoroughly after the other, goes a long way in terms of attractiveness and durability for your garden's use.

Shown above is the top part of a garden trellis structure made of bamboo and painted white.

Applying Paint Quickly on Bamboo

I learned the long way though that applying paint on bamboo doesn't simply mean dipping the paintbrush and slathering away. No. Doing this will actually result in a glossy and smooth finish. But the paint will likely peel away after being exposed to the elements for a few years.

Shown below is a magnified portion of a bamboo strip that was painted years ago with a brown-colored quick-dry enamel. This is the exterior or smooth side of the bamboo. You'll notice that parts of the paint have peeled and flaked away already. Some portions were left with a very thin discolored (yellow) coating.

Here's another part of the bamboo strip. But on this portion, you'll see the paint coat lifted entirely and peeled off.

Now notice this other part. In this portion of the strip, the exterior was stripped off (smooth surface removed) accidentally. That's why you see fibers of the bamboo running its length. Then it was painted. Because of the rough surface, the paint has adhered well.

By contrast, the part of the strip at the lower edge still has the smooth surface still intact. You'll notice the paint has peeled from the smooth surface.

Preparing the Bamboo Surface for Painting

What this indicates is that the bamboo's exterior is too smooth for the paint to adhere adequately. After being continually exposed to the elements (sun and rain), the paint coat eventually peeled off.

So to better prepare the bamboo for painting, roughen its surface with low-grit sandpaper. This is the exterior of a bamboo strip that has been scrubbed with sandpaper.

The interior of bamboo has a white thin coating that can flake off. Try to remove as much as you can, first with a knife or machete and then with the sandpaper. This is the interior part at the other side of the strip that has been scrubbed. Notice this bamboo has been weathered by the elements and has discolored.

How to Paint on Bamboo

Painting is fairly straightforward. Apply 2 coats of the oil-based paint on both exterior and interior parts. It is important to have the first coat dry thoroughly prior to applying the second coat. This will ensure a much tougher finish and will protect the bamboo longer in your garden.

Build a Container Trellis out of Bamboo

2011-09-23T20:24:00.014+08:00

The first part of this article discussed the background and considerations for building a sturdy standalone container trellis. This part discusses the entire assembly of the garden trellis.

The assembly of the container trellis will be two-step. The first step will be to modify the garden pot so that the trellis holders can be permanently affixed inside the container. The second step will be to assemble the bamboo trellis for the vine. The trellis structure can be attached or detached anytime from the container.

Materials for the Freestanding Bamboo Garden Trellis

Plastic Garden Pot: Rectangular or Square - 1 pc.
PVC Pipe: 5" long, 3/4" inside diameter - 4 pcs.
(these will become the trellis leg holders)
Bamboo Strips: 6' long, 3/8" thick, 3/4" wide - 4 pcs.
(these will become the trellis legs)
Bamboo Sticks: 15" long, 3/8' thick, 1/2" wide - 4 pcs.
(these will form the top assembly of the trellis)
Steel Wire: G.I. wire gauge 18, 3 meters long - 1 pc.
Machete or knife
Construction Adhesive
Pliers with Wire Cutter
Oil-based quick-dry Paint
Paintbrush

Procedures to Build the Homemade Garden Trellis

Adding Trellis Leg Holders inside the Garden Pot

Get a suitable plastic garden pot that is rectangular or square in shape. Preferably, get one that has sharp inside corners. Inside corners that are a bit rounded may not adequately secure the affixed trellis leg holders. Shown below is the plastic garden pot that I used. It measures 10 inches high and 11 x 11 inches inside the top rim.
To properly secure the trellis leg holder, you need to create traction on the inside corners of the garden pot. The resulting rough surface will allow the adhesive to properly adhere. With a sharp pointed object or knife, scour or make cuts along the insides of the 4 corners as shown below.
Do the same for the trellis leg holders. Create cuts only on the surface that will make contact with the inside corners of the garden pot. Shown below is one of the trellis leg holders that has been made rough with the cuts.
Smear a liberal amount of construction adhesive on the rough surface of the trellis leg holder. The adhesive should be enough to fill the gap between the trellis leg holder and the inside corner of the garden pot. Shown below is one of the trellis leg holder with adhesive. Inside the garden pot is one of the trellis leg holders that has been permanently glued to one of the corners.
Ensure all trellis leg holders are properly glued and secured at the corners. Let the construction adhesive cure and dry completely.

Building the Bamboo Garden Trellis

Prepare the bamboo strips by removing sharp edges with a machete or knife. My bamboo strips were only 4 feet long and so I joined two bamboo strips to make longer ones. I overlapped the ends together by 5 inches and then fastened them with steel wire. Be sure to bend the spliced wire joints along the inside of the overlapped ends to avoid cuts or injuries.
Paint the bamboo strips with an oil-based quick-dry paint. Painting the bamboo will extend its life especially if it is exposed to the soil, the sun and rain. Here's a tip on how to paint on bamboo surface. Let the paint dry completely.
Insert all trellis legs (bamboo strips) into the trellis leg holders all the way down as shown below. The trellis legs should be snug while inside holders.
Cut an appropriate length of the steel wire to join all 4 trellis legs together. Do this at the 24" and 48" marks above the garden pot's rim. Shown below is the steel wire joining all 4 legs. Note the wire wrapping on each trellis leg.
Shown below is the wire joining the 4 trellis legs at the 48" height. Securing all 4 legs at this level makes it easier to add the rest of the trellis assembly. Note that the 4 trellis legs flare upwards so that the structure is wider at the top than at the bottom. This will allow the climbing vine's growing foliage at the top.
For the topmost members of the trellis assembly, prepare 4 bamboo sticks. Lash them to the trellis legs with pieces of steel wire. Ensure the lashing is tight and bamboo sticks are secured.
Paint all steel wire and bamboo sticks. Here's the painted topmost part of the trellis assembly with the 4 bamboo sticks fastened to the trellis legs.
Here's the finished product with newly planted vine. The garden pot and trellis structure cleverly hides a piece of concrete (catch basin cover) in the middle of the lawn.

This is a simple DIY project where you only need basic tools and some scrap materials. Painting the garden trellis is optional but will definitely result in a more attractive and longer-lasting display that can be showcased anywhere in your garden.

Sturdy DIY Bamboo Trellis in a Container

2011-09-23T13:07:00.010+08:00

Here's a beautiful bamboo and steel wire trellis that you can easily build for your container or garden pot. Other than a pair of pliers with a wire cutter, you won't need any special tools.

Originally, all I wanted was a garden pot to cover a concrete patch in the middle of the grass lawn. This is a 1 foot square concrete slab that serves as a cover for a catch basin. You see, the slab's color sticks out amidst the lush green color of the lawn and so I wanted to hide it.

But I also had some flowering garden vine seedlings that needed transplanting and so a garden pot with its own standalone trellis was worth considering.

Advantages of a Standalone or Freestanding Trellis

By standalone or freestanding, I refer to trellises that are not mounted to lean against a wall. Climbing vines on these trellises are easily maintained. You could conveniently prune unwieldy vine branches as you go around the trellis. Also, there is less wastage of foliar spray as nothing goes to runoff on walls.

By having a standalone trellis in a container, you can also move the plant container with its trellis for any reason. When the climbing vine matures with a burst of flowers, I plan to showcase it in my front porch. By the same token, I can move the entire plant container to somewhere safe in the event of strong typhoons.

Some Freestanding Garden Trellises in Containers

Around the internet, I went looking for some bamboo trellises used in garden containers. I had some leftover bamboo strips from a previous project that I could use for a garden trellis. The examples that I saw were sadly, not sturdy enough.

The sample freestanding trellises were assembled out of bamboo, plastic or thin pieces of wood. Most of them however, were simply staked into the soil of the garden pot or container. One trellis had its thick pieces of wood duct-taped around the outside of the garden pot. I realize that these are homemade garden solutions but they simply will not do.

Two Reasons Against Staked-In Container Trellises

Heavy aggressive vines

The garden vine I planned to plant is Thunbergia Grandiflora. It is a fast-growing vigorous vine considered by some as invasive. For this reason, the trellis structure should be high enough (6 feet). I, of course, would be pruning it continually to keep it contained. But the trellis should be sturdy enough to withstand the weight of the vine's foliage. A staked in trellis would easily collapse when the vine reaches it's maximum height.
Monsoon winds

When the monsoon rains come, rainwater can easily drench and loosen the garden pot's soil. With the rains, come the winds that could then easily topple the trellis structure along with the thick foliage.

Design of a Sturdy Garden Trellis for Containers

The sturdiness of a trellis will be dependent on how the legs of the trellis structure are secured in the container. The legs of the trellis will undoubtedly be made of bamboo, for now.

So I decided to incorporate trellis leg holders into the garden pot itself. The holders will be permanently affixed to the container and will hold any type of trellis material that has a maximum thickness of 3/4". When you've mounted the trellis and ready to plant, simply fill the garden pot with soil, burying the trellis leg holders.

Although the trellis leg holders are permanently fixed to the garden pot, the garden trellis structure is not. Should you decide in the future to remove the trellis, you can easily slide out the structure and reuse the garden pot for other plants. You wouldn't even know the trellis leg holders are there.

See Part 2 of this article for a discussion on how to build the container trellis.

Seedling Propagation of Thunbergia Grandiflora

2011-09-22T09:20:00.012+08:00

Propagating Thunbergia grandiflora (Skyflower, Bengal Clock Vine or Blue Trumpet Vine) from cuttings is much more difficult than we thought. With the cuttings that we took from a nearby source, survival rate was a disappointing 0%. It is for this reason that we decided to head for the hinterlands of Mt. Makiling.

Since one of our daughters is studying at UPLB, DH already noticed the vines among the trees in our many visits to the campus via the UPLB shortcut. And yes, they were quite floriferous with the lavender-blue blooms. Unlike DH, I generally don't notice these things. Somehow, DH has this keen ability to hone in to surrounding flora wherever she goes.

So after we parked near the St. Therese Chapel, DH goes "hi-ho, hi-ho" with her tools all packed inside a sack (see above photo). We weren't after cuttings this time. No, we were looking for seedlings that we could dig up or cut and then replant in our garden.

She was armed with the usual: her trusty old garden trowel, pruning shears, a scythe and even a machete. We even brought along a garden pick-and-hoe combo but decided against putting it in the sack. Her sack was getting too heavy.

Invasion of Thunbergia Grandiflora (Skyflower)

How did we know that the plant was indeed T. grandiflora? Aside from the obvious plant similarity, I learned from various student and university (UPLB) fora on the internet that this plant species dominates among the vines in the campus. Not only that, I came across internet articles mentioning T. grandiflora as an invasive plant in the forests of Los Banos, particularly Mt. Makiling. UPLB of course is nestled at the foot of this mountain.

Here's one on plant-bioinvasion. The author, Nestor Baguino, writes:

...the author believes Mt. Makiling forest is facing a serious problem of quick bioinvasion in gap and open areas for examples by Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) and Skyflower (Thunbergia grandiflora)...

If you think that's scary, T. grandiflora is an invasive and pest plant in other countries as well, like Australia and Hawaii. Thunbergia grandiflora has been shown to smother rainforest in north-east Australia at a rate of approximately 0.5 hectare per year. Here's how the vine eventually covered a landscape in Queensland.

Growth of T. Grandiflora Seedlings (Skyflower, Blue Trumpet or Bengal Clock Vine)

There were no vines along the narrow road where we parked the car near the Math building. There used to be, so I thought they were cleaned up and removed. DH went farther towards the creek with her sack of tools. After around 30 minutes, DH came back.

Here she is showing off her loot of T. grandiflora seedlings inside the sack, plus her deadly weapon.

We really didn't think much of digging up these seedlings because these vines have become weeds for the campus. How did the seedlings grow in the first place? DH theorized that the seedlings were either suckers or seedlings that sprouted from natural soil layering.

Here's how suckers are formed as new plants.

And here's how a process called soil layering allows new plants to be formed. A natural process occurs when the vine's long branch falls to the ground and gets buried by dirt and debris. Actually, some vine branches become too long or lanky and will just naturally touch the ground.

In both cases, you will need to cut away the seedling from the mother plant.

When we arrived home, DH set the 7 seedlings in black plastic bags.

First Flower of the T. Grandiflora

Surprisingly, all of the 7 seedlings survived. Now it seems, I've got my hands full in building additional trellises for all seven vines.

After 4 months from the time the seedlings were transplanted, the first Thunbergia grandiflora flower appeared. The seedling in the garden pot below thrived well and grew fast on a sturdy container trellis that I built. (Here's how you can make a standalone trellis from bamboo.)

I pruned this T. grandiflora vine once a week, knowing I needed to contain it as much as possible in its standalone trellis. And at its height of just over 3 feet, I was pleasantly surprised that it gave us its first bloom ever. Truly, a welcome beautiful addition to our garden.

Cheap Cover for the Improvised Lawn Aerator

2011-07-23T06:57:00.003+08:00

In a previous entry, I explained how you can assemble a homemade manual lawn aerator. Essentially, the lawn aerator uses spikes to create holes in the ground. Putting away and storing the garden aerator, however, may pose some problems.

The exposed pointed and sharp nails (spikes) can become very sharp even after continued use. There have been times when the spikes scratched my fingers and hands when I reached for this garden tool in the storage rack. So there has to be a way to store the garden tool without causing accidents.

Protection Cover for the Lawn Aerator Spikes

Initially, I thought of using a bag to contain the whole lawn aerator contraption. Forget about plastic bags though. The sharp nails of the garden aerator would just easily rip through the plastic, thus defeating the purpose of covering them.

An old heavy duty shoulder bag would work, but it also would look bulky when stored. I'd rather have tools easily seen and not hidden. I then realized that you really just need to cover the exposed nails, or more importantly, the sharp points of the nails.

So here's a simple DIY project for a cheap protection cover.

Materials:

Thick Rubber Bands - 3 pcs.
(these will hold the protection cover against the spikes of the lawn aerator)
Cake Roll (or something similar) Disposable Plastic Tray - 1 pc.
(this will be the protection cover)

Procedure:

Measure the the protection cover's length against that of the lawn aerator's. If it fits and sufficiently covers all the nails, then you're in luck. If it's too long (as in my case), cut the cover in half as shown below.
Put one half of the protection cover over the other, so the ends overlap each other as shown below. Do not cut anything else.
Slide the halves against each other until you get the desired length. Press the lawn aerator against the halves to get the correct fit as shown below. Use a pencil to mark the correct position of the halves.
Apply a thin coat of construction glue in between the overlap of the two halves. Let it dry completely.
To use, secure the protection cover against the lawn aerator with 3 pieces of thick rubber bands. Obviously the 3 bands as shown below are inadequate and were utilized for demo purposes only.

By covering the spikes this way, you protect yourself from potential punctures, scrapes and scratches. It is a very cheap yet effective DIY project that you can do to practice safe and enjoyable gardening.

Disposing Thorny Plant Stems and Branches

2011-07-18T11:27:00.005+08:00

Have you ever had problems bundling your pruned thorny bushes for disposal? I have. Handling these thorny plant stems and branches can be a real pain when they're not bundled properly. Worse, there have been instances when garbage collectors become hesitant to take your "green" garbage made of thorns. I've heard a garbage guy grumble more than once upon seeing the familiar spikey branches.

Bougainvillea is notorious for thorns. In our case, it's the Rose Cactus or Pereskia bleo that has causing much grief for the trash collectors. Of course I'd rather have them haul the bundle of thorny stems and branches without any problems. So here's a simple tip for you to put away and bundle those pruned thorny stems and branches so they don't cause much injuries.

So to make your pile of pruned thorny bushes trash collector-friendly, keep a couple of things in mind:

Make it Green Trash
This is biodegradable trash, so keep it at that. No need cover it up wth plastic sheets or have a plastic receptacle for it.
Keep in Simple
This is trash (albeit green trash) for you and you don't need to "pre-process" trash to get rid of it. You don't need to clip or cut the thorns. You want it out of your house as quickly as you can.

Materials;

Old newspapers - You may also use a sheet of cardboard as that from an old cake box. The sharper the thorns, the thicker the newspaper sheets or cardboard.
Thin plastic yarn - You may use some biodegradable material in its place to keep it completely "green".

Procedure:

Lay out a couple of lengths of plastic yarn on the ground, parallel to each other at around 1 foot distance.
Lay out newspaper sheets on top of the plastic yarn lengths.
Neatly stack the pruned plant stems or branches one at a time on top of the laid out newspaper sheets as shown below.
Keep them as straight as possible. Position the thorny portions of the branches on the area of the newspapers. You want to minimize the foliage with thorns that is jutting out of the newspaper when you roll it up.
Carefully roll-up the newspapers sheets by wrapping them around the plant stems and branches. Keep the wrapping as tight as possible.
Keeping the bundle tight, bring the one plastic yarn up and tie together its ends tightly.
Do the same for the other plastic yarn and tie its ends as well.
Tie together the plastic yarn coming from the two knots, thus forming a "handle" for the bundle.

Whether cutting or deadheading with pruning shears, pruning scissors or a pruning saw, removal of foliage is a must in gardening - even for foliage with spikes and thorns. After seeing our trash of pruned thorny plant stems and branches neatly bundled this way, the collectors quickly hauled them without problems. They no longer had to hurt themselves unnecessarily when handling the thorny foliage pruned from the garden.

Thunbergia Grandiflora (Skyflower, Bengal Clock Vine)

2011-06-13T09:14:00.018+08:00

We're back with our morning walking exercise. While I focus on the walking and stretching part of this early morning ritual, DH is more content in looking for nice-looking flowers and plants. And I'm not just referring to beautifully landscaped front yards and gardens. No. But also to plants growing in sidewalks, empty lots, or even drainage canals that strikes her curiosity.

In one of our morning walks in a nearby subdivision, DH and I chanced upon a vigorous healthy vine with beautiful flowers. The vine we saw covered much of the house owner's front fence as shown below.

The robust looking vine had these gorgeus flowers that have sky blue petals and a pale yellow throat. Here's a couple of flowers from the homeowner's vine.

Identifying the Thunbergia Grandiflora

Instantly, we decided that we just had to have this vine growing in our garden. But first I had to know what it was. After looking around the internet, I learned that this plant is called Thunbergia Grandiflora. I also found out that there were 2 colors: lavender-blue (or sky blue) and white.

from coolexotics:

Thunbergia grandiflora is also known as Bengal trumpet, sky flower or Bengal clock vine. This vine is native to Southeastern Asia, and more precisely to India. It bears wide flowers that are generally sky-blue or lavender-blue. Some varieties (E.g. 'Alba') have pure white flowers.
This vine can be grown outdoors in frost-free areas. (USDA zones 10b-11) It is sometimes reported to be root-hardy to moderate frosts (24°F-28°F, -2°C to -5°C) but the foliage will be damaged by the slightiest frost.
Some varieties were selected, among which :

T. grandiflora 'Alba' - with pure white flowers
T. grandiflora 'Augusta Blue' - with sky-blue flowers

Note: This vine is considered as an invasive species in some tropical and subtropical areas, including the Hawaii islands (USA), some areas in Australia and Singapore.

I've seen this flower in the white color in our subdivision, and frankly, it doesn't attract my attention the way the lavender-blue type does.

So we asked about the vine from the house owners. We were told that this was an old vine, and there's no denying by the looks of it. The house owner, Jerry Monteras, even expressed a bit of frustration, saying it was getting harder to maintain despite the beautiful flowers. The foliage just keeps getting thicker.

Here's a picture taken near Jerry's front gate. It's a flower with plenty of peduncles.

Cuttings from Thunbergia Grandiflora

We proceded to take cuttings from the monstrosity of a vine with Jerry's permission of course. Heck, Jerry and his nephew even helped in choosing for us which vine cuttings to get. And they were quite generous, reminding us to get more if we wanted.

DH, confident of her green thumb naturally stopped at getting 10 cuttings, saying those were more than enough. After all, she's had her hand with cuttings many times and saw them thrive and grow with no problems. Besides, if the plant flourished in a neighboring subdivision, then it only meant that climate and conditions in our area encouraged or at the very least, supported it.

So we took the cuttings home fully confident that they'd all grow and become like the vigorous vine we just saw. For myself, I was already visualizing this huge wall trellis that I'd be building. I already even had the perfect spot for it and how tall and wide it would be. I knew instantly it'd be easy to get this vine climb up MY homemade trellis. And why not, Jerry's front wall didn't even have a trellis! Yet, the vine was just so big and kept climbing where it could.

Problems in Growing the Thunbegia Grandiflora Cuttings

Our excitement turned into disappointment when NONE of the cuttings showed any signs of surviving. It was like almost unbelievable. I mean how difficult can it be, right? So maybe the 100% mortality rate was just a fluke.

WE WERE WRONG.

It was VERY difficult. During the next 3 months, we would go to Jerry's house 3 times, asking to take some more cuttings to plant in our garden. At one time, we took as many as 20 cuttings. I even used soil-less potting mix in one attempt just to vary the conditions a bit. We researched how else to propagate the vine by cuttings: type of cut, where to cut, etc. and how else to improve conditions where they will flourish.

Here's a account from Sir Joseph Paxton taken from the 19th century.

from Paxton's magazine of botany (Joseph Paxton):

Having examined, with some care, plants of T. grandiflora which bloom abundantly, and others on which a single blossom is rarely to be witnessed, it is obvious to us that the two states are brought about solely by attention or inattention to some very trifling particulars. First, it should be potted in a compost with some pretensions' to be called rich, but not of an extremely nutritive description.

That account even discusses a bit about soil preparation.

Two parts of maiden loam, and the remainder of heath-soil, leaf-mould, and sand, will, if mixed, constitute an excellent material. Next, the pot to which it is transferred must be exactly of the size suited to its wants, and neither so large as to leave more than three quarters of an inch between the roots and its edge, nor so small as to check the extension of the rootlets, unless the specimen be too exuberant. Lastly, each plant ought to have an open space of at least half a foot on all sides of it, that the influence of the external aerial agents may be duly received, and that it may not relapse into a weakly state, with long, sickly branches, bare towards the bottom.

And finally, some ideas on trellis construction and placement, fertilization and watering.

The best mode of training for the attainment of these ends is to a small round trellis of either wood or wire, around which the shoots can be fastened in such a manner as not to grow higher than four or five feet from the stage. In the summer months this species needs watering with great liberality, and syringing rather forcibly three or four times in a week. Throughout the winter, however, it is to be kept much drier, and suffered to stand on a wooden or stone surface. Our drawing of this splendid plant was made in the nursery of Messrs. Henderson, Pine-Apple Place, whose recent culture of stove plants, and the spirited manner in which they have constructed houses for their reception, are much to be commended. It is an East Indian species, described by Dr. Roxburgh as growing " among bushes in wild uncultivated spots near Calcutta, where it flowers in the rainy season." With us it blooms freely through several of the autumnal months.

Cuttings of the young wood, taken off in spring, and placed in sandy loam, plunging the pots in heating bark or manure, and protecting the whole by a handglass, will strike root with tolerable freedom.

Thunbergia grandiflora has clusters of 3 inch sky blue flowers all summer and is vigorous even in shade. A native of India, the flowers and foliage make great cuts for arranging. Grow with plenty of moisture and fertilizer during the summer. Prune as desired.

Jerry's Gardening and Nearby Flora

In one of our revisits to Jerry's house, he welcomed us to his inner garden where we learned that he loved plants of different foliage. Different shades of green, shapes of leaves and growth attracted his fancy rather than flowering ornamentals. He didn't do much propagation either, preferring to purchase his finds from garden shops.

He even had a Hoya plant in his garden that he didn't even know. He just kept it for its shiny leaves. And he was pleasantly surprised to discover that this, just like our Hoya plant, would have flowers.

Jerry's neighbor (a former boss of his at the DFA) is also an avid gardener and actually owned the Thunbergia Grandiflora now growning on Jerry's front fence. The neighbor even had a very invasive white Grandiflora (T.Grandiflora 'Alba'), if I'm not mistaken. Here's the lush front garden of Jerry's neighbor.

After learning or our failed trials with the cuttings, Jerry assured us he'll try to propagate with his own cuttings. We left our contact number with him, hoping he'll remember to call us if he becomes successful.

Alternative to Propagate Thunbergia Grandiflora

Frustrated with our attempts to grow the T. Grandiflora via cuttings several times made us conclude that the only way to grow it is via seedlings - small T. Grandiflora plants that already had roots on it. We even entertained thoughts of layering Jerry's plant, so a branch would grow roots. Or maybe just get Jerry's plant if he grew tired of it! That's how badly we wanted this vine to grow in our garden.

But then DH had an idea. She's seen plenty of Thunbergia grandiflora vines at the UPLB Campus before and so I suggested we consider that place as a potential source for propagating Thunbergia grandiflora from seedlings.

Drip Irrigation Using Soda Pop Plastic Bottle

2011-06-08T17:50:00.008+08:00

A common tendency when watering your garden plants is wasting water through runoffs. This is especially so in a couple of conditions: the ground has a slope or furrows that immediately channel water to other areas and; the stream of water is too strong that it splashes and flows away before being absorbed by the soil. These conditions prevent water from getting to where it is most needed - the garden plant's roots.

Here's a simple and inexpensive solution to getting water to your plant's roots via slow drip irrigation. You only need a 2 liter soda pop plastic bottle, a shoe tack, a small nail and a hammer as shown below:

How to Make a Slow Drip Irrigation Bottle

Remove the plastic cap of a 2-liter soda pop plastic bottle. Create a pilot hole by punching a shoe tack at the center of the plastic cap as shown below.

The pilot hole will then allow you to punch a bigger hole.
Create a slightly bigger hole by punching a 1-inch (or less) nail into the pilot hole. Remember, the size of the cap's hole will determine the watering flow rate. A small hole will trickle the water while a bigger hole will have a faster stream and will empty your irrigation bottle quickly.
Turn the 2-liter plastic bottle with its bottom up. Punch a 1/4" diameter hole anywhere on the plastic bottom's surface. This bottom hole will prevent vacuum and allow the water to flow out of the cap hole when the irrigation bottle is inverted.

Prepare the Ground at the Base of the Garden Plant

Dig a hole roughly 2-inch deep and 2-inch wide on the ground near the garden plant's base.
Put a few small stones, pebbles or tiny pieces of broken garden pot into the hole. The stones should form a barrier between the irrigation bottle's cap and the garden soil. The idea is to prevent garden soil from clogging the cap hole.

How to Use the Slow Drip Irrigation Bottle

Remove the irrigation bottle's cap and hold the bottom of the bottle as shown below.
Fill the empty bottle with water while your index finger covers the bottom hole. In the above picture, encircled in red, notice how my left index finger plugs the bottom hole to keep the water from flowing out.
When the bottle is filled, replace the bottle cap. Be sure the cap is clean, inside and out with no debris covering the cap hole.
With your index finger still covering the bottom hole, bring the irrigation bottle to your garden plant.
Invert the irrigation bottle so the cap is at the bottom. When you remove your index finger from the bottom hole, water from the cap hole should start to stream out. Slightly squeeze on the irrigation bottle if a bit of debris still covers the cap hole.
Position the irrigation bottle into the ground hole as shown below.

Be sure to rest the bottle on something that's stable like a wall so it won't fall on any garden plant's soft parts.
You could also position the irrigation bottle in a garden pot or container.

This simple DIY project is cheap and only requires ordinary items as mentioned above. You don't even need a drill to create holes on the irrigation bottle and cap. Depending on the size of the cap hole, the bottle can be emptied in over 2 hours of slow dripping. This is a far more efficient manner of watering garden plants where you save water that otherwise is wasted via runoffs and rapid evaporation.

Pruning Saw for Cutting Thick Branches

2011-06-04T18:05:00.004+08:00

The local ACE hardware had a recent sale and so I went ahead and bought a pruning saw. We've never had a pruning saw at home before. The garden tools we use for cutting off tree limbs were either pruning shears, machete or even a hacksaw. For deadheading flowers, I use pruning shears and garden pruning scissors.

Pruning shears are also fine for twigs and plant stems that around 1/4" thick and below. Anything thicker would call for a heftier garden tool. But I don't want to carry around a regular saw to do the job. This is where a foldable pruning saw would be handy.

Hacking Branches with a Machete

For many, using a machete is the only tool to use when cutting thick branches. Maybe hacking away with this traditional tool gives a feeling of power. Or being able to unleash pent-up emotions akin to punching a heavy bag in the gym. A sharp machete is certainly a joy to use especially if razor sharp. By this, I mean the sharpness that would instantly cut a 1-inch thick mature mango tree branch in one swoop.

Otherwise, hacking away seems agonizingly slow. You'd get bits of tree branch chips flying in all directions, including your face. And the resulting cut, if you didn't manage to split the remaining branch, looks like something that was chewed by your cat.

Of course you also need plenty of elbow (and arm) room to gain a good swing and chop the the branches. Not only does it rattle and jar the plant, the exercise sends out the familiar whacking sound.

Machetes have their place in clearing tree limbs and coarse vegetation, but I was looking for something handy for use around the garden.

Cutting Branches with a Hacksaw

Here's a longtime favorite of mine. Rather than chop or hack a tree branch, wouldn't it be simpler to "slice" it off? That's how I'd compare the cutting motions. Sawing branches with a hacksaw slices timber similar to slicing butter - not that easily of course. But using a hacksaw to saw off branches is quieter, and gives a cleaner cut for the branch. You could even cut tree branches in cramped spaces. As long as there's ample room for a hacksaw moving to and fro, a hacksaw would be the tool of choice for me.

The cutting blade I use is actually that used hereabouts for metal. It's widely available from all hardware stores so I've had no problems getting it. I use the blade until I break it. I don't worry about it getting blunt because tree or plant branches are relatively softer. The only problem I have is getting blades that are 12 tpi (teeth per inch) or lower. Many blades are in the 18 and above range. The lower the tpi, the better so the teeth dig and cut through tree branch faster.

Again, I was looking for a garden tool that I could lug around for quick and dirty pruning jobs around the garden, and not appear like I was on to some carpentry projects.

Advantages of a Pruning Saw Blade

A pruning saw is the only answer for heavy limbs Pruning saws are handy in high and crmaped places since they need only one hand. (lopping shears require two).

Knife-cut surfaces are better than sawed surfaces becuase the smooth surface is less apt to rot and promotes faster covering by new growth.

Pruning saws, unlike carpentry saws, are specially designed to handle green wood that causes conventional blade to stick and bind. To work well, they must have big, wide-set teeth to clear a path considerably wider than the blade itself. The bigger the teeth, the faster the cutting, but the rougher the surface. Eight-point teeth or 8 tpi (eight teeth to the inch) are about the smallest used in pruning and make the smoothest cut. Coarser six-point teeth are usually used on limbs over 1" thick to speed up the cutting, and some saws offer even faster four- and five-point blades. For very large branches, there are big, open teeth similar to those on lumbering saw. These are tuttle teeth and are the fastest-cutting of all.

Saw teeth, shown actual size, are big for fast cutting of large limbs. On thin limbs, fine teeth are better since they cut more smoothly. Saws that cut on pull stroke are easier to handle overhead.

Here's a chart showing the different teeth of pruning saws:

Features of the Pruning Saw I bought

Safety Thumb Lock
Will not accidentally bend or fold when in use, thus preventing injury. To release this lock, press on the safety thumb lock then fold.
Foldable
From 17 inches long when in use, this will fold down to 9 inches when stored. At 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick, this can be slipped into your a garden apron pocket or your jeans' back pocket.
3-sided Cut Teeth
At 7 tpi (teeth per inch), the aggressive tooth pattern cuts on the push and pull strokes resulting in fast, easy and smooth cuts.
Rust-resistant Hardened Blade
Used properly and wiped after every use, the blade will not rust easily.
Conical Blade Shape
Lightweight and durable, the blade tapers towards the front allowing quicker work in tight spaces.
Contoured and Rubberized Saw Handle
The contoured shape of the handle facilitates pull out of the blade. The handle's comfortable non-slip grip cushions and prevents blisters even with repeated pruning.

Homemade Vine Guard to Prevent Plants from Climbing Wires

2011-06-01T18:11:00.006+08:00

I love growing flowering ornamental vines in my garden. Not only are they great for covering a drab blank wall, they're absolute space savers. Provide them with a climbing structure like a trellis and they will shoot up and grow like crazy. Tropical vines, especially, are beautiful yet notorious for being aggressive to the point of being invasive, if not contained.

Also, the placement of vigorous aggressive vines however may not always be ideal. You should be on the lookout for nearby plants and trees which the vine may cling and possibly smother someday. Other structures near a wall that a vine may climb are telephone lines, television wires and cables, antennas, etc. and you'd have to watch these too.

Growing an Invasive Tropical Vine

In our property line, we have guy a couple of wires coming from a nearby electric post as seen in the above photo. The guy wires are only a few inches from the property wall.

The vine that's growing on a wire wall trellis attached to the wall is Thunbergia mysorensis. It is also known by other names like Mysore Clock Vine, Doll Shoes, Lady Slippers and Brick and Butter Vine. It has been declared by the book "Vines of the World" as the most beautiful and this vine has yielded truly remarkable flowers. Unfortunately, it is also a fast-growing vine that needs to be pruned heavily at least twice a year.

If I don't prune the vine consistently on a regular basis, the spriralling shoots of the T. mysorensis vine attaches themselves quickly to the two guy wires. The trouble with the guy wires is that each is less than an inch thick. And when the vines cling to the wire, they hang on to it so tightly. Because of the wire's relatively small thickness and steep vertical incline, the vine easily gains height. When that happens, removing the vine is so much more difficult because of its tight grip.

Purpose of the Vine Guard

A climbing vine guard discourages and sometimes prevent vines (climbing and clinging) from climbing up a utility pole's guy wires that are buried in the ground. Ideally, they should have a smooth outer surface for less traction. They should have a diameter of 10 inches or bigger, so the vine has lesser chance of hugging the guard tightly. They should also be high or tall enough so the vine can't just piggyback on other vegetation to gain height (scaffolding) and ultimately reach the guy wire.

Even with less than these ideal conditions, a vine guard can still be used to delay the climbing of vines to a large extent. If the vine guard has a length of 2 feet (or more) and a diameter of 3 inches (or more), you could pry off the clinging vines with relative ease.

Making a Homemade Vine Guard

Materials

Thin PVC Pipe: 4" Diameter (or bigger), 2 Feet long - 1 pc.
(this will become the vine guard)
Plastic cup cover: 1 pc.
Insulated copper wire
All-weather Duct Tape
Construction Adhesive
Cutter or Heavy duty scissors
Hacksaw
Flat screwdriver

Procedure

With a hacksaw, cut a slit along the length of the PVC Pipe (vine guard). This is only on one side so you DON'T actually cut the pipe into two halves.
With a pair of heavy duty scissors, cut a plastic cup (vine guard cover) around the middle as shown in the photo below. Save the cut rectangular plastic piece for use later. The rectangular cut will allow the guy wires to slip through and be positioned at the center. See photo below.
With a power drill, create holes near the rim of the vine guard cover as shown below. If you don't have a drill, try punching holes with a 1-inch nail. The vine guard has an open top and these holes will serve as drainage so rain water doesn't collect at the bottom.
Pass the guy wires through the slit so they will be inside the vine guard. Use a flat screwdriver to pry open the slit. If there are two wires (as in my case), tie the guy wires together with a piece of insulated copper wire. This will ensure both guy wires will be inside the vine guard. See the guy wires tied and inside the vine guard as shown below.
Apply construction adhesive to the inside edges of the vine guard slit. Keep the slit closed and secure by putting duct tape at the top and bottom of the vine guard. Allow the adhesive to cure and dry.
Apply construction adhesive inside the rim of the vine guard cover. Put the vine guard bottom cover by passing the two guy wires through its cut as shown below. Allow the adhesive to cure and dry.
Apply construction adhesive on the plastic piece that was saved earlier. Cover the vine guard bottom hole with this plastic piece.
To keep the vine guard in place, tie a piece of insulated copper wire to support or hang it from the guy wire.

After a few months, see how the vine grew on the trellis as shown below. The vine's shoots continue to grow but could hardly climb up the vine guard. Even if they do, they either fall or they're easily removed because they cannot grip the guard tightly.

Left unchecked though, the foliage will thicken and can eventually rise above the vine guard. But that is improbable as the vine would've been pruned by then.

Made from inexpensive materials, the homemade climbing vine guard is a simple DIY garden project. With the vine guard in place, it is much easier to remove vines that were able to wrap around the base of the vine guard. Pruning the vine's branches and shoots to contain the vine to its garden trellis is now faster.

UPDATE: Here's an update and review of this project.

Remove Garden Weeds with a Hand Weeder

2011-05-10T10:23:00.008+08:00

Gone are the days when the usual manner to pick out weeds in a garden is to poke the soil with a sharp stick. Even those used barbecue sticks made of bamboo were okay. You simply pierce the soil at base of the weed and attempt to loosen the surrounding soil of the weed. Then you slowly pull out the weed, hoping you get all the roots out also.

This method works conveniently if you only have a few garden weeds to pull out. That's because the sharp point of the stick becomes blunt or bent over time, and poking the garden soil becomes harder. Also, a straight implement such as a stick becomes difficult and painful for the hand and fingers after continuous weeding.

The 2-Pronged Garden Hand Weeder

For many, the typical 2-pronged garden hand weeder like the one above fits the bill when handweeding the garden for an extended time.

This is the position of the hand weeer when you actually use it. The garden hand weeder has 2 prongs at the end that allow you to pierce the soil and loosen it up. You may poke the soil several times or loosen it by prying it as you dig the 2 prongs.

This hand weeder model also has a flat bottom metal pad that acts as a fulcrum. The fulcrum can be used to generate additional leverage as you pry up the weed from the garden soil. This helps prevent damaging the surrounding plants like lawn grasses.

Finally, this hand weeder has a soft grip around the handle for more comfortable hand-weeding.

How to Remove Weeds or Unwanted Plants in a Lawn

Identify the weeds from your lawn grass. Their leaves' shape, size and color are very different from the grass on your lawn.
Hold the tops of the weed's leaves together. This allows you to gain a firmer hold on the whole weed plant and reduces just tearing off leaves.
Slightly tug the leaves upwards. If the soil is loose enough and the weed is shallow-rooted, then the weed is easily pulled out.
If the weed is deep-rooted, continue tugging just slightly so as not to tear the plant from its roots. Remember, you want to remove as much of the roots as you can.
Still holding the weed with one hand, pierce the soil under the weed using the hand weeder as shown below.
Pry the weed upwards by pushing down the handle while simultaneously tugging the weed upwards with the other hand. Use the hand weeder's fulcrum to gain leverage.
If the weed's roots are still deeply anchored in the soil, pierce the soil further down the base of the weed. You may also need to pierce the soil surrounding the weed plant around its circumerence to further loosen the soil.
When you feel the soil giving and the weed's roots almost freed up, uproot the weed with the hand weeder so you easily lift the weed off the soil with its roots intact.
Don't worry about getting clumps of soil with the weed. Unless, it's a big soil clump, I don't bother shaking all the soil off the roots.

Some Tips in Weeding the Garden Lawn

Use a small stool when hand-weeding the lawn. Bending while standing to hand-weed the lawn is bad for your back.
Use a weed bucket to collect the pulled weeds. A plastic tray or basin as shown below will do.
Don't worry about pulling out too much soil and some lawn grass. This cultivates and aerates the lawn. Be sure to put back the clumps of soil and pulled out lawn grass to the ground. Press on the soil with your hands.

Garden Sprayer for Misting Foliar Fertilizer

2011-05-02T20:03:00.004+08:00

Flowering plants that bloom continuously have always fascinated me. I often wondered what the secret was to soil fertilizers for this to happen. In my curiousity with fertilizers, I discovered that there's a category of fertilizers that may also be sprayed directly to the leaves or foliage. These are foliar fertilizers.

But for you to apply these, you need a sprayer. And the only sprayers I had are the cheap squirt plastic bottles. I used one to spray the foliar fertilizer and realized quickly just how difficult it was to apply fertilizer with it.

That's until I found and bought one of these.

The photo below shows a garden sprayer applying foliar fertilizer in fine mist.

Squirt Bottles for Applying Fertilizers

Squirt plastic spray bottles are adequate for applying foliar fertilizers in very small amounts. But if you have many plants to spray, then it becomes a problem.

Manual foliar spraying is tiring

Constantly squeezing on the pump trigger of the squirt sprayer is hard on the fingers. This is especially so if you need to spray fertilizer for an extended time. You would need to frequently rest your arm if you have to spray garden plants for even just half an hour.
Frequent fertilizer replenishment

Many squirt sprayers bottles are small. The container may not be big enough to completely spray plants in the garden. That translates to frequent replenishment of foliar fertilizer in the container. That is potential wastage of fertilizer due to spills when refilling the container.

Features of the Garden Sprayer

The garden sprayer shown above is a compression sprayer. Compression sprayers are the most common type of spray equipment. After adding a chemical solution (fertilizer or pesticide), the remaining air inside is pressurized. This is achieved by pumping the handle a designated number of times.

Easy pumping action

Pumping the handle around 25 to 30 times is enough to build pressure in the garden sprayer's 1.5 liter tank. Depending on the spray performed, you may need to repump the handle. A coarse jet stream will undoubtedly release more pressure than a fine mist and repumping the handle is required for continued spraying.
Adjustable nozzle spray

The nozzle is adjustable for spray pattern and amount. Turn the nozzle clockwise for a fine mist and counter-clockwise for a concentrated stream. The photo below shows spraying with a precise non-drift spray targeted near the roots of a Hoya vine.
Start-stop button

You can start and stop the spray quickly and at will. Just press the button with the thumb to spray and release the button to stop. The button also has a lock tab for continuous spraying. Pushing this tab with the thumb allows uninterrupted spraying. Pulling it, releases the lock and returns to the start-stop mode of spraying.
Pressure release valve

If there is excess air pressure and spraying is finished, you can pull on the pressure release valve at the side of the plastic tank. This action discharges residual air pressure inside the plastic tank. Storing the garden sprayer without the residual air pressure extends the life of the garden sprayer.

Some Tips when Spraying Foliar Fertilizer

Spray up or down, especially underneath leaves.
Mix chemicals with water thoroughly, as there may be danger to clog the nozzle.
Do not spray on a windy day. Winds may blow spray material off target.
Wear protective clothing, including gloves, mask or goggles, as needed.

Garden Scissors for Pruning and Deadheading

2011-05-02T19:56:00.023+08:00

One of my early morning rituals as a gardener is deadheading flowering plants. I've often advocated this practice in several deadheading entries in this blog.

Deadheading involves cutting or removing spent blooms and this seemingly triggers the plant to produce more blooms. There's a better scientific explanation for this phenomenon, but suffice it to say that deadheading flowers puts the plant into a panic mode.

Flowers, through pollination, eventually become fruits and that's where seeds come from. Seeds are nature's way of propagating plants, ensuring survival of their species. When flowers are deadheaded, naturally, there won't be fruits to produce seeds. And when plants sense that flowers disappear, they produce more flowers. Basically, it's as simple as that.

Problems with Regular Pruning Shears

A favorite flowering shrub in our home is the Rose Cactus or Pereskia Bleo. It flowers all through the year and deadheading the shrub ensures it has new blooms everyday. The flowers are bright orange during the hot dry season and become pink orange during the rainy season. A few friends have taken notice and commented how they admire the flowers.

Deadheading the rose cactus flowers isn't easy though with a regular pruning shear.

Flower buds tend to grow in small clusters.

A branch would produce about 3 to 5 flower buds, and each would bloom at different times. Typically, the flower buds will be close to each other. A regular pruning shear is able to cut a spent bloom, but because of the size of the blades, it could knock out or even inadvertently cut neary flower buds. You could deadhead the spent flowers by twisting the bloom and pulling it outwards, but your fingers could also knock off the flower buds in the process.
Avoiding thorns and branches.

In spite of its bright pretty flowers, the Rose Cactus is notorious for its needle-like thorns, and it's one reason other gardeners wouldn't grow it. The Rose Cactus grows branches rather easily and could grow numerous branches, if not regularly pruned. Each thorn node along the stem is a potential branch. With a regular pruning shear, you'd have to be skillful and careful enough to maneuver the pruning shear around the thorny branches or your skin would be caught by the needle-like thorns. Be sure to take precautions when throwing pruned branches. Here's a tip to dispose the thorny plant stems and branches.

Deadheading Flowers with Cheap Garden Scissors

The picture below shows a pair of pruning garden scissors I bought from ACE Hardware.

It's inexpensive at Php159.75 with a 10% discount. As you can see, the garden scissors extends my height (just a little bit, though) when reaching for the topmost spent flowers. The blades are thin enough not to disturb the nearby flower buds on the same branch, thus ensuring new blooms in the next few days.

Deadheading the Rose Cactus spent blooms with the garden scissors is more precise. The scissors allow you to remove the part of the flower that becomes a fruit pod. Deadheading by pinching with the fingers sometimes leaves this fruit pod on the stem.

Because of its long slender body, the pruning garden scissors also allow you to get through the branches without having to pull other branches aside. You won't be able to do this with the regular-sized pruning shears without getting your arm pricked by the thorns.

Other Uses for the Gardening Scissors

Other than deadheading, the gardening scissors is useful for pruning adventitious growth buds as shown below.

As mentioned, this shrub is capable of growing numerous branches and cutting off these young growths prevent unwieldy branching. I've used this garden scissor for thin twigs and it's sharp enough to cut those too. I'd rather reserve the this garden tool though for soft stems and flowers, so as not to lose its sharpness.

Homemade Lawn Aerator Using a Garden Rake

2011-04-05T19:55:00.010+08:00

Spike aeration works through pricking or poking holes beneath the surface of a lawn. This creates space for air to be more easily absorbed into the soil. More importantly, it allows easy absorption of water into the soil.

However, spike aeration does not reduce thatch as well as core aeration, and needs to be performed each year for optimal effectiveness. If your lawn isn't too big, then spike aeration would suffice.

Homemade Garden Lawn Aerator

In a previous entry, I wrote about a DIY improvised lawn aerator which also made use of the garden rake. The problem with this improvised spike aerator was that the spiking device was semi-permanently attached to the garden rake. To reuse garden rake, you'd have to manually remove the metal wire that fastens the aerator device. This can be a tedious and time-consuming effort.

The homemade garden lawn aerator discussed in this article still makes use of the old garden rake. The garden rake is indispensable to the garden aerator device due to the following reasons:

It is easy on the back. You don't need to bend down to aerate the garden lawn.
It provides a good leverage. The long handle of the garden rake allows you to easily pull out the spikes from the ground.
The flat metal prongs on the garden rake allow you to push the garden aerator with your foot into the ground.

How to Make the Lawn Spike Aerator

The specifications of materials you will be needing depends on the prong configuration of your garden rake. The details of materials used conform to the specs of the garden rake I have. The specific measurements work for me and will be provided for discussion purposes only.

Materials

Garden Rake
Wooden Boards - 3 1/2" x 3/4" x 11" long, 2 pcs.
Nails - 3", 11 pcs.
Wood Screws - 1 1/4" 4 pcs.
Eye Screws - 3/4", 3 pcs.
Construction Adhesive

Procedure

Take one of the 2 boards which will become the bottom aerator board. Draw a diamond pattern as shown below.

The intersection of the lines will be the points where the the aerator spikes (nails) will be placed. Pre-drill small holes on this top aerator board. The pre-drilled holes will allow easy hammering of the aerator spikes and will make them more vertical. It will also help prevent the cracking and splintering of the wood.
Hammer the aerator spikes through the bottom aerator board. Ensure the tops of the aerator spikes (head of the nails) are flush with the bottom aerator board. You may want some to use some supports like the weight plates shown below.

Place the supports on the ground and hammer the spikes in between the supports. Keep the aerator spikes vertical all the time.
Take the second board which will become the top aerator board. Smear construction adhesive at the bottom of the top aerator board and then position this on top of the bottom aerator board. Allow to dry.
Reinforce the adhesion by fastening the aerator boards together with 4 wood screws as shown below.
Attach 3 eye screws on the top of the top aerator board. A sample eye screw is shown above on top of the board. The 3 eye screws will serve as the holders for 3 prongs of the garden rake.
We're now ready to attach the spike aerator to the garden rake. Align 3 prongs of the garden rake with the 3 holders (eye screws) of the spike aerator as shown below.
Engage the 3 prongs with the spike aerator's eye screws. It doesn't matter if the spike lawn aerator is shorter than the garden rake's head. Just ensure that the 3 prongs fit well into the spike lawn aerator's holders.

How to Use the Manual Garden Lawn Aerator

This garden lawn aerator uses your bodyweight to press the aerator spikes into the ground. You can use either foot in pressing down the lawn aerator spikes. You can have the garden rake's long handle in between your legs or at the side of one leg.

The photo below shows a correct form in using the garden lawn aerator.

If you have very compacted soil, water the lawn adequately to soften the soil a bit.
Keeping the lawn aerator vertical, press your foot on the garden rake. Put on more pressure on the lawn aerator by shifting your bodyweight as shown below.

There's no need to completely sink the aerator spikes into the ground, especially if there are stones underneath.
Remove the foot from the rake and pull the garden rake's handle up. You may need to rock the garden rake's handle a little to slide aerator spikes out easily.
Position the lawn aerator to the next location so that the spike holes are evenly spaced.

Shown below is the garden lawn after being aerated by the spike lawn aerator. You can see the tiny spike holes created by the aeration.

Practice safety when storing away this garden lawn aerator. The sharp pointed nails may cause injuries. For storage purposes, here's how you can make a protective cover for the homemade lawn aerator after you finish in the garden.

Garden Hose Kinks - How to Fix

2011-04-04T20:44:00.005+08:00

A kink is defined as "a sharp bend in a line produced when a line having a loop is pulled tight". For a garden hose in use, this happens when a hose gets pulled tightly from a loop and results in the cutting off of the water supply. The way to "unkink" the hose when watering the garden is to approach the kink and straighten it, at least temporarily. This can be annoying if the garden hose is long and you need to constantly "unkink" it.

Shown below is a garden hose kink visible because of its shape and its faded color, meaning, the kink has been there for some time.

Generally, kinks occur because the garden hose was not straightened out sufficiently when it was unrolled for use. Kinks may also occur when the garden hose was not rolled or stored away correclty after use.

Remove Kinks in Garden Hose

Short of replacing the entire hose, the kinks in a garden hose, unfortunately, will always be there. But there's a way to fix or "straighten up" the kinks and this is by using splints.

If you view the cross-section of a garden hose, it should always be round or almost round. The cross-section of a garden hose kink has a thin oblong shape and subsequent pulling would flatten it and cut the passage of water. Keeping the cross-section round will be the job of the splint.

A practical splint for this purpose is a rigid circular tube or pipe inside (pushing out the inside of the hose) or outside (compressing the hose) the garden hose. A simple and effective tube or pipe is a short pvc piece that compresses the kink so that the hose assumes a round cross-section.

Shown below is a garden hose splint (blue pvc piece) that was passed through one end of the garden hose and positioned where the garden hose kink is located. The hose splint's inside diameter is big enough to allow the garden hose to slide through it. It's small enough though to adequately compress the garden hose. This way, the garden hose kink is always forced open.

To do the above, you will need to remove first the garden hose fitting on one end: either the hose nozzle or the faucet connectors or coupling.

Cut several garden hose splints for as many kinks as there are on the hose and slide them through one end of the hose for positioning.

When Garden Hose Fittings Get in the Way

What do you do if there's only one kink and it's too much hassle to remove the garden hose fittings (nozzle, connector or coupling) to allow the hose splint through?

You use the same garden hose splint but cut it lengthwise. Grip the garden hose splint with a pair of vise-grips to secure it. Hold the vise-grip as you cut the splint with a hacksaw as shown below.

After cutting a side of the garden hose splint, pry the slit open. You may need a screwdriver or any other tool to pry it open sufficiently. Insert the garden hose though the open slit.

Finally, grip the garden hose splint tight while you bind it shut using duct tape.

How to Paint Garden Stepping Stones

2011-04-04T19:48:00.008+08:00

Right after we had our house built, a garden landscaper was contracted by the architect-builder to do some landscaping on our front yard. As we wanted some lawn grass in front, the garden landscaper dug up holes along a path and poured concrete on these holes. These would be the faux garden stepping stones on the lawn. Garden stepping stones are a great alternative to concrete paving to minimize lawn damage due to foot traffic.

The concrete garden stepping stones looked very nice at first. With the neutral grayish color of concrete, they looked like natural rock. Over time though, dirt and stains discolored the garden stepping stones. The photo below shows one of them.

Here are a few simple steps to clean the garden stepping stones and then paint them for a fresh new look.

Pry away the surrounding turf on the garden stepping stone.

Since you will be cleaning and painting the garden stepping stones, then this would be a good opportunity to trim back the garden lawn grass surrounding the stones. In the above picture, the garden stone is flush with the lawn grass' height and looks buried.

With a flat trowel or a machete, dig along the edges of the garden stepping stone. Pry out the surrounding turf so the side edges of the garden stepping stone are exposed. Remember, you'll be painting these garden stones so try to expose at least an inch below the ground level. Be careful not to chip the concrete garden stones with the trowel or machete.
Cut the surrounding excess grass turf.

With a pair of garden grass scissors, cut away the pried out turf. Remove turf to expose an inch below the ground level. If the grass turf is too thick or grass roots are exposed, use pruning shears instead. Cut away the exposed thick grass roots as you would when cutting twigs.
Wash and clean the garden stepping stone.

Prepare the garden stepping stones for painting by cleaning the surfaces thoroughly. Use detergent and water and scrub away the dirt and stain with a stiff-bristled brush. If the garden stepping stone has an etched design, brush away the dirt and small stones that may have embedded.

If washing and scrubbing with the detergent does not remove the stains, consider a weak bleach solution. Mix bleach with water at a 1:10 ratio. Scrub the bleach solution on the surface of the garden stepping stone. Let the surface dry for a few minutes.
Paint the surface of the garden stepping stone.

Two things need to be considered when you're about to paint the garden stepping stones. One, it has to be a clear day with no rain in sight. Latex paint is water-soluble. A strong rain immediately after painting could wash away the latex paint. Second, schedule the painting when you don't have busy projects in the lawn. Remember, it will take a while to fully dry the two coats of paint so you won't be stepping on them for some time. So it's best to minimize foot traffic in the garden as the paint dries.

Choose paint color that complements your house color. Earth tones look natural on the garden lawn. Apply two coats of paint. Let the first coat dry thoroughly prior to the second coat. It's best to keep it simple. You can apply multiple shades of color, but remember that when the paint job on one of the stones get damaged, it may be difficult to replicate the same design and same set of colors in the future.

If you have issues with the paint being slippery or too slick, consider applying non-slip or anti-slip paint. Here's a an easy homemade anti-slip paint that you can make.

Paint as far down along the sides as you can. When the lawn grass grows back, you can be sure there won't be unpainted spots on the garden stone peeking out. Replace some garden soil on the dug out areas to even out the lawn grass' surface as it grows back.

Thunbergia Mysorensis Flower - Latter Stages of Growth

2011-03-30T18:36:00.007+08:00

After seeing the first raceme of our Thunbergia Mysorensis vine, I was anxious, yet excited as to how the cluster of flowers would develop. Of course, I've seen images of this vine acclaimed as the prettiest flowering vine in the world in the book "Vines of the World". I've seen the actual spectacular racemes from a road trip and how everyone in that trip were awed at the beauty of these flowers.

Here's the first raceme as when we saw it in March 6, 2011.

Immediately, you'd note the young greenish buds near the bottom of raceme which don't give a clue as to how the flowers would look like.

Descending Flowering

The racemes of the Thunbergia Mysorensis grow downwards. Flowering is descending, meaning, the flowers at the base (which is actually at the top in the photo), are the first to develop. The photo below shows just that.

You'll notice the red-brown bracts open up and ultimately become the sepals of the flower. The flower is yellow and as shown below (photo taken in March 11) is still closed and is just coming out from the red-brown bracts.

It is rather mysterious how a balloon-looking flower would develop and open up into the famed flower often referred to as Lady's Slipper or Doll Shoes.

Lady's Slippers or Doll Shoes

I've often wondered why the Thunbergia Mysorensis flower has these monickers. Articles found on the internet don't explain why. But after I've seen the first flower to completely bloom, I now know the reason why it's called Lady's Slipper.

Shown below is a photo of the raceme taken in March 21.

Focus on the fully developed yellow and red flower you see at the top of the picture. Now tilt your head to the left. You'll spot the Lady's Slipper with the slipper pointing down and seems to have these red ruffles on the instep and sides.

Not convinced? Shown below is a close-up view of the flower taken from the opposite side. Tilt your head to the right this time. Now, do you see the Lady's Slipper?

I read somewhere that these flowers had dripping nectar and that you'd better not walk under them lest you'd find sticky nectar on your skin. I thought that was an exaggeration, until I saw so many ants. Yes, there was nectar dripping from the opening of the first flower.

Here's the raceme's first flower with dripping nectar from its throat.

Look closely at the picture above. You could even spot three ants feeding on the nectar.

Prettiest Flowering Vine in the World

That's how the book "Vines of the World" has considered this beautiful flowering vine. The photo below shows a chandelier-like appearance of the raceme. At this stage (photo taken March 23) not all of the flowers of the raceme have developed, and the first bloomed flower has fallen off.

Just to show the size-reference of the Thunbergia Mysorensis flower, here's DH proudly showing off our vine's first flower cluster. I believe though that this is a small raceme and others can grow much bigger and with more flowers.

Thunbergia Mysorensis Flower - Early Stages of Growth

2011-03-30T15:00:00.007+08:00

When I saw the Mysore Clock Vine's first raceme (elongated pendulous cluster of flowers), I was wondering as to when it actually started to appear. In fact, I didn't even know how it was supposed to look like. All I've been seeing in the Mysore Clock vine's almost 2 years of existence was its dense foliage - plenty of growing branches, shoots and leaves.

But after discovering the first raceme, I saw a curious thread-like growth two feet away along the trellis. The photo below was taken March 8.

Peduncle of the Mysore Clock Vine Raceme

The thread-like growth turned out to be the peduncle of the raceme. It reminded me so much of the hanging threads of the Millionaire's vine. It was around 3 inches long, pinkish in color and was dangling straight down. New shoots of the T.Mysorensis, on the other hand, typically would come out from any angle. They then would eventually bend towards the horizontal and not dangle straight down.

Also, unlike the usual new shoots of the Thunbergia Mysorensis, the peduncle didn't have leaf buds. Hence, I concluded that it was a new raceme. After a week (March 15), the red-brown juvenile bracts started to appear. See the photo below.

The peduncle is now 9 inches long and the young raceme has dangled just below the garden wire trellis.

After 2 weeks (March 30), the Mysore Clock vine peduncle was already 17 inches long and was well below the garden trellis.

Thunbergia Mysorensis Raceme Pedicels and Bracts

Here's a magnified view of the raceme. The pedicels connecting the bracts around the T.Mysorensis rachis are still short. The rachis connects to the peduncle above it.

There's nothing much noteworthy with the raceme's overall appearance. It even looks like a wilted plant from afar. It still had that dull reddish-brown color, although the calyxes comprising the bracts have a greenish hue to them.

Compared to the first raceme of the Thunbergia Mysorensis, the second raceme dangled much lower because of the longer peduncle. The photo below shows the two racemes that are spaced two feet apart.

Thunbergia Mysorensis First Flower

2011-03-16T12:03:00.005+08:00

Finally! After almost two years, our Mysore Clock Vine (Thunbergia Mysorensis) rewarded us with its first bloom, ever. I say rewarded, because we knew it will take a long while before this plant bears flowers, if at all. And I must say the wait was worth it.

The Mysore Clock Vine, also known as Lady's Slippers, Doll Shoes and Brick and Butter, among others, is known to flourish in the highlands of Tagaytay or Baguio, but not in the lowlands. I could almost assume that it's the cool weather in those two cities that makes it favorable for the Mysore Clock Vine to flower.

Mysorensis Vine from Plant Cuttings

Can you believe our Mysore Clock Vine started from small cuttings? This was way back in April of 2009 when we joined a Visita Iglesia Tour to Batangas. After visiting 4 churches (out of 7), the tour bus stopped at a roadside restaurant called Cafe Casa Rap.

The place had a huge garden with so many flowering plants. But the one flowering plant that caught everybody's attention was the Mysore Clock Vine. Of course we didn't know the vine's name at that time. The vine grew freely on an overhead arbor and it provided shade for a big part of the restaurant. The flower clusters were simply amazing and DH was already itching to get a few cuttings. She managed to get only one, discretely, of course.

Another place where DH managed to get another cutting was at our seventh and last church stop. This was at the Caleruega church grounds in Tagaytay. Again, the whole place was brimming with flowering plants. I didn't see the Mysore Clock Vine there but DH had the eye for it and was able to get one cutting.

I was so surprised that DH managed to get BOTH cuttings to grow! And after almost two years, the Mysore Clock Vine bloomed. Of course we no longer know which particular vine it came from. Here's DH proudly showing the first ever flower cluster (raceme) of the Mysore Clock Vine (Thunbergia Mysorensis).

Too Much Foliage and Branches

From pictures gleaned from the internet, I found that the Mysore Clock Vine loves to climb trellises, arbors, pergolas and other climbing supports. It can easily cover a big surface as it's an aggressive vine. The trellis I built for it and the Millionaire's Vine was getting too small for both these vines that I had to cut and remove the Millionaire's Vine.

But that too wasn't enough. Soon the long shoots of the robust vine even reached and climbed a posts guy wires as well as our dangling telephone wires at the corner of the garden wall. This posed a bit of danger when the typhoons come. The strong winds beat down heavily on the vines. But with the vines tendrils clinging to the cables and wires, the wires get pulled from their attachments.

With so much foliage and aggressive climbing branches, I try to prune the vine once or twice a year. Shown below is the recent pruning I did on the Mysore Clock Vine.

I pruned heavily the right side of the vine where the guy wires and telephone wires are located. Notice the telephone box at the right side of the photo has been moved. It used to be positioned below the present location. It was damaged and a telephone crew came to reposition it.

Because of the dense foliage, I always get a big dump of leaves and branches whenever I prune the Mysore Clock Vine. At its present stage of maturity, I'm hoping it will continue to flower even as I continue pruning the branches to limit its growth and prevent the vine from climbing the posts.

UPDATE: Here's our Mysore Clock Vine in its full bloom.

How to Restore and Protect a Concrete Wall - 3

2010-04-21T15:05:00.010+08:00

In the previous post, I discussed the clearing and cleaning of the concrete wall. Those tasks will prepare it for the concrete resurfacing and painting.

Finish the Concrete Surface

If there are noticeable irregularities with the concrete wall's surface then they need to be filled up or patched. These could be large holes, dents, cracks, holes, gouges and the like.

Many small holes on the concrete wall are left behind by large nails and other fastening hardware. You can easily seal these holes with a sealant. Masonry cracks can be sealed in a similar fashion with procedures here.

But for big surface holes and gouges on the wall, these gaps need to be covered with mortar. If there are other masonry jobs that need to be done on the wall, now is the time to do them.

When all significant surface irregularities have been covered, you can now resurface the concrete wall with fresh mortar. The concrete hollow blocks and jointing have a rough surface and so a concrete mix of 1 part cement to 1 part sand is adequate. Mix the materials on an old plywood near the wall for easy access.

If the existing concrete wall is dry, wet the existing surface with water just prior to applying the 1:1 mortar. Use a hose to wet the surface.

After applying the mortar, you can further smoothen the surface by wiping the freshly laid mortar with a wet sponge. I simply use a block of used foam soaked in water for this purpose. The wet sponge is useful for removing drippings of wet concrete that trickle down the wall.

In the finished wall below, the vertical lines are the marks left by trickles of concrete that have been wiped away with the wet sponge.

The purpose of this finishing is not to have an ultra smooth surface. Remember, this is a garden, not a bedroom. The concrete wall should be reasonably smooth so it will be easier and more cost effective to paint later on. A smooth surface requires lesser paint than a very rough one. A very rough surface effectively increases the surface area to paint.

There will be plenty of fresh concrete droppings as you work on the wall. Ignore them while working. Take care of the mess after the job or after the work for the day. At the end of the job, wash off the mortar drippings from the leaves of affected plants with a garden hose as shown below. Rub the leaves with your fingers as you hose them down.

Paint the Finished Concrete Wall

After about three days of dry hot weather, the wall is ready to be painted.

The old concrete wall is no longer acidic. And because the freshly laid mortar is a thin plastering over the existing one, a neutralizer solution is not necessary.

The best way to paint the new concrete wall is with a paint roller mounted on a pole. Use an exterior latex plaint with a color suitable for your garden.

After two coats of paint on the newly restored concrete wall, you'll have the attractive backdrop to showcase your garden.

How to Restore and Protect a Concrete Wall - 2

2010-04-21T07:47:00.009+08:00

The previous post of this series discussed the need to restore and protect an old concrete wall and the possible steps to take to address that need.

Clear the Wall of Obstruction

In order for you to quickly do the job of restoring and protecting the concrete wall, you need to clear it from debris and other obstructions. Obstructions may include your plants and other garden structures. Having plants at the wall or vines growing on a trellis mounted to the wall may pose some challenges.

Plants growing on garden pots or trays near the wall need to be relocated.

If you have a vigorous vine growing on the trellis that's mounted on the wall, now is be the best time to prune it back really hard. This accomplishes two things. First, the cleared area allows you to move about and work freely on the wall, and second, there is lesser chance of getting some fresh concrete or paint on the plants.

Parts of vines that cannot be cut or pruned should be moved out of the way.

Here, I have the Curtain Ivy (aka Millionaire's Vines) plants which are generally admired for their dangling threads (aerial roots). What I did was to tie together the threads in a bunch with a tie wire as shown below.

Then hang the bundled threads up on the trellis to move them out of the way.

Now is also the time to remove structures that are no longer needed or need to be replaced. Remove debris like old rusty nails or screws still embedded on the wall.

The small wire trellis I built needed to be replaced with a bigger one and so I removed the trellis brackets. Here, I'm tapping one with a hammer.

Then used the hammer's claw to pull out the nail.

For tools, you generally would just need to a claw hammer or a small crowbar to get rid of debris still attached to the wall.

Clean the Soily Areas

After the wall has been reasonably cleared of obstruction, you may now clean the soiled areas. For this task, you will need a wire brush and a wide paint brush.

With the wire brush, scrape any visible moss and soiling on the wall as shown below.

You can see the effectiveness of the wire brush is in removing surface dirt, mould and moss. Mould on the wall takes on a grayish purple color. Use the wide paint brush to remove fine concrete particles and dust that results from the wire brush scraping.

Be careful in using the wire brush as it can cause cuts and abrasions. Wear a pair of garden gloves for extended work. Use a consistent sideways motion to prevent accidents.

Soil, sand and concrete particles may break out in the process of scraping the concrete surface so wear a hat. Wear a pair of safety goggles to protect your eyes.

Treat the Concrete Surface with Anti-Mould Solution

For any remaining mould or moss deep in the concrete that cannot be removed by scraping, apply an anti-mould solution like the one shown below.

Pour the anti-mould solution in a container that's wide enough for your paintbrush. Dip the paintbrush in the solution and apply it on the concrete wall surface with a smooth brushing motion.

Depending on porosity of the concrete, the solution may seem to quickly "disappear" as the surface quickly absorbs the solution. Dribbling the paintbrush on the wall will create sudsing as shown below.

Some anti-mould solution like the one I used advice against applying it on windy days so be sure to read the label.

Don't worry if the solution's color becomes a bit greenish on the wall. This usually happens where there is heavy moss growth.

Shown below is the concrete wall after scraping and treating with the anti-mould solution. You'll notice that the part on the right had heavy moss growth.

Although some concrete contractors may skip this treatment, it's a worthwhile job to avoid recurring mold as well as to ensure a good concrete resurfacing and finishing.

The next post will discuss finishing and painting.

How to Restore and Protect a Concrete Wall

2010-04-21T07:21:00.005+08:00

"No matter how pretty and plentiful your flowering plants are, if set against an ugly backdrop, the overall picture just doesn't look good."

For quite some time, that's the thought I had at the back of my mind while staring at our garden wall. This old concrete wall was made from concrete hollow blocks. The only recent work on it by the concrete contractors of our house was the concrete jointing.

I was hesitant in giving the old concrete wall any kind of surface finishing because of the hassle involved. After all, I already have a few vines growing quite happily on the wire trellis I attached to the concrete wall. Also, the concrete wall isn't load bearing so there aren't any concrete foundation repair worries for now.

Here's a view of the concrete wall from above, looking down.

Problems with the Old Concrete Wall

Just doesn't look good. Everytime I look at the concrete wall, I get images of a soily and unfinished structure. In the pictures above and below, you'll see the soiled areas (encircled) on the wall where green moss has grown. A coat (or two) of paint would be nice to see.

Here's another part of the concrete wall.
Concrete breaking off. The moss and the soiled areas indicate plenty of moisture in the wall. Over time, this continuous cycle of moisture and drying up has weakened these areas. This resulted in the slow disintegration of the concrete. Some of the concrete have broken off from the wall. I noticed this when I hammered nails to installed brackets of the wire trellis. So yes, there will be concrete crack repair.
Increased porosity. With no paint to protect the wall, water from rain doesn't runoff as easily. The moisture on the hollow blocks made the concrete more porous through the years. Some plastering with mortar may need to be done for concrete restoration. The additional painting will help in waterproofing concrete.
Future hassles. Not deciding to protect the wall immediately might prove to be costlier in the future. This is because I was thinking of adding more vines and plants at the base of the wall. Adding more vines meant installing another trellis on the wall. And I thought, if I decide to restore and paint the wall much later, the hassles are multiplied many times because of all these additions.

The above concerns made me decide to immediately act on protecting the wall.

Here's an outline of major tasks you may want to consider for restoring and protecting an old concrete wall.

Clear the Wall of Obstruction
Clean the Soily Areas
Treat the Concrete Surface with Anti-Mould Solution
Finish the Concrete Surface
Paint the Finished Concrete Wall

The next post will discuss clearing and cleaning the concrete wall.

Pinching Back the Bleeding Heart or Glorybower

2010-04-13T17:57:00.011+08:00

In a recent entry on inducing flowers on the bleeding heart, I mentioned the tip of pinching back the top sprouts.

The tip of "pinching back" on plants is nothing new. Although pinching does not guarantee flowers, it does induce the lower branches to grow rapidly, with some branches flowering in the process.

Here's a technical reference to "pinching back" from wikipedia.org with a background on Topping.

TOPPING
Is done by removing the top of the apical meristem (dominant central stem), called the apex or terminal bud, in order to transfer apical dominance (the tendency for the apex to grow more rapidly than the rest of the plant) to the shoots emanating from the two nodes immediately beneath the pruning cut. This process can be repeated on one or both of the two new meristems, when they become apically dominant, with the same results. This process can actually be repeated almost infinitely, but over-diffusion of apical dominance will produce smaller, lower quality buds, so it is usually done no more than a few times. Topping also causes more rapid growth of all of the branches below the cut while the plant heals.

PINCHING
Pinching (also called super cropping) is similar to topping in that it causes the lower branches to grow more rapidly, but the apical meristem will maintain apical dominance, which is especially useful if the plant has already been topped. Pinching is performed by firmly pinching the apical meristem(s) so as to substantially damage vascular and structural cells but without totally breaking the stem. This will cause the lower limbs to grow more rapidly while the pinched tissue heals, after which time the stem will resume apical dominance.

From botany.com,

PINCHING, PINCHING BACK, OR PINCH OUT: To remove the growing tip of a plant, with finger and thumb, to encourage the production of sideshoots or the formation of flower buds. Pinching out is also used when small side shoots are completely removed. This is done when single stems are desired, especially when training to form the "trunks" of standard (tree-form) specimens.

In other words, pinching back growing tips is done on certain plants to encourage bushing by inducing branching. This is especially when these plants have become leggy or unattractive with age.

How Pinching is Done

Although the procedure below discusses pinching on the Bleeeding Heart (Clerodendrum Thomsoniae), the technique applies generally to plants that can benefit from it.

Shown below is the Bleeding Heart (or Glorybower). Encircled in the picture is actually the forking of two branches that resulted from a recent pinching. With around 3 inches of growth, the new branches will be pinched back.

Position the thumb and forefinger to the new growth or terminal bud that is about half or one inch long. Grasp this terminal bud with the thumb and finger ensuring thumbnail is on its base. This is the part that will be pinched off. Be careful not to include other leaves unncessarily.

Using the thumbnail and forefinger, pinch on to the soft fleshy base of the bud until it is cut. With a slight tug by the twist of your wrist, pull the pinched bud from the central stem (apical meristem).

Shown below is the terminal bud pinched out. Encircled in the photo is the pinched stem.

Eventually, two nodes would sprout from this. Shown below is a couple of branches coming out.

In the pinching below, a raceme (rey'seem) or a cluster of flowers sprouted on one side.

Using the pinching technique, an otherwise lanky plant becomes bushier. Flowering is more likely then to occur in the new growth of the lower branches.

How to Anchor the Wall Mounted Wire Trellis

2010-04-12T22:03:00.007+08:00

After installing the wall mounted trellis in a previous entry, I realized how inadequate it was if I were to grow additional vines on it. And true enough, when I transferred the Mysore Clock vine (Thunbergia Mysorensis) cuttings, there may not be enough space.

The Mysore Clock vine is not an aggressive climber compared to the Princess Vine, but it has lush foliage. The Princess vine is a clinging vine while the Mysore Clock vine is a twining vine. The Princess vine grows fast and clambers and clings on to anything if not attended to. It can quickly overwhelm any other vine near it. For this reason, I decided to "extend" the currently installed trellis.

Extending the Present Trellis

The current trellis is closer to the wall and is occupied by the Princess Vine. The new extended trellis is shown on the right (photo above). It has a couple of metal wires running through bigger metal brackets. The bigger metal brackets were mounted with longer concrete nails. The longer side of the metal brackets is 12 inches long. So the former 4-inch wide trellis is now 8 inches wider.

I added two metal wires and these will serve as the tracks dedicated for the Mysore Clock vine to grow on. Separating the two vines this way will make it easier for me to train the Mysore Clock vine on the two metal wires, while keeping the aggressive Princess vine at bay.

Problem with the Extended Trellis

Unlike the previous narrower trellis, the extended trellis proved to be less stable. The longer arms of the bracket became a risk to strong torque motions. The torque motions are depicted by the left and right arrows as shown in the picture below.

First of all, the structure itself will now carry a heavier weight because of the Mysore Clock vine. Second, the area occupied by the vines is now more than double the original. The stability of the entire structure is compromised by strong winds brought about by the rainy season. This could slowly pull out the concrete nails and weaken the attachment of the metal brackets. The two metal brackets at both ends of the trellis are particularly vulnerable to this lateral stress.

The way to solve this problem is to prevent the lateral forces by securely anchoring these two metal brackets. This is the principle how guy wires are strung to anchor a pole, like the mast of an antenna.

How to Anchor the Wire Trellis

The materials you would need for this task are: concrete nail (1 1/2" to 2") and an appropriate-length metal wire (gauge 16 or 18).

Ensure that the long arm of the metal bracket has a drilled hole halfway its length. For a 12-inch long arm, that's a hole at 6 inches. You can actually use a hole at the end (at 12 inches) but the wire positioned this way may be a bit obtrusive.

Hammer the concrete nail into the wall at a distance of 6 to 8 inches from the base of the metal bracket's long arm. Loop and secure the metal wire in bracket's hole. String it towards the conrete nail and secure it there also.

Shown below is how the anchored metal bracket will look like.

The metal wire now forms a right triangle with the wall and the bracket with an angle of around 45 degrees. Be sure the metal wire is taut and isn't bent.

Shown below is a detail of the concrete nail and the metal wire.

Do the same for the metal bracket at the other end of the wall mounted trellis. Anchor the metal bracket to the opposite side. By securing both ends this way, you can minimize the probability that lateral forces will weaken the trellis structure.

Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)

2010-04-12T00:29:00.008+08:00

Our Gotu Kola plants are thriving in a couple of pots in our terrace. The leaves are not as tender as the Shiny Bush's. They're okay though when mixing in a salad. Usually, I just chop them up and add them to the Shiny Bush or Pansit-pansitan that we get from our yard. I just then mix them up in a small bowl of vinegar with onions and ground black pepper. And that's already a side dish at dinner.

The white spots on the leaves shown above are actually droplets of water.

What is Gotu Kola

Gotu Kola or Centella asiatica is used as a leafy green in Sri Lankan cuisine, where it is called Gotu Kola. In Sinhalese (Sri Lanka) Gotu means "conical shape" and Kola means "leaf". In India it is popularly known by a variety of names: Bemgsag, Brahma manduki, Brahmanduki, Brahmi, Ondelaga and Gotu Kola.

Native to Madagascar, India and Sri Lanka, Gotu Kola is a member of the carrot family. The leaves and stems are where the therapeutic benefits lie. Ancient peoples thought that Gotu Kola increased longevity as they observed elephants feeding on the herb. Gotu Kola facts show it has been used for years to treat a variety of conditions.

Cultivation of Gotu Kola

Gotu Kola is commonly found growing naturally throughout tropical, boggy areas of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and South Africa. It is also found in similar climates of Eastern Europe and few other regions throughout the world.

from global-gardens:

Gotu Kola grows either from seed or by division of existing plants. It prefers a moist position in soil enriched with organic matter and does best in a semi-shaded position. It will tolerate full sun though the leaves will not be as large or as succulent.

The crop matures in three months and the whole plant, including the roots, is harvested manually.

Health Benefits of Gotu Kola

If you research the internet for Gotu Kola, you'd probably conclude it's the cure-all herb.

For many thousands of years Gotu Kola has been used to treat a variety of conditions including syphilis, hepatitis, stomach ulcers, mental fatigue, epilepsy, diarrhea, and fever. Today Gotu Kola is used to relieve symptoms of poor circulation in the veins of the legs and to speed the healing of wounds and burns.

Some uses for Gotu Kola include the reduction of fatigue, the strengthening of memory, and in treating venous insufficiency. Varicose veins, circulation, and wound healing are also aided by Gotu Kola. Gotu Kola helps increase longevity, prevents memory loss, and it is also used as an aphrodisiac.

from wikipedia:

A popular folklore tale from Sri Lanka speaks of a prominent king from the 10th century AD named Aruna Withane who claimed that Gotu Kola provided him with energy and stamina to satisfy his 50-woman harem.

More recent studies confirm many of Gotu Kola's traditional uses and also suggest possible new applications for Gotu Kola, such as lowering high blood pressure, treating venous insufficiency (pooling of blood in the veins, usually in the legs), boosting memory and intelligence, easing anxiety, and speeding the healing of injuries.

How to Assemble a Simple Bamboo Trellis for Climbing Plants

2010-04-06T11:05:00.013+08:00

For building a simple, cheap and easy-to-build climbing structure for plants, nothing beats the versatility of bamboo. It's cheap and easily available in places that sell stuff for garden needs. Some shops also sell bamboo for fencing and chicken coop construction purposes. A tied bundle of 4 foot long bamboo split bamboo pieces numbering around 20 pieces cost Php75.

Splitting the Bamboo

Bamboo can easily be split into thinner pieces and you need a machete for this. Position the blade of the machete on one end and tap it a little until it makes a dent. Bamboo that's 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick is strong enough for a sturdy climbing structure or garden trellis for plants. After the blade splits the top end, continue adding force on the machete so the bamboo splits completely.

A newly split bamboo piece will have rough and sharp edges. Trim off this excess material with the machete. Don't worry if the edges become a bit rounder. You'll be handling these split bamboo pieces for this DIY project and you wouldn't want cuts on your hands and fingers.

If the bamboo pieces need to be cut for this DIY project, use a hacksaw and not the machete. The hacksaw cuts the pieces more cleanly thus leaving smoother ends.

Measure the width of the area for the trellis. Cut two of the bamboo pieces to the length that will cover the measured width of the area.

Assembling the Bamboo Pieces

Use a suitable string or tying material to lash 4 bamboo pieces - 2 for the length and 2 for the width of the trellis. I have plenty of scrap plastic straw and so I use that to bind or lash the bamboo pieces together. Plastic straw is easy to cut, durable and easy to work with. Be sure corners are also lashed diagonally as shown below.

Lay out the assembled 4 pieces on the ground. This will give you an idea on the size of the area you will be working on to form the latticework of the trellis. With a pen or pencil, mark the spots on the 4 bamboo pieces where you will be positioning the vertical and horizontal members of the trellis. A spacing of 4 inches for vertical members and 6 inches for horizontal members for the trellis is sufficient for most climbing garden plants.

Split and cut the rest of the bamboo pieces that will form the latticework. Lash them together as shown below.

Mounting the Bamboo Trellis

The two outward pieces of the trellis need to be longer so they can be staked on the ground. You can extend the length of these two by using a couple of wires. Simply overlap the two pieces together and wind the steel wires to bind the two pieces together.

Shown below are the two completed outer stakes of the trellis. Staking the trellis to the ground will make it rigid and more stable.

If the trellis is too short for the area, you can use additional metal wires to connect the latticework to a wall mounted trellis as shown below.

Shown here is the completed trellis as it was mounted.

Pedilanthus tithymaloides variegatus or Devil's Backbone

2010-03-03T07:29:00.014+08:00

I've had this plant for over a year now but didn't take much notice since I just thought it was a common landscaping plant. It has interesting zig zag stems and the leaves' colors give a nice accent to any garden spot.

Well today, I saw tiny red flowers that looked like little red birds.

Thanks to Joe and Karyn at the GardenWeb (gardnweb.com), I was able to identify this plant as Pedilanthus tithymaloides variegatus.

The plant goes by the following common names: Devil's Backbone, Christmas Candle, Jacob's Ladder, Japanese Poinsettia, Redbird Cactus, Slipper's Spurge, Zigzag Plant.

Although the plant may be grown indoors, it rarely blooms in such a location. This plant loves direct sunlight and will yield vivid red flowers.

Here are some of the plants at our front garden by the bay window. The stems form an interesting zigzag pattern hence the names Devil's Backbone and Zigzag Plant.

It's easy to grow them from cuttings. The plant can be divided as it gets older and produces a clump of vertical stems.

Here's a few more information from toptropicals:

Pedilanthus tithymaloides
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Devil's backbone, Zigzag plant, Jacob's ladder
Origin: Tropical Americas

Pedilanthus is very easy to grow as a houseplant. It needs some protection from hot summer sun, but it will be happiest in full sun during the fall and winter. Take care not to over-water, which can cause rotting. Water sparingly, just enough to make the potting mixture moist. Water even more sparingly if the room temperature is below 60 degrees; the temperature should never go below 55 degrees. Liquid fertilizer should be used once a month. Plant in well drained sandy mixture. It does best in a small pot; you can change pots to just one size larger when roots become extremely crowded. The sap is moderately caustic, although mild by Euphorbia standards, it should still be handled with caution.

The flower in the photo below appears to be a group of birds drinking from a center fountain.

The above plant is from our garden at the back.

How to Clean Garden Pruning Shears

2010-02-17T10:45:00.011+08:00

After a day of heavy pruning, sometimes the tendency is to just hang the pruning shears on the rack, or worse, leave the pruning shears where you used them.

Don't let this be a habit. A pair of pruning shears is probably the most used tool for tending an ornamental garden on a regular basis. It makes sense to take good care of it.

Why Pruning Shears Need to Cleaned

Not cleaning the shear blades would eventually result in pruning shears that bind when you use them. Why?

After pruning, stem and leaf sap remain on the pruning shear blades. This film of sap catches dirt and then dries. After repeated pruning, a thin gunk forms on the blades. Then one day you realize the pruning shear doesn't open and close as smoothly as before.

Left even further, rust could start building up on the blades and other moving parts of the pruning shears. That is inevitable because this garden tool sees work in areas where moisture is commonplace.

Cleaning Procedures

The way to clean a pair of pruning shears is simply to wipe it dry with a rag and then hang it up on the rack. This is after an activity of light pruning only.

After heavy pruning or an extended time of non-cleaning, this is what to do:

Wipe any dirt or debris (cut leaves, stem, etc.) from the pruning shears with a dry rag. Include hard to reach moving parts.
If there's a visible buildup of gunk, use a razor blade or cutter to take it off. Be sure to scrape the dirt on the pruning shear blade at a low angle as shown above. Be careful when handling the razor blade.
After all the gunk has been removed from the blades, spray the blades with a light lubricant like WD-40. Use the spray sparingly. (yeah, tongue-twister)
With your finger, spread the lubricant around the blades and other moving parts. Only a thin film of lubricant needs to cling on to these areas.

Scraping the gunk that formed ensures that the blades are clean and do not bind when you use the pruning shears. The thin film of lubricant does two things. It prevents rust from forming until the next use and; it keeps the blades moving smoothly.

These are easy-to-do maintenance procedures that extend the life of your tools and leave out the frustration with difficult to use garden tools.

Remove Old Leaves to Promote Flowering

2009-10-30T06:33:00.010+08:00

"Remove the old to make way for the new."

That may as well be a sentence you'll read in a "declutter and organize your life" self-help book or magazine. But it's a statement that applies too to gardening.

Below are pictures taken from the same plant, a Cypress Vine. Can you spot the differences between Photo A and Photo B?

If you say "Photo A has nothing but big leaves while Photo B has 3 flowers and some leaves", then you're only half right.

If you look closely, you'll also notice that Photo A's leaves are uniform in color, size and and shape. Photo B's leaves are varied in size and color - some are small and light green, some are big and dark green. You'll also notice fewer leaves in Photo B.

Photo A
Photo B
There's nothing necessarily bad with having the lush foliage in Photo A. In fact I liked the way the wind blew the nice feather-shaped leaves. They all billowed in unison with the gust of the wind. But if you're after the beautiful scarlet flowers of the Cypress Vine, then it's the wrong route.

And that's another tip in garden pruning - taking out the old leaves to make way for new leaves for new growth. Many flowering plants thrive on new growth and the Cypress Vine is a good example. Which leaves to remove? The old, withered ones that have yellowed are certainly first to go. Next are the ones that have become mature - dark grayish-green and much bigger.

Shown below is how to do it. From Photo A, select one mature leaf. Pinch it sharply with your thumbnail and index finger.

Remove the leaf with a slight tug of the fingers.

Doing this ensures new growth and new growth brings flowers. Here's an overhead shot of the Cypress Vine on the wall trellis. You'll see the rest of the flowers at the base of the wall.

Another tip induce flowering is deadheading. Here's how to deadhead the Cypress Vine and which to deadhead.

Build a Bleeding Heart Wall Trellis - Part 4

2009-10-29T06:41:00.005+08:00

In the previous entry or Part 3 of this how-to series, I wrote about a successful vine thriving on a tall trellis. I also listed some considerations on why I decided to build a trellis made of steel wire.

For the Steel Wire Trellis project, here are the materials and tools you'll need:

Materials:
Steel Wire - Gauge 14, 120 feet
Square Hooks - 2", 21 pieces
Plastic Expansion Shield (tox) - #5 or size for the square hook screw, 21 pieces
Epoxy Clay
Quick Dry Enamel Paint

Tools:
Vise Grips
Channel Type Pliers
Long Nose Pliers
Power Drill
Concrete Drill Bit - size appropriate for the square hook screw
Paintbrush - 1"

Here's the roll of steel wire I used. I don't know how long this is because Ace Hardware sells it by weight. I believe the pictured roll below weighs 1/2 kilo.

This is the epoxy clay that can be used for the project. This type is for steel. Although you can also use the type that's used for water pipes for a leak-proof seal. Epoxy clays come in two separate parts. For the steel-type epoxy clay, one part is inside and the other on the outside as shown below. The two parts are mixed together at the time of application. The mix immediately cures into a hard bond.

This is the power drill with a drill bit.

Hand tools for working on the steel wire: Vise grip, Channel type pliers and Long nose pliers.

Two-inch square hook. The 2-inch length does not include the screw part of the hook.

Plastic expansion shield (tox) for the square hook's screw.

Armed with the basic assembly materials you're now ready to mark the drill points for the trellis anchors.

Patola or Luffa

2009-10-28T06:05:00.003+08:00

Our patola or luffa is now ready for harvesting. It seems still a bit young though since you'll notice that the top part hasn't been "filled-up" yet. The plant grew on the backyard garden trellis.

This is how it looked just 4 days ago.

Here's the seed packet that we bought from Ace hardware. You'll notice immediately that the luffa pictured is not what we got.

Apparently, a sticker label (Datu Hava - Palikpikan) was placed to cover the label underneath (Prado Ace). Palikpikan roughly means "winged" and the actual fruit does have ridges or "wings" along the length.

How to Deadhead the Cypress Vine Manually

2009-10-27T08:18:00.009+08:00

In a recent entry, I wrote about the importance of deadheading for more flowers. In that same entry, I added a simple procedure for deadheading the flowers of the Cypress Vine using a pair of pruning shears.

But what if you don't have a pair of shears on hand? Certainly, the pruning shear does a better job of cutting the spent blooms cleanly, but there is a way to conveniently and manually deadhead.

Shown below are a couple of buds on the same stem. The one on the left is the seed pod left by the flower. This is evidenced by its long pistil still showing. The pistil looks like a long white thread. On the other hand, the one on the right is a bud just about to sprout a flower. In another entry, I wrote how to differentiate a flower bud against a spent bloom.

To deadhead manually means pinching out the pod left by the bloom. Using your thumb and index finger, locate the part of the pod to pinch. This is just below the light green part of the pod.

After locating the spot, pinch on it using the nail of the thumb and the pad of the index finger. This is the softest part of the pod that can be removed easily. Anything below this is quite tough and could hardly be removed by just using the fingers of one hand.

Shown below is the pod easily removed by the thumb and index finger of one hand only. The cut isn't as clean as when you use a pair of shears but this procedure is easy and fast.

Sitaw or Yardlong Beans or String Beans

2009-10-26T13:17:00.003+08:00

We've been finally harvesting Sitaw or Yardlong Beans lately. They are also called String Beans. The seeds of these plants came from a gardener in Los Banos Laguna when we went there May of this year. The lavender flowers come in pairs. Here, I'm showing one of the flowers.

In the photo below, the flowers are gone and the seed or bean pods will be sprouting from the top. The horizontal wire is part of the trellis I built upon which the vine is growing.

Here is a pair of young yardlong beans. Although ready to be harvested, this young pair will still grow.

Ahh. String beans galore! This plant is growing on the vegetable garden trellis I built. You can still see the silver-colored bracket underneath the leaves on the right.

Here's a bit of info from Wikipedia:

Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, the yardlong bean, is also known as the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean. It is known as dau gok in Cantonese, jiang dou (豇豆) in Standard Mandarin, thua fak yao (ถั่วฝักยาว) in Thai and kacang panjang in Indonesian and Malay, sitaw in Tagalog, utong in Ilokano, bora in the West Indies and vali, Borboti in Bengali, India, eeril in Goa, India or đậu đũa (Vietnamese, literally: chopstick bean).

Despite the name, the pods are actually only about half a yard long; the subspecies name sesquipedalis (one-and-a-half-foot-long) is a rather exact approximation of the pods' length.

This plant is of a different genus than the common bean. It is a vigorous climbing annual vine. A variety of the cowpea, it is grown primarily for its strikingly long (35-75 cm) immature pods and has uses very similar to that of a green bean. The pods, which begin to form just 60 days after sowing, hang in pairs. They are best if picked for vegetable use before they reach full maturity. The plant is subtropical/tropical and most widely grown in the warmer parts of Southeastern Asia, Thailand, and Southern China.

Yardlong beans are quick-growing and daily checking/harvesting is often a necessity. The many varieties of yardlong beans are usually distinguished by the different colors of their mature seeds.

Training Unwieldy Millionaire's Vine Branches

2009-10-20T11:02:00.015+08:00

In a recent entry, I mentioned how a the Millionaire's Vine (aka Princess Vine) can be trained on its trellis. This is especially when the vine is still young and is just establishing its growth.

There will come a time however when the growth and foliage has become so lush and thick that adding more thin wires to hook the vine branches may no longer be practical. Shown below is such a situation.

The new outgrowths will naturally rise up and cling on to the wall. The vine's tendrils can sometimes be aggressive and even latch on to the wall's rough and grainy surface. Left on their own, these unwieldy branches will continue clambering up on the wall.

So here's what you can do.

Carefully remove the grip of the unwieldy branches from the wall. Note the natural direction of its growth and take it to that direction. In the example below, the direction is to the right.
Pick one of the already established old branches on the trellis and insert this new branch under the old branch. You could use just one hand doing this. Raise the old branch with your thumb and index finger. While the old branch is raised, use the middle finger to slide in a part of the new branch.
When the new branch has been inserted underneath the old branch, gently pull it from the other side using the thumb and index finger. It will be like weaving one branch into another. Be sure to pull gently until the topmost part of the new vine has transferred to the other side.

Weaving the branches this way effectively hooks them to the rest of the mainstream branches. Using this technique will make your vine's growth more compact as shown below.

It is much cleaner to see all the foliage neatly bundled up. Here's a view of the vine from the trellis showing its hanging threads below.

Build a Bleeding Heart Wall Trellis - Part 3

2009-10-19T07:01:00.010+08:00

In Part 2 of this how-to series, I mentioned about a Bleeding Heart vine that was doing very well on a high trellis. The photo of that vine is shown below. (Click on the image below to enlarge.)

The name of the proud owner of this vine is Jim R. Stevens and I learned of him from forums.gardnweb.com. Here's the specific entry in that forum.

I asked Jim about his trellis' spacing dimensions and verified that the spacing is 8" by 8". The spacing is a bit tight in my opinion and decided that a 10" x 12" (height x width) would do.

The photo above would be my inspiration for assembling my own version of a Bleeding Heart Trellis. Due to my location there are some other considerations though.

A trellis made of wood is a termite-magnet in this part of the world so one that isn't made of wood material would be better.
With the continued rains during the rainy season, exposed wood might easily rot.
The trellis should be sturdy enough to be able to withstand the strong winds of 15 to 20 typhoons every year.
Since it is at the side of the garage, the trellis needs to be thin and with a narrow footprint. It needs to be as close to the wall as possible.
It should be able to cover almost the entire wall although it should'nt be too heavy.

With the above considerations, I concluded that a wall trellis made of steel wire would be better for my circumstances. Painting the steel wire trellis would keep it rust-free for a long time.

See the continuation in Part 4.

Jatropha podagrica or Buddha Belly Plant

2009-10-18T07:11:00.012+08:00

A couple of years ago, a friend gave my wife a small potted plant. The friend specifically said the plant was Ginseng and had medicinal properties. After hearing the word "medicinal", images of myself quietly sipping piping hot Ginseng tea in our garden quickly flashed my mind. =) I was a bit surprised and interested as I've never seen a living Ginseng plant. So I asked my wife to take care of it as it may help relieve our ailments, imagined or real, in the future.

The plant has since grown and a few weeks ago the plant bloomed and the flower was strange yet beautiful! (Click on the image below to enlarge.)

The plant has huge leaves, long stems and a bulbous trunk near the roots.

The strange appearance piqued my interest more and I just had to positively identify it.

The kind folks over at forums.gardenweb.com identified it as Jatropha podagrica, sometimes called Buddha Belly (what a cute name!) or Gout Plant. It is NOT Ginseng and its parts can be TOXIC (see below)..

So be forewarned. THE PLANT SHOWN ABOVE IS NOT GINSENG. Here is some addional information on Jatropha podagrica from toptropicals.com

Scientific name: Jatropha podagrica
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Common names: Gout Plant, Gout Stick, Buddha Belly, Guatemala Rhubarb, Tartogo
Origin: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

Jatropha (Gout plant) is an attention grabber and a must in every tropical garden. It has a large bottle-like caudex and huge leaves up to 10-12 inches in diameter. The more shade, the bigger the leaves. Great natural bonsai. Makes a good potted plant but can also be used as a conversation piece specimen in a small garden. This showy plant grows about 2-3 ft high, with a knobby, swollen stem and red flowers in large terminal clusters. Partial sun and a well-drained soil are preferred. Propagation is by seeds, which are produced freely and germinate easily. When the seeds ripen, they burst open, so watch them to turn brown before you miss them jumping away! Seed pods will explode, launching the seeds several feet away.

This is a superb and rarely obtainable succulent plant that will be of great interest both to succulent lovers and those looking for a very different house plant. Gout plant is an attention grabber and one of the most exotic and weird looking tropical plants. It will catch everybody's eye and can become a centerpiece of a small garden.

This showy plant grows about 2-3 ft high. It has a knobby, grey-skinned, much swollen stem - a large bottle-like caudex, and huge three-lobed smooth waxy leaves are up to 10-12 inches in diameter. Pretty, brilliant scarlet coral-like flowers are in large terminal clusters. The flowers are are long-lasting, you will see them almost year round, more in the warmer months of the year. They will attract butterflies, too!

The Gout plant is treasured for its swollen "belly", it is a great natural bonsai. It makes a good potted plant but can also be used as a conversation piece specimen in a small garden.

Besides its cool looks, the great feature is - anyone can grow it! Jatropha podagrica is very easy to take care of. It requires well-drained soil, very little water and a sunny to filtered light location in a pot or in the ground in frost free areas. Does better with at least a few hours of sun. However, the less sun, the bigger the leaves will grow.

In the winter it will loose leaves but the coral red flowers will stay. Reduce the water in the winter and don't fertilize until the plant wakes up in the spring.

Propagation is by seeds, which are produced freely and germinate easily. When the seeds ripen, they burst open, so watch them to turn brown before you miss them jumping away! Seed pods will explode, launching the seeds several feet away.

The plant is used in pharmacology. Hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts of the rootwood and rootbarks of Jatropha podagrica were studied for their antimicrobial activity against 18 organisms. As many other plant of Euphorbia family, Jatropha plant parts can be toxic, especially seeds. Keep your eye on small kids and don't let them play with Jatropha seeds.

When you Need Seeds from the Cypress Vine

2009-10-17T07:33:00.005+08:00

Then the obvious is to let the seed pods mature on the Cypress Vine. Here, I allowed several seed pods or "fruits" to stay on the stems so I could "harvest" the seeds for storage.

After a few days, the pods would grow bigger and turn brown as shown below. You may then take them and dry them somewhere safe. Or you could leave them on the vine and let them dry up there.

Typically there would be around 2 or 3 seeds to a pod. When fully dried, the pod would be brittle enough and you'd be able to pry it open with your fingers. Shown below are a couple of seeds from a pod. (Click on the image below to enlarge.)

Be sure to dry them well before storing and store them in a dry place.

Build a Bleeding Heart Wall Trellis - Part 2

2009-10-16T14:05:00.013+08:00

After seeing the sorry state our vine was in, I was determined to find a new home for it. In Part 1 of this how-to series, I simply propped it up temporarily with a couple of bamboo sticks.

I googled the internet for successful flowering Bleeding Heart Vines and saw a couple of photos that blew me away.

This one is quite incredible.

It is in a pot but with flowers aplenty! I couldn't imagine the number of flower clusters in this plant. It's as if the color of the white calyxes simply overpower the green leaves. Well, as as they say, "to see is to believe". And after seeing the above, I suppose it IS possible to have such prolific flowering

EVEN if the vine is in a container (garden pot)
and EVEN if there's no trellis.

Since our plant has become lanky and tall, I was was looking for a photo of a Bleeding Heart vine thriving on a trellis. Why a trellis? This is to hopefully cover and add color to this blank wall of ours in front of the garage.

That's the wall in the photo below:

The wall has a rough finish with just a coat of latex paint over it. There's nothing on it other than the mounted hose rack at the right and a small faucet on the bottom left. We bought that rectangular container for the vine although in the photo above it has some Gotu Kola's. Since the wall is at the side of the garage, the plant needs to be as close as possible to the wall and cannot be too bushy.

The good news is I found an internet photo of one vine that I was actually looking for. This is from forums.gardenweb.com.

Here's a closeup of the flower clusters or cymes.

Simply awesome isn't it? I was so impressed with the successful growth on the trellis that I had to contact whoever built it.

See the continuation in Part 3.

Bleeding Heart Vine Flower (Glory bower)

2009-10-14T13:15:00.023+08:00

It's been quite a while since clusters or cymes of Bleeding Heart (Glorybower) flowers have sprouted. Finally today, the corolla has emerged from one flower giving the characteristic blood-red color.

Shown below is a time-lapse photography sequence of the flower culminating in the sprouting of the dark red corolla:

Taken October 3
A cluster or cyme is taking shape with one flower maturing ahead of the others.

Taken October 11
The rest of the flowers in the cyme are growing and still have the greenish color. The mature ones become paper-white in color.

Taken October 12
The paper-white calyxes (or bracts) of the mature flower are starting to open. There are 5 calyxes for each flower. Notice that each calyx is shaped like a heart.

Taken October 13
The bud of the corolla inside is slowly coming out and takes on a purple color.

Taken October 14
The bud is all the way outside of the calyxes and ready to pop the corolla.

Taken October 15
The dark-red corolla finally sprouting. Notice the 4 long stamens pointing downwards and the thin style (long end of the pistil) pointing to the left. This one took a little more than 2 weeks to sprout.

Here's some additional information on the flowers from hort.wisc.edu:

Flower of Clerodendrum thomsoniae.

This is a spectacular plant when in flower. The small, slightly flat flowers have inflated, balloon-like white calyxes from which emerge brilliant crimson or dark red corollas with prominent stamens and style (the elongated part of the pistil) that extend way beyond the petals. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters (cymes) of 8-20 together. The flowers last several months, although the red corolla is short lived. As they age, the flowers turn from white to pale pink or lavender, then eventually become tan as they dry up. It will bloom most of the year given sufficient light and warmth, but is most prolific in summer. If pollinated, the flowers will produce fruits. The green fruits ripen to a red to black color before splitting open to reveal four black seeds against a fleshy, bright orange interior.

Even though it is vine or liana, it is also a somewhat bushy climber. The glossy, dark green, oval leaves are 5-7" long with smooth edges and pointed on the end. In its native habitat it can grow 10-15 feet tall, but as a container plant will remain much smaller. Provide some type of support, such as a trellis, if you want to let it ramble as a vine. It can also be kept pruned or pinched back into a shrub-like form (or be left to mound up on itself). It works well in a hanging basket. It is a vigorous grower when provided with sufficient water and fertilizer.

Here's a photo of the present plant on the trellis showing the cymes.

A closer view of the cymes and a few corollas.

Some info on its cultivation:

Clerodendrum thomsoniae is easily grown in containers.

This plant needs direct sun in order to bloom well; a sunny window may be sufficient if you don't move the container outdoors for the season. Water and fertilize regularly when actively growing. Use a rich, but well-drained potting medium and keep moist but not wet. Since C. thomsoniae blooms on new growth, it is best to cut the plant back after blooming. Thin out old overcrowded shoots and any other far-reaching growth to keep the vine in bounds - don't be afraid to prune severely. Bleeding heart vine has few pests, but mealybugs and spider mites can occasionally be problems.

Tip for Correct Drill Bit Depth

2009-10-12T11:37:00.008+08:00

In many DIY (do-it-yourself) projects around the home and garden, you'd encounter the need to drill holes in wood or concrete. The best way to do this is with an electric or battery-powered drill. You simply choose the right sized drill bit, tighten in on the drill chuck and you're ready to drill away.

But how do you ensure that you've reached the right depth for the hole? Some drills now come equipped with a measuring gauge/rule, but what if yours doesn't have one?

Here's a tip. Use an old standby - the masking tape. Simply measure the depth from the tip of the drill bit. In the photo below, I'm using a drill to bore a hole that's 3/4" deep because that's the length of the expansion anchor. Cut a short masking tape and wrap around at the marked depth.

Run the drill and stop at the point where the first masking tape edge has just entered the drill hole.

Which Bloom to Deadhead in a Cypress Vine

2009-10-11T06:57:00.007+08:00

In a recent entry, I wrote about the importance of deadheading the Cypress Vine and the best time to deadhead. Obviously, the flowers to deadhead are the spent ones. But if you're not careful, it's easy to mistake the spent blooms for those blooms just about to open. And what a shame if you cut them by mistake!

So which are the spent blooms? The photo below a side by side comparison between a spent bloom and a new one.

The spent bloom is the one on the left. Here are the telltale signs of a spent bloom:

Encircled in red is the seed pod or fruit. It appears to be more rounded and bulbous.
The seed pod is more exposed and the bloom appears pushed out.
Encircled in light blue is the spent bloom. It looks shriveled.
The tip of the spent bloom is withered and rough.

Compared to the spent bloom, the new bloom looks fresh, smooth and still closed with the tip rounded.

Build a Bleeding Heart Wall Trellis - Part 1

2009-10-10T16:20:00.005+08:00

Two months ago, I learned from DH that we had a Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae). When I looked at it, the plant was in a pathetic state. It was in a small pot and was probably three and a half feet high. I took the pot and positioned it near a post where it will get ample morning light. The photo below is the plant as I saw it BUT WITHOUT the two bamboo sticks.

That's right. Without the bamboo sticks, the plant's branches were essentially sprawled on the ground and nearby plants. The plant, being a vine, was unable to stand on its own without a support structure.

This plant came from a cutting that DH saved from a mother plant that was 10+ years old. The cutting was already about 2 feet high last year. It has since grown to its height now although I wouldn't say it's been thriving. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice some of the leaves have holes and were more likely eaten by some kind of a leaf cutting insect or bug.

So I immediately took the pot away from where it was originally, assuming there were nasty bugs there. I also stuck a couple bamboo sticks in the pot soil, tied them both at the top and propped up the vine's branches on the sticks. This was only a temporary measure.

Apparently, this poor plant needed a suitable and permanent home. And that led me to the project to build the Bleeding Heart Trellis.

See the continuation in Part 2.

Okra or Lady's Fingers (Abelmoschus esculentus)

2009-10-05T05:51:00.003+08:00

Our Okra plants have started bearing fruits in this rainy season.

Although typically added in vegetable dishes, it's not unusual for us to eat the vegetable steamed. We simply top it on the steamed rice in the rice cooker. Add a little bagoong and a few drops of calamansi and you've got a dish.

Curiously, from stuartxchange.org, it is even considered a Philippine Medicinal Herb:

Botany
Coarse, erect, branched, annual herb, 0.6 to 1.5 meters hihgh. Leaves are long-petioled, orbicular or orbicular-ovate, about 25 cm long; heart-shaped base; margins, 3- to 5-lobed. Flowers are axillary and solitary; corolla, large and yellow, and inside, deep purple at the base. Fruit is elongated, 10-25 cm long, 1.5 - 3 cm in diameter, tapering to a blunt point and containing rows of rounded, kidney shaped seeds.

Medicinal Properties
Demulcent, emollient, sudorific, cooling, carminative, stimulang, cordial, antispasmodic

Distribution
Cultivated for its edible fruit. Ubiquitous in market places.

Parts utilized
· Roots, leaves, young pods, seeds.

Nutrition
Contains vitamins A and C. A good source of iron and calcium. Also contains starch, fat, ash, thiamine and riboflavine.

Uses
Folkloric
· Decoction of roots and leaves as a tea or for washing.
· Decoction of young fruit useful for catarrh, urinary problems.
· Syrup from mucilaginous fruit used for sore throat.
· Poultice of roots and leaves for wound healing.
· Young pods for fevers, difficult urination and diarrhea.
· Decoction of roots for headaches, varicose veins, arthritis, fevers.
· Decoctions of leaves for abdominal pain.
· Leaves also useful as emollient poultice.
· Seeds used a coffee substitute. Paste of seeds, mixed with milk, used for pruritic skin lesions.

Studioes
• Anti-ulcer: Anti-ulcerogenic activity of some plants used as folk remedy in Turkey: Five herbal remedies, including H esculentus, were studied for anti-ulcerogenic activity. All extracts exhibited significant gastroprotective effects.
• Glycosylated compounds from okra inhibit adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to human gastric mucosa: A polysaccharide isolated from the fresh juice showed strong inhibitory effects and an antiadhesive activity with blocking of the Helicobacter surface receptors.
• Antioxidant / Hepatoprotective: Antioxidant and hepatoprotective effect of the roots of Hibiscus esculentus Linn: The ethanol extract of HE roots showed excellent scavenging effect on free radicals and hepatoprotective effects.

Availability
Wild-crafted.
Perennial market produce.

On its cultivation, from physiology.wisc.edu:

Okra seeds are relatively large and easy to handle. They also germinate well if the soil is warm enough. Plant the seeds about half an inch deep, about three seeds at each spot. In most cases all three germinate, and when the plants are about six inches tall, thin them to only one plant every 18 inches.

Okra needs warm weather to grow well. This means that in northern climates you may not have much of a crop some years. The main thing you can do to help is to keep the bed weed free and mulched as much as possible. Watering is only needed occasionaly.

Most varieties will start yielding about 60 days after planting. The flowers are large, pale yellow and fairly ornamental. Each flower blooms for only one day and eventually forms one okra pod. Pick the pods when they are approx. 3 inches in length. Picking the pods while wet may darken the skin, though the taste is not affected. Typically it grows quickly, so you need to harvest every two days or so. The plants can eventually grow quite tall (5 feet or more), but will stop growing as soon as the temperature starts dropping down below 50 degs. (F).

Deadheading for More Flowers

2009-10-04T11:01:00.012+08:00

Deadheading spent blooms tricks the plant to induce more flowers.

from gardening.about.com:

Most flowers benefit from having their spent flowers removed. This is called deadheading. Flowers that repeat bloom will often do so only if the old, dying flowers are removed. If they remain on the plant, they will go to seed and stop producing flowers. Even many flowers that bloom only once per season benefit from deadheading, because the plant puts its energy into strengthening itself instead of producing seed.

Other reasons may be found from rhs.org.uk:

Deadheading is the term used for the removal of flowers from plants when the flowers are fading or dead. It is done for the dual purposes of maintaining appearance and improving performance.
Appearance
Most flowers lose their attraction as they fade, spoiling the overall appearance of bedding schemes or individual plants - particularly where the display is in a container or extends over several weeks. The flowers of plants like peonies, some camellias and many roses have numerous petals which, if allowed to drop as they fade, may scatter widely.
Performance
Flowers which have been pollinated soon fade, shed their petals and begin to form seedheads, pods or capsules. Energy is channeled into development of usually unwanted seeds, slowing further growth and flower development. Regular deadheading directs energy into stronger growth and improved performance.
Practicalities
Deadheading is often a matter of priorities. A hanging basket display can be spruced up in minutes whereas it can take several hours to deadhead a large rhododendron. Deadheading trees and large shrubs which bear numerous small flowers is usually impractical.

For the Cypress Vine, the best time to do this is almost immediately just when the flower has wilted and is still attached. The Cypress Vine's flowers are only good for a day.

With a pair of pruning shears or any gardening multitool, cut the bloom BELOW the bloom's fruit part as shown in the photo below. The fruit part contains the seeds should be removed in the process of deadheading.

The biggest advantage to deadheading at the moment where the flower is still attached is visibility. The flower's color gives a stark contrast to the foliage and so are easy to spot. If the flower detaches and falls, it is so easy to miss the left fruit against the foliage. So cut them, while you can still see them!

Tip to Induce Flowering in a Bleeding Heart Vine

2009-09-28T16:38:00.012+08:00

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).

And another.

A technique that induces the new clusters is the pinching of the new topmost sprouts from a branch. See this entry for more discussion on the pinching (or super cropping) technique.

The photo below shows a cluster and encircled is the pinched sprout. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Here's a closeup of the Bleeding Heart flower with the calyx now white in color. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Something interesting about the Bleeding Heart Vine is the color of the leaves. The leaves display the color green in a variety of hues thus always arousing interest. Here's a rather distinct one.

Here's some more info about the Bleeding Heart also known as Glorybower from floridata.com

Clerodendrum thomsoniae
Common Names: bleeding heart, glorybower, bleeding heart vine, bleeding glory bower
Family: Verbenaceae (verbena or vervain Family)

Perennial Vine Can be Grown in Containers Grows Well Indoors. Has evergreen foliage Flowers
Bleeding heart vine produces quantities of large clusters of uniquely attractive blossoms throughout the summer.

Description
Bleeding heart is a sprawling vinelike shrub with evergreen leaves. The plant's stems can get 15 ft (5 m) long, climbing without tendrils, suckers or root hairs, but rather by twining through and around its support. The leaves are large, to 7 in (18 cm) long, and arranged opposite one another along the stems. Panicles 4 in (10 cm) across of 5-20 showy red and white flowers are produced throughout summer. The individual flowers, a half inch (1.25 cm) wide, are bell shaped with white calyces and crimson red petals. As is typical of the glorybowers, the flowers have four stamens and a style (the elongated part of the pistil) that extends way beyond the petals.

Location
Clerodendrum thomsoniae is native to tropical West Africa.

Culture
Light: Grow in partial shade. Best results occur with morning sun and afternoon shade.
Moisture: Bleeding heart likes high humidity and a moist, but not soggy, soil.
Propagation: Increase bleeding heart by replanting suckers or rooting semi-ripe tip cuttings. Quickest results can be obtained from root cuttings taken in winter.

Long after the flowers are gone, the white calyces remain showy.
Usage
Outside the tropics, bleeding heart is usually grown in containers so it can be protected when temperatures fall below 45 F (7 C). It can be kept pruned into a shrub, or given support and allowed to scramble like a vine. This vinelike shrub does not spread as much as some, and is thus a good choice for a restricted support like a doorway arch or container trellis, and not such a good candidate to cover a fence or arbor. The glorybowers in general, and bleeding heart in particular, are among the world's most beautiful flowers.

Camia or White Ginger (Hedychium philippinense or Hedychium coronarium)

2009-09-25T17:22:00.011+08:00

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.

This plant started from a bulb in a pot last year. It's now planted in the ground, is around 4 feet high and continues to grow.

Here's a bit of info from pnh.com:

Scientific Name: Hedychium philippinense K. Schum.
Family: Zingiberaceae
Common Name: Philippine Garland, Philippine Camia
Local Name: Camia, White Ginger
Description: An epiphytic herb with 1 to 3 stems. The terminal flowers are white with a shade of yellow and with crinkled margins. The fruit is a three-sided capsule which turns orange-yellow and bears dark red seeds.
Habitat: Epiphytic on trunks and branches of trees in primary forests at altitudes 900 to 1,800m.
Conservation Status: Rare

I didn't think they are an endangered species but according to wikipedia, they are included in the Philippines' endnagered list. Elsewhere in the globe, it's considered common.

Here's an interestning entry from wikipedia:

The White ginger lily (Hedychium coronarium) is originally from the Himalayas region of Nepal and India where it is known as dolan champa दोलन चम्पा in Hindi, takhellei angouba in Manipuri, sontaka in Marathi, and suruli sugandhi in Kannada. The species was introduced to Hawaii by settlers. The native Hawaiians refer to white ginger as 'awapuhi', using the juice of mature seed head as a hair and skin treatment.

In Brazil it is very common and considered to be an invasive weed. It was introduced in the era of slavery, brought to the country by African slaves who used its leaves as mattresses.
In Cuba it is the National Flower, known as "Mariposa blanca" literally "White Butterfly Flower", due to its similarity with a flying white butterfly. This particular species is incredibly fragrant and women used to adorn themselves with these flowers in Spanish colonial times; because of the intricate structure of the inflorescence, women hid and carried secret messages important to the independence cause under it. It is said that a guajiro's (farmer's) house is not complete without a white ginger in its garden. Today the plant has gone wild in the cool rainy mountains in Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Rio Province in the west, Escambray Mountains in the center of the island, and in Sierra Maestra in the very west of it, but the plant is not endemic of Cuba. Its fragrance can be extracted by "enfleurage".

Here's a closeup of our Camia or the "White Butterfly Flower" as the Cubans call it.