YEAR-END REFLECTION

Six months, maybe it's a short time for me as a blogger.
I'm a new comer.
This blog is my diary.
A documentary of my journey on gardening, and my own lifestyle.
Happiness and sadness, Success and fail, Experiment, Experience, Find, Get, Loose, Interesting and nothing...
All has happened and I have shared to you.
Found new friends from over the world.
So fascinating!
Have 31 existing followers, 60 countries on flag counter list, 11.827 pageviews and 143 posts; really more than I've expected.
Although there are so many followers that resign.
I don't think matter.
Maybe, they were less suited to the contents of my blog or other reasons.
Thank you very much to all of my followers for your togetherness, tips, advices comments and more.
For the readers (commentators), thank you for visiting and your nice comments.
For the visitors (silent readers), thank you for visiting.

 

Like a flower, there are so many stages; to be a bud, blossom, flourish, withered, dormancy, and grow up; but actually stay alive . 
Actually I have so many limitations, especially with my English.
I'm so sorry.
English is not my first language.
My first language is Bahasa Indonesia, the second is Javanese and the third is English.
I always try to improve my English through this blog.
Internet connection is the other problem for me.
Sometime I loose my words or pictures that I already put on my posts.
I close this year with two word; Thanks and Sorry!
I hope next year, I will be better (especially my English!!!).

Happy new year to my lovely readers!

LET'S FLY!

I found Tempuh Wiyang or Jonge (Emilia sonchifolia) over their blossom.
One of my edible weeds in my garden.
Look their feathery seeds are ready to fly and spread.
Flying seeds...
Spread... 
Ground...
Grow... 
New life...

YELLOW IRIS

This is my yellow iris (Trimezia sincorana).

 

This plant have linear leaves grow from the base of the plant. 
The flowers have shade of yellow. 

 

Actually, they love wet or humid soil.
This flower is also called water orchid.

 

So, they look so poor during the dry season.
Yellowish leaves and a few of flowers.

 

But now, in rainy season... they look so fresh.

Green leaves, fresh bright yellow flowers and dense clumps.

The dark brown spots look so contrast with the yellow base.

Really coloring my garden.

TRIWIS - CABBAGE SPROUTS

This morning I picked some triwis or criwis (cabbage sprouts) from my garden.
This is not Brussel sprouts, just ordinary cabbage head variety.
 

 

Maybe you will throw away your cabbage plants after harvesting the heads.
Actually, it will be a good compost.

But I never do that.
I will let the plants still on my garden.
The plants will bring out the sprouts from the leaves axil.
I find additional greens from my garden. 
Prolong the productive season... and get more.

 

The sprouts have sweet taste and crispy texture.
Here, especially in Java, we can find triwis sold in traditional markets.

 

There are so many traditional dishes that made from this sprouts.
I will show you my own recipes from this greens forward. 
Have a nice weekend.

TERRACE GARDEN UPDATE - DECEMBER

Wet December...
New planting in many plots.
In the other plots I had unload the media and change it.
Mouse and snails attack made me replant so many seeds.
Late blight made my garden became worse. 
My garden still looks messy ...
It needs to be tidied up, soon...

west-north corner

closer...

West rack

green onion, red and green lettuces

east side

South rack

North rack

purple eggplants, broccoli, green mustard, little hot peppers, tomatoes, green onion

carrots on the paint buckets

ACEROLA : FIRST BLOSSOM

This is the first blossom of  my Acerola or barbados cherry (Malpighia emarginata).
I bought  and planted it at the same time with my Vermillion Cherry (Dewandaru), about two years ago.

 

I plant it on a big pot in my balcony.
This is my first time grow Acerola.
I have no experience on growing this plant.

 

I wish the flowers will emerge the first fruits.
I really want to know how wonderful its fruits.
So far I only know this fruits on pictures or internet.

I wish... I can see, touch and eat the real fruits

WEEKLY HARVEST - DECEMBER 4

This week I still got a few yield from my garden.
Down pour, fruit flies, fungus, snails and mouse attack made serious damage in my garden.
Pest and plants diseases every where.
Wet weather was really unfriendly with my garden. 
Late blight damaged so many greens.
Most of various fruits were damaged by fruit flies.
Poor garden...

But I still found passion fruits, lemons, tricolor hot peppers and kembang telang from my front yard.

From my back yard I found so a lot of pare, green little hot peppers (cabe rawit hijau), green amaranths, green onions, tomatoes, kangkong, sweet potato leaves,  kara leaves and papaya leaves.

From my terrace garden I got green onion, creamy hot peppers (cabe rawit putih) and green mustard.
And from my balcony I got acid oranges and dewandaru. 

Actually  just a few things, but I'm lucky I still found something from my garden this week.
How about your garden this week?

GARDENING ON THE HELMETS

Actually I don't know which word or term to explain this garden.
This is a part of my neighbors garden.
An extra-ordinary garden.
She use so many old helmets as pots.
So creative!
So unique... 

How do you think about this garden?
Do you interested?

JEALOUS KITTY

This morning, my girl did  trimming border plants on our front yard.
She spent her first day off after examination.
Every time we work on the garden, our kittens always look so jealous.
They will do anything to get our attention.
Look... Epson didn't let my girl do anything.
Oh... please...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Today is 'Hari Ibu' or Mother's Day for Indonesian.
Every December 22, we always celebrate that day.
This moment is celebrated in order to remind us to our mother's love, hard works, struggles, patience and all that they have been given for us.
We all know that mother's love is so pure. 
I think mother's love like as flowers.
They have so many various fragrance; soft, mild, bland or strong fragrance.
But all of fragrances are so beautiful, interesting and have a noble goal.

 

Maybe I'm not a good mother, moreover a perfect mother.
But I always try to do the best that I can to be a good mother.
With all of my love and affection... for my children and my husband.
I'm so sorry my honey, I still can't like your expectation.
Thank you very much to  my lovely mother for all of you love and live. 
My prayers are always for your best.
For all mothers in the world....Happy Mothers Day!

DEWANDARU - PART 7

In international trade, Dewandaru (Eugenia uniflora L) is well known as Pitanga or Brazillian cherry.
This plant is not popular for its fruits in Indonesia.
But, in the world wide (of course including Indonesia) there are so many studies and researches about Eugenia uniflora (Dewandaru).

 

The leaf  is believed contain essential oil, it's called Pitanga leaf oil.
The essential oil is rich in vitamins and most important is very rich in alpha hydroxy acids (AHA)  that have been used for skin and hair rejuvenation.
This oil has strong astringents properties (naturally high tannin content) and is good to normalize excessive sebum production on scalp (oily hair).

This oil also has repellent properties as well.
Extracts from the leaves and the essential oil are considered to be effective against many diseases, and are therefore used in popular traditional medicines.
The essential oils from Eugenia uniflora leaves is believed contain substances found in no other plant. 

The Pitanga leaf oil is used against fever, diabetes, rheumatism, stomach disease, diarrhea, weight loss, to treat  hypertension, yellow fever, gout, malaria,  menstrual stimulant, expectoration and digestive aid.

The fruit is really useful in so many industries; foods, cosmetics also pharmacy.
In cosmetics industries, the Eugenia uniflora has important use in anti-acne creams and aids in facial revitalizing lotions and creams. 
Eugenia uniflora is rich in lycopene a carotene which has been shown to have valuable antioxidant properties.

Eugenia uniflora seeds have low protein content (4.33%), so it has been studied to be used as a source of protein in animal feed. 
The extract of seeds  is rich in components similar to those presented in leaves and fruit.
So, the extract can be used for pharmacological or cosmetics purposes.

Do you still doubt about this plant?
I think you have to collect this plant.
Add this plant, and let it be a new member of your home garden. 

I hope you all enjoy this series, and please wait for the next monthly series.
Thank you...

DEWANDARU - PART 6

I planted Dewandaru two years ago.
I bought it online.

This picture above is the appearance when the seedling  had just came.
I bought Vermillion cherry (Dewandaru), Barbados cherry, Annona squamosa and Long Black Mulberry.
But the last two plant were die.

Dewandaru  is really easy growing. 
The plant is relatively pest resistant.
Dewandaru is often used in gardens as a hedge or screen.
The tree was introduced for ornamental purposes.

Dewandaru is adapted to tropical and subtropical regions.
Young plants are damaged by temperatures below -2º C, but well-established plants have suffered only superficial injury at -5º C.
Growing best in full sun and rapidly-draining soil.
It requires only moderate rainfall and, being deep-rooted, can stand a long dry weather.
 

Dewandaru grows in almost any type of soil and can even stand waterlogging for a time, but it is intolerant of salt.
They are most productive if unpruned, but still produce a great many fruits when close-clipped in hedges.

Quarterly feeding with a complete fertilizer formula promotes fruiting. 
The plant responds quickly to irrigation, the fruit rapidly becoming larger and sweeter in flavor after a good watering.

 

 
Dewandaru is bothered by scale and caterpillars.
But I still find some caterpillars, they eat young leaves.
But the damages is not really serious.
 

Actually low maintenance.
This is a really lovely plant.