Updates!

Okay, okay, so I never made it back with the same regularity. The reason is, I am devoid of any visual tools to present. It is simply too dark in my shady area to use my mostly low-ISO film, and I have lost regular access to a digital camera. So before I get the idea to torture you with deficient illustration skills, I'll talk about what's going on in my garden.

It's been raining, and all of a sudden, the expanse is lush and green all over again. "My area" has been sprouting up with a good cover of common weed gatas-gatas (in Filipingrish, "milk-milk"), otherwise known as soro-soro, botoncillo, or boto-botonesan (in Filipingrish, "butt-button-ish"). Okay that last one was really bad! But apparently, this is the plant to have in your garden if you have respiratory problems, warts, or conjunctivitis.


(photo from stuartxchange)

In truth, I almost wish I had asthma so I could "make cigarettes" out of the dried leaves to smoke myself healthy. The milky sap (hence the name gatas-gatas)or latex is used for eradicating warts. This white juice can also prove helpful if you contract what my grandmother quite politically incorrectly used to call a "pedestrian disease"-- conjunctivitis, or the common sore eyes. If you are running short of friends or lovers because of thrush, you will be glad to know this can help you along as well.

So anyway, I've got this stuff growing up all over the place, and some bush sitao popped out where I must have "spilled the beans". Haha. Everything else is just growing wildly. The compost that I've been randomly tossing all over the place is decomposing faster, as the hot days come with rainy nights.

I've re-potted a whole lot of plants: pandan, basil, mint, curry tree, coleus, etc. This is a superb time to re-pot and propagate cuttings, as you don't need to worry so much about watering. Just remember to leave sensitive ones under trees. I neglected to do that with some sampaguita and now my beautiful cutting is dead.

Also, be sure to set some pails out to gather rainwater. Remember, most water drains out and overstresses the sewage systems, so help the land along (and save a bit of money too) by gathering precipitation when it is available.