Garden Shows During Tết in HCMC

In Ho Chi Minh City for the Tết holiday, January 2020? Concerned it will be a ghost town to be haunted by Karaoke at full volume by neighbours making the most of empty houses around them? Well, it's not as empty and quiet as you'd think. I can't help you with the karaoke. That's to be borne unless you are in the more expat districts. So to have a break, you could check out the roadside flowers for sale, Nguyen Hue Street Spring Flower Market and Tao Đàn Park Garden Show.



Many night markets pop up especially for the festive season.


Tết is in January this year, and it is bringing in the year of the Metal Rat. Already you can start to see the early street stalls setting up with orchids and lucky flowers. As it gets closer to Tết, the main streets of the city will start to get lined with flower sellers and can look really beautiful. Cộng Hòa Street is especially busy, as it is where many farmers enter the city. In the northern part of Vietnam my Hanoian friend told me they prefer the pink peach flowers during the Spring Festival. However, HCMC is tropical and many blossoming trees just don't survive here. Instead, the pretty yellow ochna itegerrima, or Mai tree (Mai Vang) is popular here as it can survive the heat. A bonus is that the yellow can represent gold and abundance. A little more information is here.



The different meanings of flowers between Hanoi and Saigon.



The pretty yellow Mai Vang.

During Tết you can go to Nguyen Hue Street in District 1. When I went last year, at one end they had dancing and other performances by different Vietnamese ethnic groups, which was really interesting. While at the other end there were beautiful flower displays. I went during the evening. It was busy, but manageable. I get a bit antsy when things are too crowded. However, it had an energetic, friendly vibe and you could move about quite freely.

Finally, there's Tao Đàn Park Garden Show. Last year I found this by accident. It is near where I first stayed in HCMC, so it has frequently been a landmark for me. If I went anywhere I often went via the streets that passed it. So, when I saw it being set up just before Tết, I thought I'd go back and have a look at it - and it was totally worth it. I shared a few photos of the gate display last week and I have some more photos in this one. I can't wait to see what they create this year! Inside is a variety of competitions for large displays, bonsai trees, and bonsai gardens. There's lots of food, concerts and games. It's a family outing with many people dressed up in their new Tết clothes, but it's casual too. You have to pay to get in, about VND30,000 per person.





Overall, Tết is a great holiday for pot plant gardens. Many people have their newly acquired plants on the street right in front of their homes for all to see and share. It can be pretty finding little streets with their flowers lining the way.

I will put more photos up after Tết to show you what they did this year. If you are here in Vietnam for Tết, Chúc mừng năm mới! And all the best for the year of the Rat.

Update: I have been looking for dates of the various garden shows and displays. So far, I haven't found the dates for any of them. However, many websites mention past years Tết garden shows and markets starting on Lunar December 23rd or 25th, which this year (2020) are January 17th and 19th. Tết itself is on January 25-27th with family dinners starting on the Eve.

Looking for these dates has meant I have found out more about the flower markets and I have shared a link here. I used this website to find the dates. Vietnam starts out similarly to China, but doesn't officially prolong it.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Loving gardeners without space or budget

Tết Holiday at Tao Đàn Park

I have been living in Vietnam for a year now. It's taken me a long time to write as I lost confidence and but I have been working on that and I can't help but see the love of gardening here in HCMC and want to talk about it.

If you come here as a tourist you are most likely to go downtown to Districts One, Two and Three. There, you can see tree-lined avenues and large public garden parks. They are quite lovely and offer a respite from the heat and noise of the shopping streets. There’s a lot to do and see there as you can easily find out from websites like Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor.

Tao Đàn Park

Công viên Tao Đàn

However, I lived in Bình Thạnh District in my first year, and although I have moved to a pretty tree-lined street in District Seven due to work, I miss it there. The streets are narrow and noisy, but there are little shops everywhere as the entrepreneurial Vietnamese are aiming high in their economic growth.

Somewhere in Bình Thạnh, Phuong 14

In fact many of my university-aged students frequently have jobs and companies as well as their full time studies. So, back to the streets of Bình Thạnh where, as you wander around, you look up and see the balconies with plants from fully decked-out gardens to just a pot of lemongrass for cooking. It is rare to see a balcony empty of anything. In a country where personal political opinions are not encouraged, the Vietnamese express their individuality through their homes and balconies. Sleek modern straight lines neighbour flamboyant baroque-like facades. 

Join me as we explore the gardens in pots around HCMC.

Trees aren't cut down - They are built around.

Mango in the Compost

Sometimes magic happens. I've been making a new bucket of compost and a couple of weeks ago right in the centre, I couldn't have placed it better myself, a small seedling with long soft purple-bronze leaves grew.

I couldn't for the life of me think what it could be. I racked my brains trying to remember what I'd put into the compost; there'd been cut flowers, fruit and vegetable peelings and so on and so on. I scoured my books and images in Google. The problem is that there aren't so many photos of seedlings. Finally, a picture that looked just like my little plant came up - it was a mango, and I had been eating a mango a few weeks back.

The leaves are still soft with a bronze tinge.

The leaves are greener than they were at the beginning.

I'm glad I persevered as it's beginnings are quite different to what it looks like now. Now, it looks like many green seedlings, but in the beginning its three long leaves dark-coloured leaves were very soft and could have you believing that it didn't have enough water. I knew that there was plenty of water, so I thought I'd wait and see.

Sure enough, the seedling's leaves are now sturdy and sticking up as normal leaves do. They've also changed colour to a rich green. Very nice. However, I have to find my little plant a new home in due course as it will grow far too big for my balcony and apparently it likes a deep place to send it's main roots down.

But for now, it's looking very beautiful in my compost.

Lisianthus in the Tropics

One of my readers finally gave me the name of the 'Paper Rose' that I bought a few years back,  Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum), thank you Tramadol, and I can now research it and find out more about it.

The first thing I found is that it's from the warm regions in the Americas and so is definitely suited to our tropical climate here in Malaysia and South-east Asia. Secondly it is an biennial, so it will die off, but it can give you a couple of years, or seasons, of flowers.

Apparently it's drought resistant, but likes regular watering with good drainage. It likes the sun a lot, but a very wind-sheltered sunny spot might be too hot. To promote flowering you can cut the long stems which are great show flowers and can last 2-3 weeks in a vase.

So, if you are out in Sungai Buloh and you find these flowers, you can rest assured that you can grow them in a sunny spot in your home. I'll put some links below to sites I looked up if you want to know more. However, I mention the main care needs above, and will mention one more word of caution - that they don't like their roots disturbed too much. So either keep them in the pot they came in, or put them into a bigger pot without trying to separate or loosen them.

Have fun with them. They are such beautiful flowers.

http://www.theflowerexpert.com
www.bhg.com 
http://www.dontveter.com

The difference between Tree Tomatos and Tamarillos

Nothing!!

This wonderful sweet and tart fruit apparently originates from the western South American countries including Peru and Chile. People from Naga in Sri Lanka also claim that it comes from there, but as it's part of the nightshade family that originated in South America I'll put my bets on there.

Home Grown

As you can see it's aptly known as tree tomato. It grows into a shrub of about 1.5m tall and will fruit all year round in a warm climate. In New Zealand, it's known as tamarillo. A blend of the Spanish word 'Amarillo' for yellow and the Maori word 'tama' for leadership, tamarillo helps to distinguish it from it's more savory cousin, the tomato, yet it still has a similar sounding name.

Growing up in Gisborne on the East Coast of New Zealand, I got to try a lot of exotic types of fruit as it's got a warm, dry micro-climate to the East of the Raukumara ranges. Feijoa, jack-fruit, paw-paw and so many more. My two favourites were feijoa and tamarillo. Of the two tamarillo was harder to find as it wasn't grown commercially in a big way until the late 80s when they began to grow it for export. I was working for my friend's father in the kiwifruit orchards when we were asked to help with planting out the new tamarillo orchards. I remember the leaves were quite smelly as I had to put my head against them each time I planted one.

I've heard that you can get them here in Malaysia, but only in the highlands as it's a sub-tropical plant rather than a tropical plant. If I'd known that before I went to Cameron Highlands a few years back I'd have been more diligent in looking for a tamarillo plant - or at least the fruit. I miss them so much. I love their slightly sour tart flavour. You can put sugar on them of course and the yellow ones are supposed to be sweeter, but for me it also makes the taste blander.

A link to recipes

If you know of where I can get my hands on a plant. Please let me know.
Resources and Recipes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarillo
http://www.tamarillo.com/mains/
http://www.nagafoods.com/Tree_Tomato.html
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/tree_tomato.html
http://www.nosygirl.net/2011/09/tree-tomato.html
Books
Berry Bounty: How to Grow Traditional & Unusual Berries
Seeds from Overseas

Lesster's Beekeeping Journal in Malaysia (Kelantan stingless bees)

For some reason I can't find the link to the first of Lesster's Beekeeping videos that I found when I tried to link it to my page - I'll put the link below. However, I found lots of other videos of his and they're all set here in Malaysia.

Lesster's Beekeeping and Honey tasting is in Malay (which I don't speak well - Saya becakap siket bahasa Melayu), but being a video, I could understand what they were chatting about. :)

Malaysian Bees

I've got a rogue tomato plant that determinedly grew up out of my compost and would be almost two metres high if I could stake it. As it is, it grew up through the branch of one tall pot plant and now bends over and rests on others. It seems to be okay and has put out lots of flowers. So of course I'm interested in little pollinators coming in and working on them so I can get tomatoes.

The tomato invasion

My apartment is very high up and I have seen some little bees from time to time, but my daughters freak out and want me to chase them away. I've also heard that most mosquito species (there are thousands, of which only six bite and even then only the females) are also pollinators as well as butterflies, moths, lady bugs and so on. So, I became more interested and began some research which brought me to some interesting species of bees. I'll put the links to the pages I've found so that you can read up on them as well if you want to. I'll do other species in later posts.

Where are those bees?

One thing I found is that there are not only the well-known stinging honey-bees here in Malaysia, but also a number of non-stinging types or non-aggressive types - very good news indeed. They are mason bees and trigona bees.

Mason bees are apparently from the Americas and there is only one site in Malaysia that has them, Penang. They are solitary bees which house themselves in small holes, cracks and crevices. Apparently, the male comes out of his pupae stage first, waits for the female to come out, mates and then dies. The female mason bee gathers food in a cavity the nest, lays an egg and closes the cavity up with the food. The female eggs are laid near the back of the nest and the males towards the front. The female will do this by herself all summer finding new nests when she's filled one up. There are no queen bees nor worker bees. They just work by themselves. Their way of storing the pollen and nectar also means that they don't produce a honey that is consumable by humans. However, for an urban garden that wants pure pollinators, I think they'd be very useful. They're also safe for children and pets as they'll only sting if squeezed or stepped on. There are lot of sites where you can find ways to house and keep them. I can't find whether you can buy them here yet and you'd have to get a permit from the Ministry of Agriculture if you want to bring them in.

Although the mason bee is only to be found in Penang right now, the trigona bee is far more widespread through out Malaysia with its own native species called kelulut. The trigona genus is found in tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world with more than thirty species here. They are social bees and have the whole set-up with the queen and worker bees. That means we can also get honey from them. Trigona Bee Farm in Pedas and a propolis bee farm in the Penang Botanical Gardens are doing just that. In Sabah, locals are very active in harnessing and harvesting the sting-less bees hard work. Murphy, who has the blog My Sabah, wrote a really informative blog post on different types of trigona bees and other types over there. Apparently, it's not as sweet as it's more famous cousin's honey is, and it's a little bitter. However, the various sources I've found say that its health benefits are wider.

At this time I can't find a Malaysian site where you can buy trigona bees, but I found some information from an Australian trigona bee site that explains how to transfer them.  So if you find some when you balik kampung you can bring some back with you. However, do get permission from any appropriate authorities/locals in case you are taking them from an area that needs them.

Finally, although, trigona bees may not sting, they do bite, but again - only if you disturb their nest, not while they are pottering around the flowers. So, if you see a little bee working away in your garden compare it to some of the photos you find in the links and you might find you have a little kelulut helping you in your garden.

Taro/Keladi Plant

 I was recently given an ornamental Taro plant, Keladi in Malaysian. It's sent me on a path of discovery as I learn how to look after it. Apparently the one I have is inedible, and it's leaves are a different heart-shape to the traditional variety. The curves are more rounded and the cordate veins in the leaf don't branch off at all. Here's a comparison of the two
My plant:

Ornamental Keladi

A specimen from the website mylittlevegetablegarden:

Keladi/Taro tuberous plant

So what do they like?
- Full sun to partial shade.
- Lots of water. They don't like drying out at all. In fact, they like it quite boggy. They used to be farmed near rivers for lots of irrigation.
- Apparently they don't like fertilizer on their leaves either. They like it near (but not too close) to the tubers. So, leaf sprays aren't good. Pity, as that's my favorite type of fertilizer and most of my other plants like the spray on.

They are a pretty addition to my balcony. Their distinct heart shaped leaves create a lovely contrast to my long leafed spider lily and variegated Dracaena reflexa

With Dracaena reflexa and basil in the background.

Spider Lily - Hymenocallis

Over the last few weeks my spider lily has been putting out spray after spray and it's been delightful. The scent that floats through the house on a calm evening is divine.

When I inherited it, it came in a broken pot and had lots of that white fluffy mite that is so problematic here. After transferring it to a lovely new big pot I set to work trying to get rid of its parasites. This was before I found the recipe for the natural pesticide. The store bought one just couldn't get rid of them. They'd be back in a week! I even tried taking the bulbs out of the soil, washing them in a bucket with the pesticide in the water and soaking them for a while before planting them back into the pot, to no avail.

Three sprays all at once

Then I found the recipe for the chilli/garlic pesticide and it found a new life. It even rewarded me with a new spray of flowers within a few days of the mites disappearing! I just do a systematic spray now and then to keep the mites away and a far more regular leaf fertilizer and it loves it.


My spider Lily is also protecting two baby pigeons! They are very cute, and noisy when it's feeding time. My daughter's a bit worried as the nest is down under the plants and she's concerned that they won't be able to get out when it's time to fly. Thank goodness for google as that's what I'll be researching next. They're definitely sheltered from the rain and storms that regularly come through KL and that's probably why the parents chose the spot.

Two babies eye-balling the weird thing appearing above them.

Using my compost soil

Last weekend I topped up my pots and replaced soil in others from my compost. It's beautiful rich, black soil. It also meant I have more room in my compost container to do some more composting. 

Here's some pictures of me adding it to the pots and digging it in.

The old clay soil

Taking the old soil out and adding new soil - and plant

Looking so much better

Topped up

This one had lost a lot of soil, so the compost really built it up again.

Starting the new compost

 

Adopted plants

My friend has left the country to go live elsewhere and she had a balcony oof gorgeous plants. I wanted them so badly, but her balcony was four times bigger than mine and mine is already full! So, I said I'd take five; she gave me eight.

However, it got me thinking how some of my favourite plants are ones I'd inherited from others. It's lovely looking around the balcony and seeing the different plants/people in my life and it brings a lot of joy.

One of them in a Jasmine (I'm going to have to look after that one as I find the Jasmines are very suseptable to  insect infestations), which has been sending off a gorgeous scent in the evenings. Three are a type of water bulb which I want to research and the others have variegated yellow and green leaves. Very nice. 

The only problem is, I can't sit out on my balcony as it's full of plants!!

 

My new plants buffeted by the morning winds.

 

Balcony Gardening ideas

This is an interesting article. Not many pictures, which is a shame. I love pictures with an article as they can give so much more information. But some great ideas.

Cheers

Compost update

Not much has been happening on my balcony of late. Although, I did just give it a big spring clean. I cleared out the mess, re-potted plants and... checked out my compost.

I'm really thrilled because my experiment worked and the soil that I got from it was beautiful. I had so much I had to give some away!

I've already started my next lot. First, I kept some soil from the previous compost to use as a starter. I put some at the bottom of the container, put my kitchen vege scraps in and then another layer. I can now add bits to it as I do my cooking etc.

What's really great is that it never stank. 

One reason it didn't, I think, is because I never put cooked food or meat in it. Just vegetable skins, egg shell and fruit leftovers. I also had a heavy lid on it (a large pottery water saucer actually) which kept the moisture in and flies and mosquitoes out, whilst not being air tight and killing the helpful bugs and bacteria inside. 

In fact, after adding everything and a good amount of water, not enough to flood it, I pretty much forgot it except to add bits to the top now and then. When I opened it up at the weekend, it was moist, dark and rich. Beautiful. The worms and helpful bugs had been very happy in there, I think.

Bali's gates and gardens

Here are more photos of the gardens and gates in Bali. They are everywhere. Downtown as well as in the villages. They are an integral part of the landscape and very much add to the surroundings. The wood and stone work are beautifully intricate. Fitting testimony to their Hindu culture. Their faith is everywhere from the decorative pieces to the little daily offerings put outside the door to the active participation in prayer and temple ceremonies.

As a tropical country, it gets very hot. We were there during the dry season, so it was dusty too. However, there was greenery everywhere. Although the stonework was in every direction, it never stood alone and austere. It was always surrounded by plants in some form or another adding charm and mystery to the scene.

"Gates and Gardens"

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Bali 1

My oldest daughter and I have just been on a three day trip to Bali. It was my first time there and I was quite excited. Bali is a Hindu culture in an Islamic country. So I wanted to see the differences in aesthetics and gardening, and it didn't let me down.

With only a few days there, we didn't have a lot of time, but we went on a tour of their batik, carving and silver crafts. They were really beautiful - and amazing. I learned that in their weaving the woven pattern is pre-dyed onto the thread before it's woven and as I'm not a weaver and don't know how it's done, it just blew me away. How do you 'see' the picture in a long line - without computers? Now that's magic.

As we were taken around and walked about the place, we saw a lot of little gardens. A lot of them were hidden behind gates and walls and you'd only see glimpses of them as you went past. I've always loved that idea of a 'secret' garden that you could see just a little into. The gates themselves were also beautiful and made gorgeous frames for the small paradises within. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

They use sandstone, limestone and volcanic rock for their sculptures. I'll put up more photos next week.

A world of plants

Entering Baladia's and Musa's balcony and you feel you are in a haven in a high rise. Surrounded by plants, the highway is but a distant hum easily forgotten and ignored.

The balcony, however, definitely can't be ignored as a combination of comfort and green provides a place to be still. "Being connected to nature is a type of meditation for me,' says Baladia.

Both owners have been gardening since they were children either as a home garden or in farming. When they were decorating their apartment, being able to step out from the bricks and mortar and connect to their natural surroundings was an integral part of their home design. It is a short step from the living areas into a green space. So much so that they took one wall out of the downstairs bathroom and put in a wall of green instead!

Plants frame the spectacular view on the lower balcony, and create a living wall for privacy on the upper. The lower balcony is more enclosed and sheltered than the upper which is open directly to the elements. This has created two different habitats and allows them to have a variety of plants.

Shade loving plants inhabit the lower balcony and help keep the area cool. Pond reeds, tiny ferns and moss thrive to add character to the pots and surrounding space. In two corners stand Joshua trees that have grown in fascinating lines as they reach from under the ceiling to the light.

Upstairs are more sun hungry plants including a mango and frangapani. The purple heart loves to sit in the full sun and has repaid them with dainty pink flowers. Baladia told me, "Having a balcony garden is like having a child. You cannot forget them; they need care, but they are very grateful and the more you look after them the more beautiful they become." 

As their garden is very personal to them it comes as no surprise that they both follow in the long gardening tradition of sharing plants with other keen gardeners (including me). Plants from friends around the world have found homes there including an ornamental banana and a young creeper that will proliferate in showers of red flowers (see below, left) when it matures.  The plant on the right is a succulent setting out roots - almost ready to be transplanted.

I have included a video for you that showcases more photos of their lovely balconies that their whole family enjoys - including Sasha the tortoise who has the run of the balcony downstairs!

Let me know what you think.

Worms - A sign of health!

In our clean modern homes in the concrete jungle, worms are the last wee beasties we expect on our balconies way up on high, but even here they are wonderful creatures that help the soil in our pots remain balanced and aerated, while adding to the nutritional value. I even found one today in my large snail shell pot! I had to take the plant out of its shell for some plant housekeeping and there it was lying against the wall very comfortable. As the shell had a small break that I wanted to fix, I had to take it out and put it on the soil. It soon disappeared into the cool dark and that was when I remembered that I hadn't taken a photo of it in the shell first. I wouldn't make a good paparazzi!

Anyway, it reminded me of the two little composts that the girls and I started four months ago. We'd made them in two plastic waste paper bins from Ikea and had put some compost from my friend's one in to help start it. The loam from hers was so rich and full of worms and good bugs. I made layers in one bin with soil and garden waste and some the loam and put a lid on it. 

In the other one, I only filled it half way anticipating putting more leaves etc in it over the months. We did fill it up, but it never had a lid. I think that was an important point for when I opened up the lidded one I found beautiful dark soil. However, the other one hadn't worked as successfully as it had got too dry. I'd only watered them both every couple of weeks. For the lidded one that was perfect as too much water can drown the helpful critters. For the open one, it wasn't enough and it was too dry. I've put some of the dark soil from the lidded one on top to introduce some new worms to the brew and I'll get a new lid tomorrow.

Composting is great fun and very easy to do. Over the last four months I've hardly given the buckets much attention and they did their thing quite happily. I want to transfer some plants and I can use the new soil to do it in. What's even better is that it doesn't smell at all. My living room area opens directly onto the balcony and the bins were just to the side out of sight, but not very far away and there is never a whiff. 

If you want to learn more about how to make compost try this link D.I.Y Wormery and Compost.  I liked Gareth Hogan's resource as it specifically mentions small spaces and we all need to think about that.

He mentions making money from composting. I'm not sure if that's possible here in KL, but I'd like to get my condo into composting. 

Do you compost? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Waxing Moon

As I was coming home this evening, I noticed that there is a half moon tonight and that it's bigger than last night. The first thought that came to mind was the moon is waxing and it's the perfect time for planting seeds. So, if you are here in Malaysia, then now is a great time for sowing as the seeds will spring up faster.

I'm going to plant some tomorrow. Maybe some salad plants.

Happy sowing all!

How to care for Gloxinias

soil in pots - cost vs quality

One the most difficult aspects of my balcony garden is balancing cost and quality. Like any interest or passion, it's as expensive as we want to make it - and soil can be an expensive part of the set up.

Here in Malaysia, we can find some really cheap 2kg bags of soil in the supermarket for only RM2.50. It's fantastic, especially if you're filling up a very large tub. The only problem is that water retention is low, and although they have some nutrients, they run out of them quickly.

So how can we maximise our plant potential and keep costs low?

On my balcony, most of my plants have cheap soil, because it's what I can afford. However, I'm constantly having to water thirsty plants - the hibiscus and herbs such a basil are particularly thirsty. To completely replace all the soil is out of the question. So, I've replaced the top layer with a clay soil or a mulch. They both allow the water to come through, but slows down evaporation from the pot.

For new plants, I'll choose the soil according to the plant's needs.

Thirsty plants/plants that don't like dry roots:
- invest in good quality rich soil - it saves so much time walking in and out with the watering can.

Plants that don't like wet roots or don't need a lot of water (such as aloe vera)
- the cheap soil is fine. It's got good drainage and doesn't rot the roots. Just need to add fertiliser from time to time.

What soil do you like using for your pot plants?