Some well travelled garden furniture and pots - some of them are already into their fourth continent...
After living out of our suitcases for six weeks, we finally moved into our new apartment last weekend. Tired of having frenetically unpacked cardboard boxes during the last few days, I indulged in some serious plant shopping - after all, a gardening girl has to keep her priorities straight. I intently skipped all planning of any color or plant combinations and dived into a temptingly lush nursery I had spotted from a taxi window the week before. This might be more retail therapy than actual gardening, but boy did it feel good to plant a couple of pots and get some dirt under my fingernails again.
A bougainvillea, a Jade Empress palm (Rhapis multifida), a Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa), a healthy-looking, erect Heliconia and a tiny little Frangipani (Plumeria sp. - I've wanted one for years as I love their scented flowers...) in their new home on our roof terrace in Singapore.
Our first weeks in Singapore were quite stressful; we found out that a building behind the apartment we had signed is going to be torn down in October, which means that we would have be living besides a major construction site for the next two years. And as things go here, builders work from 7 AM until 10 PM, seven days a week, so all our lunches and dinners on longed-for balmy tropical nights would have been accompanied by the less-delicate sounds of jackhammers and drills instead of chirping cicadas. We were extremely lucky to be offered another apartment (normally there is no way out from a signed contract), and we landed with two balconies, several planters and a roof terrace - enough place to enjoy at least some members of the amazing flora here.
More planters to fill on the first floor of our apartment - the question is how to water them, as all water has to be carried through the living room... Any good suggestions?
So what did I buy on my first foray into the local plant world? A couple of bougainvilleas, one delicate Jade Empress palm (Rhapis multifida), two more robust Lady Palms (Rhapis excelsa), a tiny young Frangipani (Plumeria sp. - I've wanted to have one for years as I love their scented flowers...), one healthy-looking and erect Heliconia and one desert rose (Adenium obesum), all of which can take the somewhat hard conditions of a roof terrace. And no subtle, sophisticated whites for me this time; all my new "protégés" bloom in eye-popping pinks and oranges - well, besides the palms obviously. I'm not sure where this is going (and if I should change my blog name to The Intercontinental Container Gardener), but I'm definitely happy with the journey so far!
3 comments:
Men, vilken tur, att ni lyckades häva kontraktet och hitta denna fina lägenhet! Två balkonger dessutom! Då kan du ju verkligen ta reda på hur läget påverkar växterna! Det du, en uppgift så god som någon! Om det grönskar så här redan nu, misstänker jag, att snart kommer du att ha en riktig djungel där uppe! Det skall bli kul att följa din container gardening.
Ha det gott!
/Ruben
Hej Ruben, detta var nog ett riktigt klassiskt fall av "tur i oturen"... Och jag är just en sådan plantoholic, så det blir roligt att forska det tropiska utbudet här, mycket som i Mexico, verkligen! Ha det gott!
Sorry for the late input, but I used to have some GIGANTIC fishtanks and I filled them using a specially made hose that fitted temporarily onto the sink faucet. I purchased the set-up from a specialty aquarium store. You might find something similar that serves your need?
--Emily
Post a Comment