Orchid ~ progress

Many months has passes since the Singapore Garden Festival, the orchids I have bought have progress differently. Some died (RIP Phal meidarland beryl, Mini Phal. "Sakura"), some strived and some still remain the same.

Lesson learnt:
1) patience and observant, you cannot rush a plant to blossom (despite you can use grow light to replicate the sunlight, it still show how man desire to manipulate nature.). Let them grow and blossom at their appointed time:)

2) when the orchid grow a leaflet or root, it means that they are happy:)




                                                    

Brassavola nodosa, she has many young leaves

                      

Epidendrum difforme, show also has some new leaves

Aer. houlletiana , she grow a new root!

Phal. grow a baby root!

Phal. grow a new leaflet !

new shoot!

Garden Festival marketplace

After two years of waiting it was finally here. This year it was bigger and the market place was with AC!

I wouldn't have know it existence for my ex-boss had not told me. He was an orchid lover and a member of Singapore Orchid Society . 

I remembered how he would showed us pictures of the beautifully bloomed orchids on his hand phone.

I went to the SGF two years ago and bought orchids from a Taiwanese and a Thai vendor.  Basically all of the orchid did not make it but except one, maxillaria tenuifolia, which has chocolate scent bloom but mine did not blossom. It survived the two years and became bigger.

I went on the first day ...

There were so many varieties of plants, veggies, herbs and fruit tree (figs and olives)

Round 1 (23/7)

I bought a pot of oncidium pailio  at $20 ( the insect look is very extra ordinary .  )

Phal. Meidarland Beryl (at $40 maybe exp but the plant looks very healthy and smell really good)

Aer.  houlletiana

 Aer. Odoratum (bought this breed last SGF but lack of knowledge to take care and it died off within months. Sad. Challenge myself again, with read up and watching YouTube videos and patience hopefully it will do well.)

Den. Parishii

There a reason why I chose these three. They are orchids with scent. It will be rewarding both sight and smell when these ladies blooms, that is in the near future as they are still a baby. Jia you! !

I got two more variety before I left. I told the vendor I like orchid with scent and asked him to recommend me. He suggested 

Brassavola nodosa 

Epidendrum difforme

And I bought them. Then I realize donkey years ago I did bought Brassavola nodosa before but did not make it:( this time I hope they will do well. Fingers cross.

Round 2 (28/7)
I brought my mum to SGF , basically we went to the marketplace followed by munching at the food stall which is located next to the marketplace.  After recharging ourselves,  we walked to the flower dome  and admiring the flora along the way.

I got myself two pots of Sharry baby oncidium  ( got from the same aunty two years back and it ki Chia also. It has chocolate and vanilla scent. Can't give it a miss!

Mum saw these mini pink phalaenopsis which looks like sakura and got fond of it and bought them too (2pots). Asked the vendor what is it called. She told us its called marshmallow (in Chinese ) in Taipei. 

Round 3 (31/7 last day)
By then with the broadcast of the news of the efforts and man power put in for this year's SGF,  many people turned up on that day. Without wasting time both my mum and I went in to the marketplace. Upon entering the enclosed area, we were welcomed again by the strong smell of citronella (vendor nearest to the door, selling citronella oil from Taiwan. It's a love hate smell!)

I got myself four pots of phalaenopsis and 5 small air plant.

My journey with these ladies start from here:) 
May they grow well and blossom!

MacRitchie Reservoir Park

It has been some time that I have not visting the MacRitchie Reservoir Park. There is so many changes and some things still remain the same. It a nice place to go for walks!

Orchid

Weeks has past and the babies are growing well.


Oncidium Papilio has it second bud bloomed yesterday.


And the Encyclia Alata has been blooming every other day.


It has two buds yet to bloom. Jia You!!

Orchids

It has been two years since I last bought any orchid.  I bought a couple pots from the Garden Festival 2014 which was held at Gardens by the Bay.
Due to lack of knowledge about the species, five out of six pots died and left one pot which did not bloom since. 

This month I give it another go and try to own a few more pots of orchid after some read up and research has been done. Hopefully they will survive in my hands.

My brother brought me to Wanling orchid nursery in Chua Chu Kang and the journey is  like a pilgrimage 😁. One has to wait for the feeder bus which is provided by QianHu(a farm for Dragon fish, fishes and aquatic supplies ) and walked a distant before arriving at the destination.

Stepping in the premises, you feel like you are in a kampong. My brother told me that they have the largest and funded cold room for orchid. Before we entered the cold room, along the way there are many beautiful Phalaenopsis variations of all sorts of pink and purple not forgetting white.

In the cold room for a very long time. Having difficulty selecting which one to buy. Closely examing the roots, the leaves, the flower ( not all have flower for identification. I cannot tell from the leaves which breed or hybrids they are). Finally after a long discussion and debate with my brother, I bought the following :

Encyclia Alata

Psychopsis Papilio 

Paphiopedilum  hybrid

To be continued...

Hot weather.

The weather is so hot that it affects the appetite . Any meaty stuff makes you feel more lethargic (in my opinion:) ). But you still need to eat right. I tried making a soup which omits any meat. Just with vegetables of all sorts and boil them in water. No condiments!

In the pot went half a cabbage, one carrot,  half an onion, a handful of black fungus, two stalks of celery, three cloves of garlic and water. Boiled for about 15mins and it was done.

It may seems plain but the sweetness from the vegetables was very tasty and it will helps in hydrating the body.
Give it a try:)

Anyohaseyo

Recently the Korean wave is on the drama "the descendants of the sun". The male and female lead have very good complexion. Literally flawlessly!

The K-wave isn't a recent thing. As far as I can remember, back than a lot of people crazy over the drama " jewel of the the palace". Korean food was the in thing and even now. 

Korean facial products also entered the beauty market like Faceshop.  Their products have different line but mostly focused on natural and herbal range.

Two of the top notch brands of Korean facial products are : Sulwhasoo and Whoo.

Curious me also tried some of their products. 

From Whoo:

Jinyul balancer (red ginseng)

 It is very hydrating but on the rich side for my skin. Mostly used follows by an essence and stop there if I use any moisturizer after, little bums will appear. 

(Wash~>Balancer~>Essence )

Ja Saeng Essence 

This is a very good essence which repair lines and moisturize the skin and it is being absorbed very fast without heavy feeling on the skin. 👍

Ja Yang skin and Lotion

This is a range I am still discovering. The balancer is refreshing both in scent and texture. Light on the face. The lotion is rich , currently I am using pea size to let the face accustomize. Will see how my skin reacts.  😊

(the above is just my personal opinion.  Effect and preference may varies.)

To be continued..

New lesson learnt.

Yesterday after I came back from the Xmen movies, I was shocked to see my Melissa plant which I had re-potted became droopy. What had happened? I looked up on the net and found that it could be the following reasons: 1. Shocked 2. Potting medium 3. Not enough water.
After thinking, I cannot amend the first two, I took the watering can and give the poor thing water. Hoping it to recover the next day.

This morning, I watered it again. And it seems much better. Thank God! Or else it will be another potted plant I killed within this two months.

Those in the pot:)

I have always like the Melissa plant (Lemon Balm) as it is said to be the "elixer of life"! My first encounter was when I read about the Queen's Hungarian Water. It was said to have anti-aging properties. Well, one will not be surprised when the ingredients in the concoction have good properties. Ingredients includes Melissa, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon peel, Rosewater etc. All have good effects on skin and health. No wonder the queen was said to look years younger than her actual age.

This morning I also shifted the Golden Melissa a little lower in the portion to prevent the super hot Sun which contributed th the browning to the edges. After reading on the net, it was due to not enough water. In this super hot seasons, one slow reaction will send the plants into the bin!

I have lots more to learn about these beauties😊

Thai Basil

"Black" Tulsi (Holy Basil)

Peppermint
P.s. most mint sold in supermarket are Spearmint☺