A Little Italian Taste for Our Garden

About two (or three) months ago, Sinta told me that she brought some seeds from Italy, which she had been storing in her kitchen cupboard. They were the seeds of her favourite vegies and herbs.

Having a little baby certainly took most of her time. She is still struggling with daily chores, let alone trying to do any gardening -been there, done that-.. :-)

While in my case, after watching my chillies grew and enjoying the harvest.. I became addicted to growing things in the garden.. Here are some photos of my chillies, obviously, I'm not the only one who enjoys the chilli harvest.. ;-)

A couple of mating crickets in my Habaneros (Cabe Gendot) tree.

Leftover Habaneros.. left by crickets for me.. :-P

The Long Chilli harvest has been claimed.. not by me..

I'm so happy knowing that my hands can actually grow things, which I used to think was impossible. Plants used to die in my hands, but, watching Mother and my husband work in the garden somehow has sparked a motivation to try.. and it works well!

I prepared the soil for the seeds. I laid the soil on the ground for a few days, then I mixed it with natural compost and let it cool down under the shade for a few days again. Then I took a little bit of each seed and place it in small pots. I watered the pots twice daily and.. Wow! Within a week, little leaves have sprung out..

It has been almost two months, since the time when I sow the seeds. Now, the plants are ready for first harvest.

Rucola Da Orto (Kemangi Itali)

Basilico

Prezzemolo

The last thing I need to find for these plants now are RECIPES.. ;-)

So far, Sinta only told me that Rucola is nice to put in sandwiches, while Basilico and Prezzemolo are usually used as herbs in cooking.

I have tried having Rucola with my breakfast sandwich and it was beautiful. This morning, I tried having it with my rice.. It was also nice..

I can't wait to use Basilico and Prezzemolo in my spaghetti bolognese.. I hope I can make it some time this week.. ;-)

If any of you have any recipe suggestions for me, using these three ingredients, please let me know. I am really excited to try..

I am also growing Zucchino (Italian Zucchini) and Pomodoro (Italian Tomato). They take longer to harvest, though, so, I have to come back to you for the result..

When I sow the seeds for the first time, I only used a small portion of the pack. I am growing some more in an open space. This time, I'm growing more Rucola and local Spinach. I'm hoping to harvest in a month time.

Chilli trees are very fragile. They can't stay too dry/hot nor too wet/cold. I'm looking for more habanero seeds to grow and this time, I hope I can also successfully keep some seeds for future sowing..

Don't forget to have your vegetable every day and have a nice day, Everyone.. :-)

-14 May 2012-

New additions to our home..

When you walk around your home long enough, you will start catching sights of the things you never thought existed around you..


Like this cheerful sunflower..


Then, you will start thinking about what you want to change or add or.. capture with you camera.. and keep the memory for as long as you want..


That is what we do here.. Mother and my husband love to find new plants to grow, and I love watching them grow, observing the creatures residing around the plants, and capturing them all with a camera, I can get a hold of..









These are pictures of some of the new additions in our front and back yards..

The short-lived Morning Glory

The new white flower outside the widow

The new bush of purple flowers

The pretty plant that is having breakfast with a little bee..

A little lizard that quickly became Aza's friend

The lovely white orchids

The beautiful purple orchids

The pretty white plant that is saying 'hi' to the sun

The baby dragonfly

..and..

The giant cricket

My most surprising find was in the pond that was meant to be a fish breeding pond. While the fish is not using the pond, another family is happily occupying it, and it looks like they are building an empire in it..

The frog family

Last but not least, my best find was the little creature hiding among the leaves up on the mango tree, which brought a specific song to me..

HUSH A BYE BABY

Hush a bye baby on the tree top
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall
Down will come baby cradle and all..

Sleep tight, little bat

Having this world of nature around me, and being able to enjoy it every day, makes me less jealous of those wild life photographers.. :-P

Have a nice day, Everyone.. :-)

Little guests

The other day, as I was looking out the open window of my bedroom, I spotted this little red dragonfly. It looked beautiful sitting right on the cactus.




It was a little difficult to get the pictures, as I had to slide my mobile phone through the window steel bar and try to get the best focus leaning my arm on the steel bar.







A few days after, my husband called me from the front yard to have a look at a pretty little cricket sitting on the side of the car.




It was indeed beautiful..





I'm pretty sure that neither the red dragonfly nor the little cricket was a permanent member of our yard since I never saw them before. However, I hope that they stick around so I could get better shots at them next time.. :-)