Thriving again

Pots of dill waiting to be given away
My mini-terrarium method of growing from cuttings. 
Beautiful curry leaf berries.
Bushy Terragon grown from a sprig given by a neighbor.
Sage thriving from a sprig given to me by a dear friend.
Thyme and basil just released from its plastic protective dome.

Thriving again

My herb patch was hit by a swarm of red spider mites which were extremely difficult to eradicate. Fortunately they did not attack my precious European herbs but attacked the butterfly pea till they all perished. Even the passion fruit vines were not spared. I tried everything from soap water vegetable oil emulsions, neem oil and even sourdough starters to glue them. The only thing I did not use was chemical based pesticides as I did not want to poison myself ingesting pesticides. I had to re-grow all the butterfly pea again. This time round, I spread the seeds from two different plants to ensure cross-fertilization.  The plants are thriving again with many seed pods hanging on the vines.

Just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were greatly reduced in recent weeks and the plants seem to be thriving again. I wish I knew the reason and can only guess that it was because of the cooler weather. It is yet again another example of the maxim that difficulties do not last forever.  I am reminded again of Adi Shankara's Vivekachudami (Crest Jewel of Wisdom).

My herb patch has grown because I found an effective way of growing herbs from cuttings given to me by friends or bought from the supermarket. The cuttings are dipped in rooting hormone and planted in a sealed plastic container with a little water. The moisture is sealed in and the cutting does not dry out while the leaves are still able to make food. Over a week or two, the roots will sprout and the cutting can then be transplanted onto the soil. After transplanting, the plant is capped with the plastic container for another couple of weeks. It protects the vulnerable young plant from the rain, wind and insects.

Pictures of my Butterfly Pea
Mint
Oregano
Terragon
Rosemary

More herbs (Previous post on my herbs here)

I was on my way back from work and passed a house with a roadside herb garden. The owner of the house was weeding the patch and we had a little chat about gardening and the herbs that he was growing. He invited me into his compound where there were more interesting plants growing there. Before I left, he broke a sprig of terragon and gave it to me.

When I got home, I planted the spring in a little bit of soil and capped the plastic container with another transparent disposable container like a temporary terrarium. I figured that since the sprig had no roots, it was necessary to conserve moisture and what better way than to 'seal' the moisture in. The leaves can then continue to make the food that the plant needs while the roots take the time to sprout. It certainly beat soaking the cutting in water. The results was proof that I was correct in my hunch. That little cutting of terragon has since multiplied into a few healthy plants.

After this success, I applied the technique to cuttings of rosemary and oregano given by a friend. These worked equally well. 

However, I am most happy about the Butterfly Pea(Bunga Telang) that I had planted from pods which I found by the roadside. To me, it is the most beautiful flower in the world. When I was a boy, I observed my grandmother extracting a glorious blue color from the flower. I was enchanted by the blue coloring and to this day, my favorite nonya kuehs are those with the blue coloring like Kueh Salat, Nonya Rice Dumpling and Pulut Inti. 

My grandmother was a traditional Peranakan who dressed in sarong kebaya dress with kerosang. She made the most delicious dishes and snacks. The memories of those days are clearly etched into my mind. I recall her feeding me Tapeh, a sweet fermented rice wine and was already a coffee addict even as a child. She was definitely instrumental in making me love good food.

The Butterfly Pea(Clitoria Ternatea) was named by Rumphius. He seemed to have followed the example of Carl Linnaeus, the originator of the scientific classification system of plants and animals(taxonomy). Apparently Linnaeus had this penchant for naming things in this curious manner. Although some of the names are controversial, I am glad that the names have prevailed simply because they show that scholarship need not be dry and dusty. Rumphius was a botanist employed by the East India Company and the flower was probably found on the Indonesian island of Ternate. The rich flora and fauna is documented in The Malay Archipelago by Alfred Russell Wallace who came up with the Theory of Evolution independent of Charles Darwin. 

The Butterfly Pea is a legume and such plants actually fertilize the soil that they are planted on because the bacteria in the roots of the plants fix nitrogen. I intend to verify this by planting the seeds right among the herbs to see if they thrive on the enriched soil.

Animal magnet

This is a little off topic from my usual theme but I was delighted by the emerging of a large number of Painted Jezebel butterflies on a Wrightia Religiosa(Shui Mei) bush in front of my house. This is the latest in a string of wonderful visits by some unusual guests. They seem to want to share in my little abode of peace. For the last couple of weeks, that bush was invaded by an army of hairy caterpillars. They disappeared suddenly but one Saturday while pruning the bush, I saw a huge number of chrysalises on the underside of the leaves. This morning they emerged eventually just after I returned from breakfast with my wife. The burst of color was so delightful to watch. I was glad that I had left them alone.

One week after I moved in many years ago, a cat gave birth to a litter of kittens in my garden. They were inconspicuously hidden under some shrubs and nobody would have known of their existence had they not mewed when their mother was not around. Although I grew up in a countryside setting, I had never looked after a pet directly. In those days, there was no shortage of wildlife and in the family compound, there was a talking mynah, parakeets and even a monkey from goodness knows where. Not knowing what to do with the cats, I called the SPCA.

My neighbor's runaway pets also had a penchant of ending up in my house too. I had a Chinchilla hiding under my Christmas tree once. The Chinchilla even dropped me a few black pellets as a Christmas present. This was followed by a visit by her white mouse and rabbit.

Even though my house is not at the edge of any forest, I had a visit from an Iguana in my backyard. I was not there to greet him as I was at work. However, my wife came face to face with him while hanging out the clothes to dry in the backyard. I had to do some homework that evening to seal up the backyard grating to prevent him from getting trapped in my backyard.

The most memorable visit must be from a pair of Olive-backed Sunbirds who built their nest right in front of my sliding door. For the next couple of months, my sliding door stayed shut as I did not want to be an inconsiderate neighbor. I tried my best to respect their privacy. I guess nobody likes to have busybodies peering in while passing by. The wife finally laid an egg which hatched eventually. From then on, dad and mum were busy flying in and out feeding and cleaning up baby. When I had to change my babies' diapers, I had hands but for these bird parents, clearing up after baby involved baby raising its rear to the nest opening. Daddy bird, perched at the entrance, grabbed the white dollop of poo in its beak and proceeded to the nearest tree to wipe off on a twig. It was just fascinating.