My garden at Tuy Son Vien

Lagging behind

2011-08-11T18:17:00.000+07:00

We have been travelling lately so I haven't been able to keep up with blogging. Also, perhaps like Kris a while back, I didn't feel "good enough" to blog for many a reasons!
Thank you for getting along with me this far, my dear blogger friends. I might need to take some time off.
By the way, I'd like to share my blooming dahlias and sunflowers.

I hope to be able to return to my normal posting schedule soon!

Meeting with friends at TSV

2011-07-10T16:23:00.001+07:00

Some of my gardening friends came over for a visit at TSV. Since we have had very nice weather these days, I prepared dinner outside for us.

So out the tables and chairs and while one of the friends were setting up the tables, another friend and I fired the coal for roasting shrimps.

What can beat an alfresco dinner with good friends and tasty food right in your garden?!

Instant planting in a wine barrel

2011-07-02T16:53:00.000+07:00

I bought a wine barrel (not really for wine, though) last week and let it lie around idlely because I haven't got enough potting mix for planting. But this morning I thought I could try making an "instant planting" in the barrel, using a few potted plants. This is how it turned out.

I got in there a pot of "grass" and ivy, a pot of rosemary and a pot of shrimp plant. Then I filled the empty spaces in-between the pots with plastic bags and covered on top with pine bark.

It looks natural enough, doesn't it?

Is this a honeysuckle?

2011-06-25T18:58:00.000+07:00

I have this plant growing in my garden for a few months and now it has started to bloom.

I checked its leaves and blossom against photos on the net and believe it's a honeysuckle. However, I'm not sure. The blooms give off a sweet scent.

I'd appreciate if any readers can help me confirm.

A new Dahlia

2011-06-10T10:55:00.001+07:00

I obtained a tuber of this dahlia last fall. After dormancy during the dry months, it has waken up and is now blooming in my garden.

So far this season, I have three dahlias bloom already.

I always love dahlia and am looking to increase my collection.

The day after

2011-06-05T20:32:00.002+07:00

Today, the scadoxus has actually become a fire ball. Beautiful!

Scadoxus bloom

2011-06-04T09:03:00.002+07:00

I have this scadoxus bulb for about 3 years now. The year before last it bloomed beautifully but last year it didn't due to my neglect. However, it continued to grow and multiply so much that it cracked the plastic pot it was in. I had to change the pot and divide its bulblets to share with friends. I just keep the mother bulb.

At the beginning of this week, I spotted a scape on the bulb.

Yesterday, the scape opened to reveal many healthy looking buds inside.

And finally, this morning, the "fireworks" exploded!

Scadoxus is said to be a tropical bulb; it blooms on a yearly cycle and requires a dormancy period to do so. If grown in a hot country, like Vietnam, it will continue to grow throughout the year without going into dormancy and sometime bloom at its will when the rain season starts.
In my experience, when I disturb its roots, like up-rooting and re-planting, it will surely bloom for me provided that it hasn't bloomed previous to being disturbed. A blogger friend in Malaysia, James Missier, once tried to force scadoxus. Unfortunately, the process didn't work for him. Guess scadoxus doesn't like to be put into a refrigerator!

Change for the better

2011-06-03T12:23:00.000+07:00

In a wish to make my blog look more interesting to you, I have changed the template and hope you like it.
Please give me some feedback on this.
Thank you very much for your comments.

A night party

2011-05-27T20:14:00.001+07:00

My night blooming cereus never fails to appear on time when the rains start to come. And this season is no exception as two days ago, it opened its blossoms. Just in time for me to enjoy before I came back down to my city home.
Here're some photos to show off. Wish I could share also the fragrance, too. Really liked it when my small living was filled with the scent.

At 4.30 pm

At 6.30pm, the bloom opened a little

At 7.00 pm, the scent started to fill the air

At late at 10pm, the blooms still looked good

A pure, milky white

There was something unusual about this plant as, unlike the common "drooping" sight the morning-after, this was what I saw then - the two "faded" blooms looked like they would re-open the next evening.

Didn't look at all spent!

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be around then to confirm the fact.
Do you know of any species having this particular blooming/fading habit?

My daylilies

2011-05-24T08:53:00.000+07:00

I'm so lag behind on my English page. This entry will be mostly photos of daylily blooms in my garden only. I promise I will write decently when I feel more settled.

Please bear with me and come back later.

Easter cactus / Schlumbergera gaertneri

2011-04-28T11:17:00.000+07:00

I planted these cuttings last year sometime and never knew it was an Easter cactus. When other Holiday cacti were blooming during Christmas time, this plant showed nothing so I thought it was still young.
This morning, to my surprise, I've found a big bloom and two buds on the plant.

Clearly, it is an Easter cactus, and a beautiful pink one too.

It's so much the better because I haven't got an Easter cactus in my garden yet.

Phaius and other species orchids

2011-04-19T21:38:00.000+07:00

In my trip to the north last month, I was able to visit some plant vendors in Hanoi and bought myself a Phaius orchid at a very reasonable price.

It's said that Phaius prefers cool weather so I hope it will grow well in my garden.

At this time of year, my species orchids are starting to bloom after their long nap during the dry season.

Unlike other hybrids that can bloom occasionally throughout the year, species orchids only bloom once, usually at the beginning of the rainy season here. Some of them are fragrant but some don't carry a scent.

I like them because they are not so fussy; I just hang them under the trees and they can manage themselves quite well.

The first ever hybridized Daylily in Vietnam

2011-04-04T10:14:00.000+07:00

The seedlings from Annette (Canada) have grown quite well during last season and now one of them is blooming for the first time.

Annette said that, although the bloom doesn't look totally similar to Hamlet, it could be a cross between Hamlet as the mother and another flower as the father.

It doesn't matter whether it's anything, it is GRAND to me in that it's the first ever hybridized Daylily in Vietnam, so far and I'm so proud to be the owner!

Amaryllis blooms

2011-04-03T16:12:00.000+07:00

It's the amaryllis season now. All my mature plants have been blooming since February.
This week, I have these showing off their pretty faces in my living room.
Candy floss

Pink salmon

Exotica x Dancing queen

And some new hybrids whose parents are unknown to me. I grew them from seeds given by friends from Gardenweb.

I like amaryllis for their easy-to-grow and gorgeous blooms.

The jacaranda tree in my garden

2011-04-01T22:03:00.000+07:00

We planted a jacaranda tree in Tuysonvien about 4 years ago. Last year, it started to bloom, but sparingly.
This year it is giving out a more spectacular show of clusters of blueish blooms.

I really like the blooms.

Do you have this tree in your garden?

Travelling up North - continued

2011-03-26T07:45:00.001+07:00

I took many photos while we were in Sapa, a famous tourist destination in the north of Vietnam.
Here're what I have captured that you might find amusing.
BBQ Sapa style, incluidng: eggs, sweet potatoes, various kind of meat etc. You can find local people making and selling them along the street, especially in the back-packer's quarter of the town.

Local souvenirs, made and sold by local minority people, the H'mong.

For English speaking tourists, there're H'mong tourist guides, who can speak English perfectly.

And a mountain pig.

If you are interested in this place, please check out here for information and here for more photos.

Travelling up north

2011-03-24T12:15:00.001+07:00

I have been travelling up to visit the provinces of north-western Vietnam. This trip has long been dreamed of so you can guess I enjoyed it to the utmost.
There were 8 of us in an 8-seater, cruising over 8 cities in the space of 8 days! We wished to make it longer but how long is enough for holidays anyway?!
Here're just some photos of the most liked places on the trip.

Will share more photos next entry.

Generation next

2011-03-09T08:54:00.000+07:00

My early attempts at cross-pollination on my amaryllis have shown some results.

I have made records of the crosses so hopefully, if these seed pods ripen, I will know exactly what parentage the seeds have.

It's so much fun and rewarding doing all this.

Amaryllis parade

2011-03-06T11:55:00.000+07:00

Half of my seedlings from Ann has now showed off their beautiful face. So far, this season, I have 8 new crosses blooming for me. To my best guessing, they are crosses made from Charisma, Exotica, Bolero back in 2007. They have shown very interesting traces of their parentage.

From possibly Charisma as one of the parents, I have this bloom. Notice the picotee edge and tiny dots on the blooms.

This one, however, clearly shows traces of Exotica and Charisma. What present here are the visible veins, a characteristic of Exotica and the dots of Charisma.

In the same direction, from Exotica and an unknown parent, I have these.

And maybe from Boleto, I have this, with the trace of a pink on the petals.

Cindee hint that one of the parents for this bloom could be Pink Diamond.

A part from those visible traces of parentage, I have these two reds.

Out of these blooming amaryllis, I have also made a few crosses. It's so much fun to make all these cross-pollinations.

Two more new amaryllis blooms

2011-03-03T18:15:00.000+07:00

I'm so happy with my amaryllis bulbs this season, I have many blooms everywhere!

Here're two more new crosses I grown from seeds given by members of Gardenweb Hippeastrum forum.
This one shows some traces of Exotica and perhaps Orange Sovereign.

And this one?

Even without proper ID/parentage, they are my treasures. Many thanks to Ann/Elizabeth for all these lovely blooms.

Another new amaryllis bloom - Exotic Star

2011-02-27T14:27:00.001+07:00

One of the bublets Maria gave me in 2008 is blooming for the first time in my care - the Exotic Star. So it roughly takes around 2.5 years from bublet to bloom.

I really like the bold color and especially the veins, very striking indeed.

A member from Garden Web mentioned that Exotic Star is a hybrid of Papillio, and it is difficult to pollinate it.

I'm going to cross ES with other blooms I'm having at the moment. Hope I might have some beautiful cross in the future.

Updates on the Chinese narcissus blooms

2011-02-24T11:30:00.000+07:00

It's often said that Chinese narcissus blooms would last for around 5-10 days. But my bowl of blooms is still going strong now after 15 days of blooming.

I've been feeding the bulbs/plants with a water-soluble plant food which I use on my hoyas and some "precious" plants. I guess it has done the trick.

This morning I had to change them to a deeper container as many of the blooming stems are too tall and might drop.

I hope they can withhold until tomorrow or the next day, when we leave here for our home in Saigon.

Amaryllis blooms

2011-02-22T12:25:00.000+07:00

I grow these plants from seeds given by friends on the Garden Web. They are more than 3 years old and had bloomed since last season. Unfortunately, except for 3 of them in pots, most had their scapes eaten by snails and slugs in the garden so I couldn't see their bloom.

This season, after seeing them losing all their leaves, I digged them up and potted them in containers to safe-guard them. Now two of them are blooming beautifully.

These were crosses made by Elizabeth and Cindee. When I moved them back to VN, I lost all their tags so now I don't know which is which.
Luckily, Elizabeth hinted of Charisma for the first plant and Cindee hinted Pink diamond for the second plant. Though not a complete parentage, I now know something about these beautiful bloom. I'll name them in Vietnamese basing on these hints.
I still have some more bulbs that will bloom soon. It's now Amaryllis season here.

My bowl of Chinese narcissus

2011-02-12T09:53:00.003+07:00

Last Tet 2010, I tried to force some Chinese narcissus bulbs to bloom but I was unsuccessful since the weather in Saigon was not suitable for this kind of bulbs. Though I could see many bloom stalks from the bulbs, none of them mature enough to blossom.
This Tet, a friend from the North was kind enough to offer my two bulbs so that I could try again. I didn't have time to apply the "carving method", so I chose a safer way to force the bulbs in pebbles and water, without "carving". Also, this Tet, I left the bulbs in Tuysonvien where the weather is always cool.

My bulbs grew and produced the first bloom on February 9th. Although it was late for Lunar New Year day, I was extremely happy that I could now have Chinese narcissus blooming in my home.
I really love the little white blooms, with yellow centers, amid the green foliage.

The scent? Well, to tell the truth, its scent is not my favorite, though!

My garden in Spring

2011-02-07T16:04:00.000+07:00

The dry season began about two months ago and plants in my garden are not growing or blooming well. But inspite of that, all the wild roses I have are blooming like crazy, especially the ones on the arbor.

Can't help but love it.

Happy New Year of the Cat

2011-02-03T13:58:00.000+07:00

Vietnamese celebrate Lunar New Year on the same day as the Chinese do. But unlike Chinese, this year is the Year of the Cat to us.
The occasion lasts for 4 days in Vietnam, from the last day of the going-out year until the end of the third day of the coming-in year. During this time, Vietnamese would enjoy themselves however they can. It's the most important holiday season in our culture.
So, here's to wish all my blogger friends a very Happy New Year of the Cat.

More of the rose arch

2011-01-25T08:56:00.000+07:00

The roses on the arch are blooming their heart out thanks to the timely prunning last October.

It's truly Spring.

A cottage-garden in a container

2011-01-22T20:57:00.000+07:00

I was checking my container plantings this morning and found the Plumbago auriculata I planted several months ago blooming. What a surprise!

I really like the pastel color of the bloom on this plant. Years I tried to grow it but failed. I bought this one last year but didn't hope it would survive. I got it potted up in a large pot with some coleus.

And now I've got this cottage-garden in a container. It looks great, doesn't it?

Amazon lily

2011-01-21T08:10:00.000+07:00

The plant is blooming again the second time this year. Though I want it to produces several scapes, I could only have one at a time!

I like how the pure white blooms showing off themselves high above the lush green foliage. Amazon lily has a sweet fragrance, stronger in the evenings.

Do you grow Amazon lily in your garden?

The rose arch

2011-01-15T07:27:00.000+07:00

Are you weary of cold and gloomy days? Let's look at this rose arch.

There are hundreds of buds and blooms on the arch these days thanks to the severe prunning that we did to it a few weeks back.

The rose is a NOID one. Not that I forgot its name but in here, you don't rarely have the correct botanical name for any plant.

But who care if you have such beauty!

Spring is around the corner here in Tuysonvien

2011-01-12T10:58:00.000+07:00

I feel so delightfull this morning walking around in my yard. It seems plants are responding to the change in the weather and are ready to usher in the Lunar New Year.
My peach trees are showing off their pretty pink blossoms; although not as many as I wished.

More than that, the east side bed looks very pleasant with spring colors.

Definitely, spring is around the corner!

Amaryllis Nymph - from Royal Colors

2011-01-11T12:41:00.002+07:00

The last of my 4 bulbs, Nymph, has opened its first bloom to my delight.

Nymph belongs to the same family with Cherry Nymph and Sweet Nymph and is a double hybrid. Its scapes are stout and short and its blooms are big and round.

Like Sweet Nymph, it has a mild fragrance when first blooms, but I believe the smell will get stronger as the blooms mature.

Currently with this first scape, Nymph has 3 blossoms. But there's a second scape coming up.

All the four bulbs I bought from Royal Colors are correctly labeled and blooms true to their colors as listed on RC catalog.

Thanks to RC for these wonderful looking amaryllis.

Amaryllis Misty - from Royal Colors

2011-01-04T13:15:00.000+07:00

My Misty bulb has opened its first bloom today.

There are two scapes on the bulb.

I hope to see all the buds open soon.
On another note, both of the other bulbs that have already bloomed, are now coming up with a third scape!
So much the better!

New bloom for new year!

2011-01-01T19:49:00.002+07:00

Happy New Year 2011!

A kind of "Cherry tree" in my garden

2010-12-31T07:41:00.000+07:00

This "cherry tree" voluntarily planted itself in my garden a few years ago. Last season it started blooming for the first time and this season it continues to do so.

Formerly, this tree grew wild in the forests around Dalat. Thanks to its flowering during the new year, local people have started to hunt for smaller trees to plant in their gardens. Mine, perhaps, was grown from a seed blowing in the wind!
The blossom has 5 petals and is light pink. It comes in clusters and last for a few days. When the tree is old enough, it can be covered with multitude of blooms, which makes the tree looks quite spectacular.

I don't know whether it is any way related to the cherry tree of Japan. I hope some kind visitors to my blog give me more information on this tree.

A very special sun-flower

2010-12-24T10:06:00.004+07:00

I got three seeds of this sun-flower from Stephanie, a gardening friend overseas. I sowed them and two germinated. This happened a few months ago. Now both plants are showing flower heads.

Instead of the usual yellow blooms, these plants has dark chocolate blooms. Isn't that very special?

I'm thrilled at seeing these heads. I hope at least one of the heads will open while I'm here and that I will have viable seeds for next time.

Many thanks to Stephanie for these.

Update December 26th, one of the heads has opened. The flower has dark chocolate color. I'm so impressed!

Update 28th December: the bloom is fully open.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-22T08:35:00.000+07:00

Sweet Nymph

2010-12-18T10:45:00.000+07:00

One more bulb from Royal Colors - Sweet Nymph - is showing off its first bloom.

Parly open, she looks like a lotus, doesn't she?

There are two scapes with 4 buds on each one. Will see how she turns out to be when fully open tomorrow.

More photos of Evergreen in full bloom

2010-12-17T18:09:00.001+07:00

I posted when the bulb first opened its bloom. Two days now and the bulb/plant looks even more glorious.
Here are a few more photos of Evergreen in full glory.

I'm so happy with Evergreen; such a good bulb!

Updates on Royal Colors Amaryllis

2010-12-16T10:56:00.000+07:00

Until today, all my four bulbs have produced scapes. And the Evergreen is fully open.

I didn't notice that Evergreen would have more than 4 blooms per scape so I was very happy to see that each of its scapes has from 8 to 10 blooms!

It's really a treat.

Royal Colors amaryllis

2010-12-01T12:02:00.000+07:00

I ordered 4 amaryllis bulbs from Royal Colors of the Netherland. They finally arrived last Monday after circulating nearly half the globe!

These bulbs have probably been pre-chilled to be bloomed around Christmas time. First thing I did with them was to clean them off brown, papery skin to avoid possible rot.

Then I soak their roots in water for a day before planting to help them recover more quickly.

Finally, I planted them in a good mix yesterday afternoon.

This morning, I was greeted with this.

Wow, it's quick, really!

Update: I found one more scape emerging from another bulb - the Evergreen, this morning Dec 2nd. It's very exciting watching these.

New blooms on the slipper orchid

2010-11-28T08:38:00.001+07:00

This NOID slipper orchid blooms every year when the weather is cooler around November and December. Its blooms last a very long time, too.

But in the past it didn't give me as many blooms as it does this year.

Slipper orchids prefer cool climate. I cannot grow them in my Saigon garden.

My coffee corner in Tuysonvien

2010-11-26T21:17:00.000+07:00

The first thing I do in the morning is to have my cup of coffee outdoors, at the coffee corner.
This is my coffee corner in Tuysonvien. We have two chairs here, one for me and the other for my dog when my husband is not here (and he's mostly not here anyway).

We sit here, me with my coffee and my dog with his biscuits, enjoying ourselves. The air is always cool and crispy and the view beyond looks so calm. Sometimes it's foggy but sometimes it's clear enough to see the hills and vegetable patches on the other side.

Life is really good.
Photos of the coffee corner in my Saigon garden.

Big surprise

2010-11-25T05:40:00.001+07:00

In August I put two amaryllis bulbs in my fridge to force bloom them.

When I brought them out and planted them, I found that one of them didn't do nothing while the other was showing signs of life after three weeks.

I thought the "silent" one could not perform this season. However, to my surprise, just yesterday I found this on the bulb.

Guess nature can never fail to bring you big surprise when it can, right?

Update on my "Amazon"

2010-11-17T15:27:00.000+07:00

Well my "dense forest planting" called Amazon has grown so lush thanks to the frequent rains we had up here.
But, despite a dense forest, this looks too much disorder and I felt it needed thinning.

So I went ahead removing those over-grown violet plants to give room for the several ferns to grow.

Now it will need a dose of fertilizer to fill in again. Funny how I want it to be neat and to be exuberant at the same time!

Cymbidium season

2010-11-17T08:23:00.000+07:00

My cymbidiums start spiking around August and producing their blooms around end of October.
This year, perhaps due to Global warming effects, they bloom somewhat earlier so that by now, mid-November, all the 4 spikes on my Golden Elf are fully open.

I also have a NOID in full bloom, too.

I have brought them inside to enjoy their fragrance and color. They fill the air in my living room sweetly.

Jade vine blooms

2010-11-15T09:04:00.000+07:00

My jade vine has produced its first blooming spike after around a year and a half growing from a rooted cutting. Not too bad, is it?

Although this spike grew out of the last node on the vine so it is not perpendicular from the arbor, I don't mind so much.

Hopefully its next spikes will be dropping right from the top of the arbor.

Re-potting ground orchids

2010-11-12T07:59:00.000+07:00

I used to pot my ground orchids in a mix consisting of rice husks and perlite. During the dry season, this mix seems fine but in the rainy season, my plants don't look very happy in it.
In my last visit to Chatuchak market in Bangkok, I noticed that the people there had their ground orchids in pure coconut chips (don't know if I got the word correct, what I mean is the 'outter skin' of the nut, not the 'shell', chopped to small square pieces). The plants looked very healthy and produced many flower spikes.
So I decided to re-pot my orchids using 'tree fern roots' (another word which could be mis-used here, but I think you can see clearly in the photos) I also use this medium for my 'air-orchids' such as Cattleya and Brassavola.

This medium retains some moisture and is very airy, so hopefully my plants will like it. The down-side maybe I will need to water more in the dry season.

Blooms on Amazon lily

2010-11-09T08:32:00.000+07:00

This is a new comer these days - the Amazon lily.

The plant blooms once a year when the whether is cooler. It has light fragrance during the day but stronger in the evening.

Colors of the garden

2010-11-06T10:05:00.000+07:00

My Saigon garden is for tropical plants who like heat and humidity.
I keep several kinds of orchids, some perennials and evergreen. I don't have many annuals here as I cannot afford to replace them all the time.
This week I have these showing their pretty colorful "faces".

They keep me company and happy, everyday!

Miniature spathoglottis plicata

2010-11-04T08:06:00.000+07:00

I have a few spathoglottis plicata plants but only one of them is the miniature type.
Got this plant from a young fan of my blog last year. All this time I thought it was a seedling of the regular type spathoglottis.
Recently, it bloomed and I realized it is the miniature type, which Stephanie asked me once.

The plant overall size is about 30cm. It used to be in a small seedling pot.

I just re-potted it yesterday into a bigger pot.

Hopefully it will be happy in its new home.

Hoya nummularoides and NOID Blc. orchid

2010-11-01T20:14:00.000+07:00

I planted this hoya as several short cuttings in 2008 and these are the first blooms after more than two year.
I'm even happier that the corona of the bloom is yellowish, not red as the plant I have up in Dalat. So actually I have two different clones of Hoya nummularoides.

And here's big surprise from JJ Market, Bangkok. When I bought this orchid, it was in buds so I didn't know what color the blooms would be. Now, they look like this and luckily, they are not the same with any other orchid I've had.

So much the better.

"Winter" has come

2010-10-29T07:27:00.001+07:00

Since yesterday afternoon the wind has started to blow so strongly here as if there were a thunderstorm approaching. I had to take all my hanging pots down to avoid them breaking.

The temperature was low this morning.

But these violas seem not to mind at all; they still look so pretty.

Alas, I guess winter has come.

Photo updates

2010-10-25T20:06:00.000+07:00

Here are the photo updates of two of my plantings which I did a few months back.
The miniature garden, named The Amazon, has come a long way. Many plants in the 'garden' have thrived and bloomed. I'm glad it looks so lush.
I especially like how the "begonia" that I got from my Singapore friend, KY Foong, has grown. If you look at the "Before" photo closely, you could see a tiny spot of green, in the middle of the front edge of the pot. You can compare that with the one you see in the "After" photo. It has grown a lot, hasn't it?

The second planting I wish to update is the Fuchsia. When first planted, the "filler" and "spiller" plants looked pitiful but they do look good now.

I love to see "Before" and "After" photos of plantings. Do you?

It's a hazy Sunday

2010-10-24T08:14:00.000+07:00

I think the weather is taking a new course, ready for "winter" here in TSV. As early as 4pm, it starts to cover the sceneries in a haze, and this morning, up to now 8.17am, it's still all white outside.

I do like this kind of weather; it's so serene and perfectly calm!

Growing Cattleya in Hydroton

2010-10-23T09:15:00.000+07:00

I bought a small package of Hydroton from Singapore and now wanted to try on my orchid.

This is a cattleya hybrid I received as a birthday gift from a close friend.

This morning I repotted the plant in hydroton.

Let's see if the plant likes this growing media or not.

Update on my daylily seedlings

2010-10-20T11:44:00.000+07:00

I received six packets of daylily seed from a friend in Canada, Annette. I sow them, following the method called "Daylily on the Rock" and all six varieties germinated for me. It was such joy.
Because of my special situation, I couldn't plant the seedlings out in the garden for fear they might get killed by predators and the elements, I prolonged their stay in the shade house for as long as a year and a half after their germination!

Just last July, I planted them into a "nursery" bed and boy, did they take off. They grow very fast so that their fans are quite "handsome" looking now.

Since the day of their sowing, these seedlings are almost two years old. I hope to see their maiden blooms next summer.
Many thanks to Annette for these lovely plants.

First cymbidium blooms of the season

2010-10-16T06:37:00.000+07:00

Cymbidiums in my garden often bloom from around late October but this year I'm having this one bloom much earlier. Perhaps due to global warming?

I have no ID for this plant but since it looks similar to Golden Elf, I just call it that for easy reference. I would appreciate correction from blog visitors.
I grow cymbidiums in pure pine bark chopped to small sizes. I fertilize them once a month either with Osmocote or Dynamic lifter; the latter is an organic fertilizer.
I keep them in the shadehouse throughout the year, but when they bloom I bring them into my living room to enjoy their scent.

They last pretty long in my climate here, around 4 months, so even they bloom this early I still have them for Lunar New Year!

Sunflower in my garden

2010-10-14T06:06:00.000+07:00

I sow the seeds of these sunflower late March. Now, after 6 months, they are blooming.
I believe sunflower seeds are the easiest to germinate. All those seeds that I sow sprouted but eventually after being planted in the garden bed, many of time couldn't survive the lack of water last summer. Only about 7 of them grew but two were better perhaps thanks to their getting enough moisture from the birthbath.

The two things I like most about sunflower are that their pretty face looks so cheerful in the sun and that they can be grown in both tropical and subtropical climate.
And here's an update photo of the gift I've got from a friend.

I was worrying about this little plant so much but thanks goodness, it's growing and looks healthy enough to sustain.
I'm now waiting anxiously to see the bloom of this little one!

My trip to Chatuchak market in Bangkok

2010-10-09T16:28:00.001+07:00

I made a trip to Bangkok this week in order to see the plant market in person. I arrived at the market quite early when vendors were still unloading and making displays of their products. There were hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of plants.
There were adeniums, tillandsias and bromeliads, water-lilies, hibicus, ferns, hoyas... Thousands of plants, everywhere.

In fact, it could be the biggest plant market I guess.
The weather was very unbearable even for a warm-climate person like me. Nevertheless, I managed to make three rounds of the market!
Finally, these are what I bought for myself.

So few? Yes, because I thought the feast to the eyes was enough for me!

Hoyas and dischidia

2010-09-18T10:33:00.000+07:00

These days I have a few hoyas in blooms.
Hoya mekongensis

Hoya nummularoides

Hoya rubra/chelsea

and Dischidia nummularia.

These plants are quite easy to care for, in my growing conditions. They bloom faithfully.

My Medinilla plant

2010-09-15T08:21:00.000+07:00

I bought this plant more than 2 years ago. Learnt that it wouldn't like direct sun, I have had it hidden beneath tall trees. Now it is blooming profusely, well at least in my judgment :-)

I think it's time to repot the plant and change its medium. But I will wait until the blooms faded.

New peach blooms of the season

2010-09-12T08:37:00.000+07:00

I don't know whether it's the effect of "Global Warming" on my peach trees but they are beginning to produce blooms now - as early as September!

Usually, my peach trees would bloom towards the end of November-December every year, in time to welcome in the Solar New Year. But this year... well, it is welcoming the Mid-Autumm Festival.

So strange!

How I propagate peperomias

2010-09-11T08:05:00.000+07:00

I bought three peperomia plants of different leave colors. When I was at the nursery, I saw the owners propagate their plants by placing the leaves on the ground with their stems cut short and burried. I copied their method and it works!
I placed several leaves of my plants in a pot, sharing with a succulent already in there. I don't remember exactly how long but it wasn't long; it was probably 6 weeks at most.

When I was here end of August, I tried to pull gently at the leaves and felt that they stuck. Yesterday, I found small "suckers" forming at the base of those leaves.

I feel happy not so much that I can have more plants for free but more about knowing another propagation method.

Schlumbergera season

2010-08-24T09:51:00.000+07:00

Each year, my schlumbergera plants come into bloom twice, at least. The first one around this time and the second one comes in end of November.
Each bloom has its own display which I compare to a swan taking off, touching down, or flying high in the sky.
This one has a peachy orange color.

This one has dark pink.

This one is pure white.

And this one is a lighter shade of pink.

They all look so pretty, don't they.
Schlumbergera are succulent so they like cool and dry climate. I've heard that people in the tropical zone can "force" these plants to bloom by placing them in the fridge to trick the plants to believe they are in the temperate zone so that they will bloom when brought out. [I haven't tried, so cannot justify.]

My begonias

2010-08-16T08:43:00.001+07:00

I have a few begonias in my garden, they are leaf-, tuberous- and cane-begonias.
I don't know much about how to care for these plants but thanks to the suitable growing conditions, they grow well and now bloom for me.
This is a local variety of cane begonia. This plant can grow very tall in my region.

This is a rex begonia. It's the second one I bought. The first one rotted on me maybe because I fussed too much with it. This time, I let it be and it is growing beautifully.

I bought this one in one of my trip down the Mekong delta. It looked pitiful then. I thought it would be picky but to my surprise, it just grows by itself, ie. I didn't do much to it except re-potting it to my mix when I first bought.

And this cane begonia is grown from a small cutting given me by a friend from the GCS (Greenculturesingapore) forum.

I'm on the look out for more varieties, but as always, it's not easy here.

Day break

2010-08-14T08:23:00.000+07:00

My dog, Biam, always wakes me up around 5am, no matter rain or shine whenever we are at Tuysonvien. And as soon as we wake up, we would go out into the garden for his "things".
It was not foggy this morning. Looking across at the hills opposite, I could see the sun glow although deep down in the valley, it was still dark.

High above, the cloud looked so pretty reflecting the sunrays.

I spotted a bird perching on the pine tree in my garden, as though he/she was waiting for a friend.

A new day has begun. Noone was seen, nothing was heard, it's so peaceful!

Lucky I didn't get stung!

2010-08-10T16:20:00.000+07:00

Wow...there's a beehive on one of the low trees in my garden!
This morning, I was working under the very tree, planting some cosmos there but I didn't look up so of course I didn't see it.

This afternoon, while I was working in another part of the garden and looked back, whow... there I saw a beehive full of bees on that tree!

I got stung by a bee some months ago. Boy, how it hurt! My finger got swollen so much that I had hubby use a ply and cut off the ring on that finger.
I'm sure I don't want to get stung again, especially when I'm here alone!

UPDATE Thursday, Aug 12: The swarm of bees has gone away! I checked it out this morning and there was nothing on the tree. Whew!

My new container planting - The Amazon

2010-08-06T09:16:00.000+07:00

Funny me... I always feel an urge to create mini-landscapes, be it with succulents or something else.
Yesterday I finished a new container planting, calling it "The Amazon" because it has mostly shade plants and ferns.
I used a bonsai pot, a piece of driftwood (for structure), few small rocks and a varieties of greens.

The finish product looked quite pleasing to my eyes.

I hope the planting will grow quickly.

My succulent bed - a year later

2010-08-05T10:55:00.000+07:00

I started this succulent bed May last year. You can check back here for details.
More than a year has passed and the bed is still looking great, if not greater.

Most of the plants in the bed have multiplied and bloomed. I'm so pleased.

The lesson for me is not only having the right plants for the climate, but also the right planting medium as well.

Welcome back to Tuysonvien

2010-07-30T13:42:00.000+07:00

July is the time when the vine above my gate - Pyrostegiavenusta - busts into blooms.

Got back up to Tuysonvien yesterday and ... wow, the vine was covered in blooms.

How would you feel if you were greeted by such a view? Me? I'm delighted.

White Serissa foetida

2010-07-22T10:33:00.001+07:00

I bought a white Serissa foetida from Dalat, intending to make it into a "bonsai" for DH.

But he's a type of person that would never want to trim nor prune a tree so for a whole year we let the little plant grow wild.

A few days ago, I decided to go ahead with my intention so armed with a pruner, I cut off many branches and runners from the main "tree" to tidy it. This is my "creation of a bonsai".

I guess I'll have to watch closely to remove suckers and unwanted branches so that the little tree can become a bonsai as I wanted it.

Nice surprise

2010-07-14T19:56:00.000+07:00

I'm so thrilled to learn that my newest hoya blooms turned out to be a different kind of Pubicalyx.
I've already have a pubicalyx with dark colored blooms and oval leaf. It's Publicalyx Red button.

But the new one has lighter color blooms and an oblong leaf. It's Pubicalyx Pink silver.

It's a nice surprise, really!

Azaleas

2010-07-07T15:58:00.000+07:00

Azaleas seem to be one of the easy plants to grow in Tuysonvien, where temperature is always cool. I have a few of the plants of different colors.

I grow azaleas in grounded tree fern. They like this medium and bloom for me all the year round, unlike their counterparts in the US who only bloom once a year.

Cassia fistula

2010-07-04T19:20:00.000+07:00

This kind of tree is quite popular in Vietnam as shade tree along streets. It seems the tree grows better and produces more spectacular blooms in hotter and more humid regions.

I have one in my cool garden. It's around 5 years old but remains quite small so I thought it doesn't like cool climate.

It's now blooming for the first time. The clusters of bloom are much shorter and the blooms are much smaller than those of the tree in my Saigon garden.

I am so happy that the tree finally adapts to its growing condition and blooms for me.

Orange jasmine season

2010-07-03T18:18:00.000+07:00

The orange jasmine shrubs in my garden are really blooming their heads off these days that they could get more water from the steady rains of the season.

The whole shrubs are covered with clusters of white flowers, giving off heavenly scent that fills the backyard in the evening.

Orange jasmine is very easy to grow and to bloom. Just give it enough water and fertilizer ocassionally and you will be rewarded with a healthy green shrub and scented blooms every now and then throughout the year.

Hoya Australis oramicola

2010-06-29T15:01:00.000+07:00

I got a cutting of this plant from a friend in Singapore when I visited him last May, so it is actually about 2 months old. Yet, it is producing a peduncle.

It is very difficult for me to have named varieties of hoya in Vietnam. This plant is, therefore, much loved indeed!
I'm looking forward to seeing the blooms.

Yellow epiphyllum from Orange County

2010-06-23T10:21:00.000+07:00

The cutting I brought back from Orange County almost 3 years ago has grown and grown but refused to give off bloom until this week.
When I spotted the bud on the plant, I worried that I might miss seeing the bloom as I would be going back down. Luckily, the plant has decided to open its maiden bloom for me while I'm still here.
These photos were taken late yesterday afternoon.

And these are taken this morning.

The bloom looks so lovingly delicate!

Big question about water lilies

2010-06-14T23:18:00.000+07:00

Some time back, I had an entry about the white water-lilies in my pond. I thought that the pH level in the pond had changed the color of the water lilies from other colors to white.

But I was so mistaken as I later found there were some purple blooms in the pond too.

And just today I found another water lily with a yellow-cream bloom!

Now that the purple and yellow water lilies have shown up, I wonder where have those white water lilies come from? I know for sure I threw in some purple and yellow lilies but not white. Big question.

Orchid parade

2010-06-08T09:27:00.001+07:00

These days I'm enjoying the blooms on the orchids I keep in my Saigon garden.
This is the Mokara

the Ascocendra

and the Brassavola

I have found these orchids very easy to keep; they like to be mounted and kept in bright light.

New bloom & Old blooms

2010-06-02T12:50:00.000+07:00

The new bloom is from the pink Morning glory vine which I just planted about 10 days ago. Actually the vine was rescued from a roadside. When I got it, it already had some buds but looked very dehydrated. So I replanted it and gave it some TLC. After about 10 days and this is the first bloom. It's cute.

The old bloom is from the purple Morning glory vine I planted last year. Though someone from GW identified it as "Grandpa Tot", I'm not so sure of the ID because the leaves on my vine don't look similar. Perhaps, it's a clone.

Other old blooms are the Fuchsias.

I really love these blooms which look like a ballerina and want to plant some in my Saigon garden but Fuchsias don't like the heat!

African violets

2010-05-29T20:58:00.000+07:00

Every two months or so, my African violets put out a flush of colorful blooms.

I have been keeping them on my kitchen countertop where they can enjoy the morning sun through the east window.

The plants are quite picky about their growing medium, especially when they are being watered by wicks. I have to ask my friends from overseas to supply me with Perlite and Vermiculite just so I can make the mix they prefer.

When I first growing AVs, I was propagating like crazy. Eventually I ran out of space and had to pass around a number of plants. Unfortunately all the friends I gave the AVs to couldn't grow them because they couldn't provide the right growing conditions.

Maybe I'm the only person in the whole of Vietnam who can grow AVs to this success! I'm joking calling my AVs "lonesome flowers" as they seem to have no friends from the same species around here!

My night-blooming cereus

2010-05-27T15:42:00.000+07:00

I've got this plant for a few years and it has been blooming for me every year. Much to my appointment, however, I had never been around to see it bloom until this evening.
Unlike others' plants who might bloom very late into the evening, my plant decided to open at around 7pm. I wanted to be able to record the opening process of the bloom so I just cut the "leaf" and put it in a vase. These are the photos that showed the various opening stages of the bloom.
This photo was taken at 6.20 pm, when the bud started to open a bit.

By 7.00 pm, I could already see the parts inside when the bud was half open.

Half an hour later, at 7.30pm, the bud was fully opened. At the same time, my living room was filled with a pleasant scent! But I knew, after this photo, the bloom would stay on for about an hour more and then would start its fading process so that it would look teribly life-less in the morning!

Such a beauty but also such short-lived!

More new blooms

2010-05-25T19:25:00.000+07:00

I planted a few verbena at my front steps several months ago and they have been blooming faithfully. I have planted them in full sun and mulched them carefully so they survived the heat well.

I also have a few orchid cactus flowers.

My most favorite bloom this week is this dahlia.

Everyone is so pretty, indeed.

New blooms

2010-05-15T21:08:00.000+07:00

I returned to TSV on Monday to find my plants growing a bit better thanks to the recent rains here.
There are several new blooms this week in TSV. Firstly the American Sun dahlia is blooming. Surprisingly, in the clump of yellow blooms, there's a "red stripped one".

Secondly this NOID shrub. I planted it several months ago and these are its first flowers.

But the most longed-for blooms are from the Hoya Square leaf. I really love the white blooms and the scent of the plant. Heaven!

They don't mind the heat

2010-05-08T12:44:00.001+07:00

We are experiencing record heat waves in HCMC these days but my plants doesn't seem to mind that. I mean they really look good, being protected from the hot sun.
My water lilies are thriving under the sun umbrella, they produce blooms every day. And the group of perennials are flourishing likewise.

The hoya Meliflua, which I have re-located recently, is climbing like made to reach the open sky above the Rangoon creeper arbor and producing 4 peduncles as it climbs.

To add to the hoya season, the Multiflora is still showing off its shooting stars profusely.

My house plant philodendron also shows signs of growth since being outside to get some fresh (or hot?) air. The new leaves are bigger and taller. And, as a bonus, is producing an offshoot too!

While we humans are sweating to death in the heat, the plants seem not to mind it at all!

It's done!

2010-05-05T09:25:00.000+07:00

This morning, hubby and I put together the tillandsias and cryptanthus on the tree mount. Here's the finish product, in its location under the arbor.

We didn't have the proper glue so we just tied everyone to their places. Hubby even planted some annuals on the nooks in the base for some colors, too.

I like the way it look. Do you?

Trash and Treasure

2010-04-26T19:18:00.000+07:00

All this time I was wanting to have a dried tree stump to mount my tillandsias and bromeliads. But it was hard to find one where I am. Despite that I keep looking and just last Friday I found a perfect looking dried tree in the dump near my home. Perhaps it was discarded because the previous owner had found it could not re-grow.
Here's my found.

The "tree" was perfectly trimmed. Moreover, there are several "crevices" on the trunk which will be ideal for planting.
I'm hoping to turn it into a beautiful mount for my plants. Indeed, if you keep searching, chances are you'll find it, whatever it is!

My "unsure" Hoya multiflora

2010-04-21T08:56:00.000+07:00

It's unsure because up until now, many people can still not agree on its identification. Anyway, I'm ok with whatever name it gets.
I have two of this plant. I kept one in Dalat and one in Saigon. Eventually the one in Dalat died on me but the one in Saigon is still growing, although, as you can see in the photo here, one of the growing tips has died.

Despite that, it does bloom when its time come. And here is how it looks, today.

After this flush of blooms, I will repot it. I believe its dying tip could be due to being pot-bound. I hope I'm correct and that it will thrive after that.

Update on my succulent plantings

2010-04-16T07:34:00.000+07:00

It has been several months since I last posted about my succulent plantings. We have been through the dry season and my succulent plants seemed to have halted growing.
This morning, it rained lightly - the very first rain of the wet season, perhaps. And here are some photos of my plants.
The "fountain" still looks good, though the "water" in the pool is "low".

Other mini-landscapes are looking fine. Most plants have turned reddish due to the sun.

Although I've learnt that succulents don't like it wet, I have found my plants grow better when it rains. Amazing!

Cross-pollination of Daylily Hyperon & Hippeastrum

2010-04-14T08:12:00.000+07:00

I was asked by a young gardener if it would be possible to cross pollinate a daylily and a hippeastrum. Wow, what a brillian idea! So, I immediately carried out the task last Saturday April 10.
The stigma on a daylily doesn't look like it is ready for pollination, not as I have normally found on a hippi. But knowing that a daylily bloom only lasts for a day, I know at a certain time of the day the stigma must be ready.

So I just went ahead with my job and only 4 days later, there was already a seed pod on the daylily that I had pollinated. Wow, really fast in deed!

The hippeastrum stayed the same. Perhaps it is waiting for the bloom to wilt before seed pod can be formed.

It is very thrilling for, if I succeed in either case, I will have a new cultivar of either daylily or hippeastrum. But that won't be until at least 2 years from now!
Well, must be patient then!

UPDATE: I was told by friend on GW that it won't work! Sigh!

Emmy and Earth Hour

2010-04-12T20:05:00.000+07:00

This year I couldn't take part in the Earth Hour because I was on vacation. But Emmy, our daughter's pet dog, took an active part in the movement.

You can see how "active" she was in the photo here.

It appears Emmy was "reviewing" the poster, wasn't she?
So cute, indeed.

Rangoon creeper season

2010-04-05T16:40:00.000+07:00

All my rangoon creeper vines are in full bloom these days.
This is the one in Dalat.

And this is the one in Saigon.

When the blooms first open in the wee hours of the morning, they are white. But eventually when the sun reaches them, they turn a darker pink.

In the evening, rangoon creeper blooms give off a very pleasant smell. In early morning, the smell becomes milder but still very sweet.
Our morning coffees seems to be more delicious thanks to the fragrance of this blooming vine.

Untimely Christmas cactus

2010-04-04T19:46:00.000+07:00

The Christmas cacti I have at TSV normally bloom twice a year, once around end of August and another around end of November.
This pot of cactus bloomed last year as usual, in August.

Right after that I sent it down to Can Tho to a friend because she could not make this kind of plant to bloom down there. After the first wave of blooms faded, she kept the plant for a few more months but nothing came. So she returned it to me.
Now, in April, it's budding up and about to bloom.

Should I say that this plant is compensating me with these blooms to make up for its absence last November?

Neos are blooming

2010-04-03T09:56:00.000+07:00

My batch of neoregelias from Bangkok are starting to bloom. That means I will have pups to enlarge the collection. Great!
I noticed signs of approaching blooms several weeks ahead when the center leaves of the plants turned to look more elevated and solid in color.

After my vacation, here's what I've found on the plants.

I hope the mother plants will linger on for some time and give me more pups than one, like their cousin B. Pyramidalis!

Welcome back to Tuysonvien

2010-04-02T08:27:00.000+07:00

I have been away for vacation the past three weeks so I didn't post.
Returned to Tuysonvien on Monday, I found these guys cheerfully greeted me.

New home for the Neos

2010-03-08T16:46:00.000+07:00

Just made this bed for my Neos. I hope they will like their new home.

My blooming hoyas

2010-03-06T11:30:00.000+07:00

This week I have several hoyas in bloom. Two of them bloom for the first time after more less a year growing from cutting. Although, they are clones of existing ones, still I'm thrilled.
The maiden blooms are on Hoya purpureo-fusca. I especially like this one because the blooms look so crisp as if they were crystal.

and Hoya pottsii Vietnam. This plant is having 4 mature umbels, which is a lot for such a young plant though.

Others blooming are:
Hoya Krimson queen

Hoya DS-70

Hoya Obscura

and Hoya Carnosa

Love them all!

Forcing amaryllis to bloom (for Stephanie)

2010-03-03T15:17:00.001+07:00

My blogger-friend from Malaysia - Stephanie - wanted to know how to force amaryllis to bloom. So here's what I did when I wanted to have blooming amaryllis for Lunar New Year.
The plant to be "forced-bloom" must have at least 6 healthy leaves and must not have bloomed for the immediate past 10 months leading to the time of the "forcing".
The whole "forcing process" will take around 16 weeks, so if suppose you want to have blooming amaryllis during Lunar New Year, you must start the process 4 months earlier. This is what to do, step by step.
Step 1: Dig the plant out of the soil, or pot and wash off all the dirt but leave the roots in tact.
Step 2: Cut off the foliage leaving a "neck" of about 3cm above the bulb.
Step 3: Hang the bulb, upside down, in the shade to dry for 1 week.
Step 4: After 1 week, wrap the bulb in newspaper and place it in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for 8 weeks. Remember to mark the newspaper with the date you wrap the bulb so you remember. Also, don't store any fruit in the fridge during this time lest the bulb can be damaged by the gas from the ripening fruit.
Step 5: After 8 weeks, take the bulb out, clean off any dried roots and leave behind those whitish, still-fresh ones.

Step 6: Place the bulb on top of a glass of water, with the whitish roots dangling in the water for 24 hours. Take care not to let the basal plate touch the water lest it might get rotted.

Step 7: Plant the bulb, which by now have all the whitish roots swollen up, in a pot of good potting soil. Remember to water the pot of soil thoroughly before planting and not to bury the whole bulb in the soil.

Step 8: Place the potted bulb in shade, but don't water for 2-3 days. After these initial days, water sparingly until you see new growth. This new growth, if appears from the side of the bulb, is a flowering scape. If it appears at the center of the bulb, it's new leaf but soon the flowering scape will follow.
Step 9: Move the potted bulb to a brighter location and water as needed.
If everything goes right, you will have blooms from 5 to 6 weeks after planting.
This "forcing-bloom" is necessary for amaryllis plants growing in "hot and humid" climate all the year round. It is observed that those plants won't go dormant naturally so the process "helps" them to go to sleep and initiate blooms.
I have successfully forced my plants in my Saigon garden to give blooms when I wanted them to. I think you can as well, Steph.
Good luck.

New amaryllis cross (2)

2010-03-01T11:37:00.000+07:00

The second seedling from Ann's batch of seeds has opened its blooms for me this week. It certainly doesn't have the same color as its sister, thus I believe they come from different parents.

There is a third one about to bloom, too. I really hope this one will look different from the first two. That will be great if it is!

I have also purchased a new hippy with interesting pattern and color.

This is a group shot this morning.