Garden in M'sia (Days 157-158: 17/02/2018-18/02/2018)
PRAY for rain!
Previously
What can seemingly endless scorching hot and dry weather do to a garden? Well, I caught a glimpse of the parched results in my most recent visit to the Malaysian garden. Aside from the more established heat-tolerant plants, the garden was not doing too good. Large bare spots were beginning to get reconquered by 'weeds' such as Praxelis (Praxelis clematidea), Phyllanthus (Phyllanthus spp.) and White Kyllinga (Kyllinga nemoralis). Perhaps most saddening, the Mulburry (Morus sp.) and Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius) were looking terrible, with the former completely defoliated.
Above: The lifeless looking Mulberry (Morus sp.), although I have not given up on salvaging it!
On the bright side, a few plants that we planted were doing decently, to outright thriving. The Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) were doing surprisingly well (not in tip-top condition, but much better than I had expected), basil (Ocimum basilicum) were growing semi-weedily, the Indian snakeweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) showing signs of budding, the corn (Zea mays) doing well with one even fruiting, and the butterfly peas (Clitoria ternatea) monopolising the ground around them. The neem (Azadirachta indica) and tamarind (Tamarindus indica) were coming along nicely, although growth has been understandably slow due to the lack of moisture for the previous few weeks. The Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) were a pleasant surprise too, with their seeds scattered everywhere and plants thriving like weeds throughout the garden.
Above: Imagine a garden filled with flowering Zinnia elegans. How dreamy! It could actually be a reality soon enough, with how well they have been looking.
Below: Captivating Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides).
Above: A lynx spider (Oxyopes birmanicus) chilling near the future flowers of the Indian snakeweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis).
Below: Maize (Zea mays) looking splendid!
We decided to purchase a few plants, including Wishbone flower (Torenia fournieri), Plumed cockscomb (Celosia argentea) and Marigold (Tagetes erecta) to cover some of the bare ground. I am not very optimistic about their survival, however, I hope that they will produce viable seeds for future plantings.
In the kitchen plot, the pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) was producing male flowers.
Above & below: Gorgeous Wishbone flowers (Torenia fournieri). Might be a wrong decision to purchase them as they love lower temperatures and humidity, but I've seen them thrive in Singapore before.
Above: If this Marigold (Tagetes erecta) takes off, it will be my favourite plant in the garden. Sorry butterfly peas!
Below: A random sawtooth coriander (Eryngium foetidum) popping up in the main plot.
Above: May you all flower soon! (Zinnia elegans)