Captions Wanted

These hibiscus are so similar yet so different.

A few wacky captions came to mind.

Since I have been enjoying reading your comments, I thought perhaps you could assist me with the captions for the photos below.

Hibiscus

I'll post the same photos again with selected captions in a future post with your names on it, of course.

Let's have some fun in the middle of the week!

Do check out for hot and loud tropical flowers at A Plant Fanatic in Hawaii.
Then drop over at Fishtail Cottage who organizes a garden party on every Thursdays.
For photos of little creatures, look them up at Creature Feature at Garden Adventures.

I've just discovered an exciting challenge. Check this out at Fabulous Friday Challenge at Mcdougall Photography.

Something Is Missing

Red Button Ginger

Costus woodsonii

Willow

Salix

Desert Rose

Adenium

Ornamental Cabbage

What is missing in the last collage?

To view more collages, kindly hop over to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

For terrific macros, view Macro Monday at Lisa's Chaos.

If you are interested in animals and little critters, visit Camera Critters and Creature Feature at Garden Adventures.

Do hop over to A Plant Fanatic in Hawaii for some hot tropical flowers.

In The Air

Sadness in the Air is a poem written by a friend based on the visions he had several months ago.

THERE IS SADNESS IN THE AIR

There is sadness in the air,

It came again TODAY.

Is it from me, inside me, or is it from

OUT THERE?

A Vision:

Of an old woman,

wailing and crying,

amidst the fallen white rubbles of buildings.

Hopeless hands beating bloodied chests

tears flowing unceasingly.

Injured people are groaning from within

While some lay STILL

and breathless.

Sirens blaring from afar,

Drowning the fears of loss and sadness.

People digging for the living,

Whilst from a-distant,

A silent rumble in the earth

Continues to seek

Ever more new victims.

Aug 16, 2010

This is a sad poem that I am reposting because the event may seem familiar now although it was written last year.
The title also coincides with the current theme of 'In The Air' in Roses and Stuff.

What else are there in the air...in my garden specifically?
There are some bees in the air.

I can't seem to ignore these bright looking Canna waving to me in the air.

Have a pleasant weekend and do look out for interesting postings of 'In The Air', at Roses and Stuff.

Looking for Snowdrops

Some flowers seem shy.

They prefer to hang their heads down.

Their drooping posture reminds me of snowdrops.

How many petals are there in a snowdrop?

Have you seen a purple snowdrop?

Snowdrops don't look sideways, do they?

These can't be snowdrops.

They look deceivingly cool though.

But may turn incredibly hot.

You didn't expect me to find snowdrops, did you?
Well, I did find some ants.

Check out Tootsie Time to enjoy flowers being flaunted from all over the world.

Faces in the Garden

There are some strange looking faces in the garden.

They are a little creepy, aren't they?

Comparatively, the faces below seem quite charming.

There are more but I think you have enough of creepy looking flowers and creepy looking bugs.

Since there will be no signs of Spring for me to look forward to, I looked for some unusual faces instead.

I shall let you leave this post with a more pleasant looking face.
Pichu thinks he has the best looking face.

False Start

Desert Rose is blooming beautifully with periwinkle growing wildly behind it.

Skippers seem to be attracted to both the desert rose and periwinkle.

A skipper butterfly is named as such because of its quick, darting flight habits.

I'm happy to see them but as you know, I'm quite happy to see any critters in my garden.

With the 3 collages above, did you START to imagine a nice, neat and colourful garden, filled with butterflies?

Well, that would be a FALSE START.

See reality below.

In reality, Clifford would slam the cockcomb flowers with his face and lie down on them.

In reality, Goldee would look for critters beneath the cabbages and even trample over the cabbages.

In reality, I have too many false starts in trying to tidy up the garden.

I was building a veggie bed to keep the dogs out yesterday.

As usual, the dogs helped out in the garden.

Along the way, the bed changed shape and became a doggie bed.

They lay down on the doggie bed and smiled at me.

What was I thinking?

Another false start!

Watch out for other False Starts at Roses and Stuff.

Beauties and the Bees

Many of us are aware that bees are declining in many parts of the world.

There are many different theories as to the reasons of the decline.

I do not intend to delve into the possibilities.

But am delighted that my sunflowers are infested with bees.

When I started gardening here 3 years ago,

I was shocked and frustrated to see only 5 grains in my first corn.

Seeing the sight of bees would mean there are more pollinators and a much better balance now.

Did you notice a grasshopper and a bee dining harmoniously together above?

Sunflowers are bright and cheerful and usually brings a smile to one's face.
Having bees on a sunflower would bring a double smile to mine.

I have not forgotten the tragedy in Japan despite my post which may appear to be happy.
There are plenty of grim news everyday and some days are just worst off than others.

A natural disaster can serve as a reminder that our lives are fragile and that we better treasure our present moments.
I'm treasuring the 'Beauties and the Bees' now, knowing that these will pass soon...just like any other happy or sorry states.


For more blooming posts during Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, please visit May Dreams Garden.

Since these beauties will soon pass, I've created a messy mosaic to preserve them.
Of course, I am not referring to Clifford.
His purpose is to show that some of those sunflowers are more than 8 feet tall.

Check out Dear Little Red House for some really beautiful mosaics.

Feeling Blue

Katarina of Roses and Stuff is hosting Blooming Friday with the theme, "Feeling Blue".
There are no blue flowers, Nor blue berries to be found.Not even little blue critters,Appear above the ground.

In the mission of "Feeling Blue",I went around with a frown.

When someone said sunflowers are always cheerful,

I had thought the comment was profound.

Until I saw these two,Letting their heads down.

A bee came buzzing though,Sweeping away my frown.He knows just what do,Where he should hang around.
In my mission of "Feeling Blue",I have lost my precious frown.In my mission of "Feeling Blue",I must lead you to "Feeling Down".

Since I've failed miserably in this mission, kindly visit Roses and Stuff for other "Feeling Blue" articles.

Lemon Tree Follow-Up

My dear friend, Andrea has requested that I put up the photo of the entire lemon tree.

I managed to get Clifford to pose in front of the bush so that you could see the relative size.

The 2 photos in the collage below are taken from 2 different angles with the lemon tree behind Clifford.

I must agree with Bangchik that although caterpillars eat leaves, they do not kill the plants like termites.

My initial experience with this lemon tree was very bad.

The tree was bald most of the time.

Sometimes, I removed the caterpillars together with some leaves so that they could eat them elsewhere and leave the rest of the plant alone.

However, I didn't feel very good about that.

Eventually, I found a solution to the problem.

Instead of scarcity, why not think abundance?

I  transferred the plant from the pot to the ground.

This tree multiplied in size pretty quickly.

Very soon, there were too many leaves for the caterpillars.

I also grew a few lime trees nearby.

Caterpillars and lemon tree grew together in harmony.

There were more than enough leaves, even for the grasshoppers.

It began to flower just a few months ago, giving out wonderful fragrance.

Dear Cat, you wanted to know how much coffee ground I used.

I throw in about 5 bucketfuls last year.

However since yours is in a pot like Karin's, I suggest you use only very sparingly, to avoid toxic buildup.

I am no expert in this but just feel that it is safer to use them on the ground as the environment is more natural and balance.

Hope that helps.

If there are anyone experienced with using coffee grounds in the garden, do feel free to chip in.

Lemon Tree with Garden Pests

After 3 years of growing my lemon tree, I've just begun to enjoy the fruits.

The tree grew exponentially when I added a lot of used coffee ground and tea ground to it last year.

As you can see, this lemon tree comes complete with many insect pests, pollinators and predators too.

Although there are many holes on the leaves, I do not spray any insecticide on it and have been enjoying the beauty of Citrus Butterflies, praying mantis, all sort of spiders, grasshoppers...

My lemon tree,
Not all that pretty,
Attract bugs constantly,
With predators living happily.


My lemon tree,
Not all that pretty,
Consume as lemon tea with honey,
Helps me cut down on soft drink and coffee.


My lemon drink,
Not all that pretty,
Do share your lemon recipe,
which is tasty and healthy.

For beautiful and creative mosaics, do visit Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.