Cheap ways under 20RM to decorate your balcony

In the next few posts I'll be writing about different cost-effective ways to beautify your balcony. Today, all the ways cost less than twenty ringgits.

1. Stools and stones

1kg bags of stones can be bought for as little as RM2.50 and used in many ways. Above you can see how my daughter and I decorated the top of the plant. If you don't want to add in little plants, the stones can look great and protect the plant from losing too much water too soon as well. My daughter also likes to collect shells and stones from any rivers and beaches we go to which have the added advantage of being free and they can look great in the garden too.

I got the stools from Ace Hardware for RM14.99. Very cost effective. They advertised themselves as great for children or to hold plants. My idea was as little tables next to our cushions for afternoon tea.

2. Bamboo arches

I got these arches for just over RM11. Three in one pack. I got them for my syngonium which loves to trail up the wall and everywhere. The problem with that is it pulls the paint off. So I thought the bamboo will give it something to do. The other two I want to use for my tomatoes when I sprout them. There were other types too. Straight bamboo and willow branches. All about RM3 - RM10.

3. Tall Planter

I saw this idea in a book on small garden ideas that I got yesterday. It had little grape hyacinths in it. It's a great idea for a balcony where vertical gardening can really provide abundance where horizontal surfaces can't. I haven't got plants for it yet, but I wanted to see if I could do it for less than RM20 and I did.

Wire netting RM3-5 per meter. You need less than half a meter.
dirt - RM2.90 a bag. You need two.
Pot - RM5
lining - paper - priced accordingly or free if you use newspaper.

It was very easy to put together. Prices can go up depending on the pot you use and the lining. The book had used sphagnum moss to line the netting. I couldn't find any and I think it it's a bit expensive so I used a thin coconut matting which is too thin. I had bought a thicker coconut matting which had been too thick. Newspaper could be a good option. As long as it's something you can poke holes into.

What ideas have you used for less than RM20?

In the next post; ideas for less than RM50

Creating Humidity

After reading up about Goldie and finding out that she needs humidity I thought I'd try it for her and my orchids. My Orchids, as I've mentioned before, seem to be in stasis at the moment and I want to encourage them to grow. So, using things that I had around the home, I got started.
I used:
Big pebbles
small fish bowl pebbles
a plastic tray
Abate insecticide for water features

I had these things already, but they're easy to get at Ace Hardware or other garden/pet centres. I got the tray from Ikea. It was very cheap.

I put the different sized pebbles in the tray. I'm buzzed that I got a tray that matches the paint on my balcony. My daughter enjoyed arranging it all. She also took the first three photos.

Sprinkled the Abate over them. It says to re-do it every two - three months

Added water

Voila!

This is the base of Goldie's pot.You can just see the pebbles underneath. I added a sachet of Abate to this too.

I've found it!!

I'm very excited because I've finally found out the name of a plant that I've had for about five years, pictured below.

It's simply known as Pseuderanthemum reticulatum or by its simpler common names of Yellow-Vein Eranthemum and Golden Pseuderanthemum! Phew, I don't think those names will be flowing from my lips in a hurry. But it's great because now I can research it properly and improve my care of it.

Before I carry on though, all credit for finding the name goes to a lovely lady called Jacq who's listed in my blog list. She found it in a book that she just got called Tropical Horticulture & Gardening. We'd both tried googling it, but couldn't find the picture anywhere. Now I can find it everywhere! So thank you Jacq.

So far, what I've learned is:

1. It likes sunny to partial shade. Does best in bright indirect sunlight coming from the South/East/West. I have sun from the west, so great.

2. Likes a bit of humidity

3. Even watering and fertilizing every fortnight.

Nothing new really as my 'Golden Pseuderanthemum' (maybe I should nickname her Goldie) really lets me know when she wasn't happy. She curls up her leaves and drops them in the space of days if she was throwing a tantrum. But I like one idea about making it more humid and that is adding pebbles in her water tray and keep it filled with water to increase humidity. I'll have to put mosquito pesticide in it too though. I might try it with my orchids as well, as they aren't too happy right now. They aren't dying, but they aren't growing either.

I'm thrilled to find out her name. Goldie's a lovely plant and her flowers are very pretty. I got her when I went to Bukit Tinggi Botanical Garden and Japanese tea garden. Lovely place. I had another one, but it sadly died in January when all my plants had to stay inside. Most of them weren't happy, but the goldies acted like pre-schoolers kicking and screaming on the floor. All the leaves dropped pretty rapidly and then the stems started going brown. Thankfully, one didn't give up entirely and I managed to get her out in time. Pruned her back to the green and away she went.

Not so well

Hi, I've been a bit sick over the past four days and nothing that I've wanted to do on my blog has come to fruition. But I have been making tea from my Karpuravalli plant. My daughter has been enjoying plucking the leaves and turning it into a medicine for me. I feel very looked after.

Hope to have much more soon.