30.6.10

Tips in Selecting a Tiller

Note the fluffy soil that has just been tilled?
The purpose of tilling is to break up soil, aerate it or to eliminate weeds.


When selecting a tiller, choose one that is strong enough to break some hard clay soil and yet doesn't hurt your forearm.


It is important to select one that is heavy duty enough to dig various parts of the garden continuously without wearing out easily.


One that overtills uncontrollably, exposing roots, isn't very advisable.



But if the tiller can double up as a wood chipper for the compost pile, it's worth considering. 


If after a hard day's work and with dirt in the mouth, the tiller still smiles, then it may just be the perfect deal.


Clifford - the priceless multi-function gardening tool.

28.6.10

Western Park

Garden at Western Park

Bridges
 

Dead Snail Shells

Orange dragonfly in deep thoughts.

Marble Goby caught by a man in his 70s.
He comes all the way from Bukit Tinggi to fish here regularly.
Notice the small fish under the marble goby? It is the bait. 

Flowers at Western Park

26.6.10

Giving

This gift looks very pretty. It is a gift from someone I met for the very first time today. Very much as I have a sweet tooth, 20 pieces of 'nyonya kuih' is way too much to be consumed.

I was given this gift because I gave the giver something else first, of course, without expecting anything in return. I will be sharing it with others who has given me something else earlier.

Part of life is about giving and sharing. This is just an example of the day.


Quotes on Giving

"Before giving, the mind of the giver is happy; while giving, the mind of the giver is made peaceful; and having given, the mind of the giver is uplifted."
-Buddha -

"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving."
-Mother Teresa-

"When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die."
-Eleanor Roosevelt-

"As I give, I get."
-Mary McLeod Bethune-

"Some people give time, some money, some their skills and connections, some literally give their life's blood. But everyone has something to give."
-Barbara Bush-

"Happiest are the people who give most happiness to others."
-Dennis Diderot-

"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."
-Winston Churchill-

23.6.10

Some Visitors Today


An elegant butterfly posing on my willow tree.
Such long legs!


Big eyes too!
But it refused to show off its colourful backside even after much persuasion.
I should be glad it stopped fluttering long enough for some snapshots.


An orange butterfly on a mulberry leaf.
This one stayed very still.


Of course, these beauties come with creepy crawlies.

You Know You’re Addicted to Gardening When ...

Your neighbors recognize you in your pajamas, rubber clogs and a cup of coffee.

You grab other people’s banana peels, coffee grinds, apple cores, etc. for your compost pile.

You have to wash your hair to get your fingernails clean.

All your neighbors come and ask you questions.

You know the temperature of your compost every day.

You buy a bigger truck so that you can haul more mulch.

You enjoy crushing Japanese beetles because you like the sound that it makes.

Your boss makes “taking care of the office plants” an official part of your job description.

Everything you touch turns to “fertilizer”.

Your non-gardening spouse becomes conversant in botanical names.

You find yourself feeling leaves, flowers and trunks of trees wherever you go, even at funerals.

You dumpster-dive for discarded bulbs after commercial landscapers remove them to plant annuals.

You plan vacation trips around the locations of botanical gardens, arboreta, historic gardens, etc.

You sneak home a 7 foot Japanese Maple and wonder if your spouse will notice.

When considering your budget, plants are more important than groceries.

You always carry a shovel, bottled water and a plastic bag in your trunk as emergency tools.

You appreciate your Master Gardener badge more than your jewelry.

You talk “dirt” at baseball practice.

You spend more time chopping your kitchen greens for the compost pile than for cooking.

You like the smell of horse manure better than Estee Lauder.

You rejoice in rain…even after 10 straight days of it.

You have pride in how bad your hands look.

You have a decorative compost container on your kitchen counter.

You can give away plants easily, but compost is another thing.

Soil test results actually mean something.

You understand what IPM means and are happy about it

You’d rather go to a nursery to shop than a clothes store.

You know that Sevin is not a number.

You take every single person who enters your house on a “garden tour”.

You look at your child’s sandbox and see a raised bed.

You ask for tools for Christmas, Mother/Father’s day, your Birthday and any other occasion you can think of.

You can’t bear to thin seedlings and throw them away.

You scold total strangers who don’t take care of their potted plants.

You know how many bags of fertilizer/potting soil,/mulch your car will hold.

You drive around the neighborhood hoping to score extra bags of leaves for your compost pile.

Your preferred reading matter is seed catalogs.

And last but not least:

You know that the four seasons are:

Planning the Garden
Preparing the Garden
Gardening
~and~
Preparing and Planning for the next Garden


-Author Unknown

21.6.10

Harvest


This is the first time I have harvested my red flesh Dragon Fruit.
Previously, a passerby couldn't resist harvesting on my behalf.
The pumpkin is 1.96kg in weight.

By The River







17.6.10

Toad



Toads are amphibians that hunt at night. Toads are found all over the world except polar environments and Australia.

Toads have poison behind their eyes. Toads have no teeth, and have leathery skin for better water retention. Females are larger than males.

Toads eat insects and other small animals, catching them with their long, sticky tongue.


LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails