Cactus Phone Strap

Cactus Phone StrapMy very sweet friend, Bonita, got me this cactus phone strap as a souvenir when she was visiting France around 6 months ago.  This phone strap is adorable, and the idea of carrying a little cactus around is absolutely cool.  Moreover, it’s small and lightweight, making it a cute accessory for those who want to hang something different on her phone or bag.  So, everything of this phone strap looks perfect, except one thing… Continue reading Cactus Phone Strap

Tabletop Garden – In the Wonderland

Container Moss Garden - In the Wonderland Container Moss Garden - In the Wonderland

This moss garden – In the Wonderland – has bought me so much joy.  From collecting moss in public park to choosing the right garden container, from making sand art in between the soil mix to cutting up my bracelet, necklaces and earrings, it has been an unexpectedly fun, dare-to-try experience.  While I love my moss garden, it is definitely the process that I enjoyed the most.

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Our Plants Need to Sleep Too!

Recently, I have noticed that my Episcia (aka Flame Violet) often folds up its top pair of leaves when the night comes. The leaves are near the horizontal during the day and close to the vertical at night. And while sometimes the pair of leaves moves just slightly, pointing to the ceiling, there are times the leaves fold up so tightly, sticking against each other with hardly any gap in between.

As ignorant as I may sound, at first, I suspected that this movement of the leaves of my Episcia was due to insufficient sunlight (it had been rainy and gloomy for over a week). So, to keep my Episcia “open” at night, I put my plant under artificial light for around 14 hours per day for several days. However, the artificial light didn’t help at all. The top pair of leaves closes at night regardless of the amount of light there is during the day.

Plant Chronobiology - Flame Violet Plant Chronobiology - Flame Violet

My baby Flame Violet, which I have propagated a while ago, also has its own circadian rhythms.

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My First Playful Tree Workshop

Last weekend I had my first Playful Tree Workshop in RAW (Random Art Workshop). While the preparation work was a little more of a headache than I had expected, the workshop went on smoothly overall. With some simple guidelines, and all materials and tools ready, everyone in the workshop was able to make a very cool cactus garden all by themselves.

I had lots of fun that day, and I hope everyone in the workshop had a good time too!

Playful Tree Workshop

Playful Tree Workshop

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Propagate Flame Violet by Cutting

I bought a pot of Episcia (aka Flame Violet) seedling in October last year. Since then, it has been growing beautifully in my room, with its first flower blooming in April.

Propagate Flame Violet by Cuttings

Thru some research, I have learned that Flame Violet can be propagated by stolon cuttings. This is my first time growing Flame Violet. Everything to me is new and interesting. And surely, I would like to try stolon propagation. While I was wondering when I should cut the stolons of my Flame Violet for my experiment, my dear brother accidently cut off two stolons from the plant with the rotor blades of his newly bought remote control helicopter. Ok. That’s great! At least I was saved from thinking too much more before taking any action. Continue reading Propagate Flame Violet by Cutting

African Violet Care – How to Separate Crowns

I bought my first pot of African violet a few months ago. While the newly acquired African violet is blossoming beautifully, I didn’t aware but only until another gardener pointed out to me that my African violet actually had multiple crowns.

As a curious gardening novice who like to try different things, I decided to take up this challenge and separate the crowns. It has been almost three months since I separated the crowns. Seeing that the separated crowns of my African violets are now growing healthily, I consider this “operation” as a successful one. And here, let me share with you how I did it.

African Violet Care - Seperate Crowns

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Moss Loves Beer

There was some beer leftover from making moss slurry for my moss graffiti last week.  So, instead of wasting the beer, I diluted the beer, and have kept feeding my moss with it for the past few days.  And guess what!  My moss loves it!  I bet it’s like a consecutive days of beer fest for my moss 😀

Growing Moss

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Instead of Moss, I Got Mold

Making Moss Graffiti Making Moss Graffiti

When I went to the balcony and checked my moss graffiti this morning, I found no moss, but only mold, lots of mold! And besides the mold, the container of moss slurry has started to smell too.

Come to the end of it, the yogurt-and-beer moss slurry has already been sitting out on the balcony for more than two hot summer days.  Continue reading Instead of Moss, I Got Mold

My First Moss Graffiti

Making Moss Graffiti

After days of preparation (researching on moss graffiti, collecting necessary ingredients and tools, thinking up a cool graffiti design, etc), I have finally made my first few moss graffiti with some moss slurry.

Making Moss Graffiti Making Moss Graffiti

Thru some research, I have learned that while certain moss can grow only on soil, some others can grow only on hard surfaces. Since I am making moss graffiti on wood, it is wise to get moss from a hard surface as well. Continue reading My First Moss Graffiti

Miracle Leaf – Kalanchoe Pinnata

Miracle Leaf - Kalanchoe Pinnata

A few weeks ago, I saw a nicely packaged leaf called Miracle Leaf in the Life Division of CitySuper, an upscale supermarket in Hong Kong.  It is selling for HKD $25 (around USD $3.5).  At the back of the package, it says

Baby leaves come out from the narrow parts of the MOTHER leaf.
Put the leaf on the water or on the soil.
Treat well and small bellflowers come out. Suitable temperature is over 20 centigrade.
Place the plant in a warm well-lit place.

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