Good Experience

I survived!  Planning the Ladies Tea and preparing for my speech took a lot of my free time during the last two weeks.  It was good to speak in a crowd again, I enjoyed it a lot.  After all I used to be a good speaker in my own right.  :)  However I am not sure if I will organize and speak at the same event again.  I just didn't have time to gather my thoughts in an organized way until the night of before. 

"Growing Together by Design" was a fun topic to develop. I was reminded that I do better without a script. 

I thank God for all the people who worked with me and the way it all came out.  It was humbling to see everyone's servant attitude.   The sight of ladies enjoying themselves was most rewarding.

To God be the glory!

Current Project: Ladies' Tea

I have not been blogging lately.  Some of my time has been taken up by planning and preparing for the Cornerstone Christian Church Ladies' Tea which will be held next week on May 1st.  I am the project leader for this event.  In addition to that, I am also the speaker!  That's right, I will be speaking at the Ladies' Tea on gardening.  Based on previous years' records, 100 ladies are expected to be at the party. 

I need to do some thinking and writing soon.  Not that the ideas that I am going to say are not already in my head but those thoughts have to be organized in a presentable form.  So if my blog seems 'cobwebby' at this time it's because of this project.  Expect me to post at least a couple of topics related to this undertaking soon.

Whenever we push ourselves to accomplish a goal, we trigger the awakening of a dormant ability that is hidden behind fears, lack of purpose and complacency. ~ Helen

Reminders of My Mother

It is very rare to see an orchid in my garden but today I saw this flower from an old forgotten Cymbidium orchid.  I took the plant into a brighter place and took this picture.  It turned out really good.  

I have a natural attraction to orchids; one might presume that it is because of their irresistible and intricate flowers or because of the mystery in the way they grow (me being a horticulturist).  Yet, the reason is simple...they remind me of my late mother.

My mother was a gardener.  She planted trees, vegetables and ornamentals but the one thing that brought her pleasure were her orchids.  I remember watching my mother stick orchid plantlets into the bark of an old tree on the eastern side of the house or tying them around the trunk of the betel nut  trees around the yard.  She started them from very small plantlets and no matter how hopeless the plantlets looked, once my mother put her hands on them they would end up producing a profusion of beautiful flowers.  She even propagated orchids to give to those who admired her orchids. 

I've tried many times, during the last nineteen years that I've lived in California, to grow orchids and this is the first time that an orchid produced a new flower in my garden.  When I saw these soft pink flowers, my heart leaped...the sight brought back fond memories of my dear mother.

Enjoying Summer Fruits

"God blessed us with a good harvest this year." Miriam

"Do we have to have peaches in our lunch everyday?" Brahms

"We don't have to have tomatoes in every meal." Tim

"Let us leave some grapes for the birds." Brahms

"Zucchini again?" Miriam

"Peach pie for breakfast... I don't mind." Shannon

Most Available Items in our Summer Menu

Grilled zucchini

Steamed zucchini

Bruschetta

Peaches and cream

Peach Cobbler

Peach Pie

Little peach Pies

Stir-fried zucchini

Peach and tomato salsa

Sliced Pears

Spinach Salad with Peaches

Grape Jelly

Peach Preserves

Peach Marmalade

Fresh Tomatoes

Grilled Peppers

Eggplant ( in Pinakbet)

We had a good crop of fruits and vegetables this year. The mild temperatures allowed the plants to photosynthesize longer resulting in bigger and sweeter fruits. This could also have resulted in lower insect population. The pears (Green Anjou) showed some codling moth (Cydia pomonella) infestation but compared to last year this is significantly less. The apple tree (Fuji) which was heavily pruned (for shape) last winter did not produce this year. Probably the lack of another host (apple fruits) reduced the population of codling moth. Codling moth is the worm in wormy apples or pears.

The plum tree (Santa Rosa) did not produce fruits this year due to weather problems. The tree was at the peak of flowering when the area had strong rains and winds in early spring. It is still being trained to grow away from our neighbor's yard just like the peach tree next to it that grows vigorously every year no matter how severely it is pruned. I'm positive that this tree will give us a good crop next year.

The peach tree (Orange Cling) was laden with fruits that it broke one of the large branches. We enjoyed eating a lot of peaches and were able to share with friends and neighbors. Miriam and I also brought some to the church office for whoever wanted them. At this time there are still some fruits that need to be harvested but now we can't keep up and I'm now tired of canning. The the pears are all ripening. The problem with pears is that very few people I know like them. In our family, only Miriam and I eat them.

We had four varieties of tomatoes this year: Pink Brandy Wine, Golden Jubilee and Early Girl. The fourth one was planted late and it is the Husky Cherry. Now that the other three are finishing their productive stage, this one is just beginning to produce.

Next to the tomatoes are zucchini plants (yellow and green). During the early stage, these plants produced a lot of huge leaves which was detrimental to production. Most of the starch and sugars produced by the plants were being funneled to the leaves. To solve the problem, I had to remove a number of the leaves in order for the plant to resume flowering. Since then and until now the plants continue to produce at a consistent rate. Four hills of zucchini is too much for a family of five. We tend to miss a lot of the fruits that before we find then they are already too old for eating. My friend, Sue, tells me that I should try stuffing them but I think that it is too inconvenient. So we just suffer with grilled, steamed or stir-fried zucchini.

We also have three grape plants (Pinot Noir) which were originally planted for shade. Now they produce substantial amount of fruits that last year I started to make grape jelly and grape molasses. I am planning to replace them with table grapes but there is a lot of resistance from the rest of the family. They've been blessed by the shade that these vines provided that they are reluctant to accept any idea that involves removing them. We'll see what I will do next.

All our plants are free from pesticides. Fertilizer was applied once during the entire season for the tomatoes and zucchini. Composted chicken manure and redwood compost are applied yearly in the garden as mulch or soil amendment. Produce from our backyard make great food!

Life Lessons from the Garden

As I worked in the garden today it came to my atttention that a lot of my boxwood plants (Boxus microphylla japonica) are not getting watered at all. If they were, it would have been very minimal. Most of the time I scrutinize my plants from the kitchen window. (Not a recommended way but because of other distractions I can only do it this way.) From there the plants look alright, they're green and even growing, they seem content thus I'm content. On a closer look, however, the problem was revealed. The soil is dry, which means that my plants are water-stressed. Signs of nutrient-deficiency became visible, snails breeding underneath the canopy and my long lost red-handled pruner was discovered hanging within the hedge! After all these revelation, I was morally obligated to do something!

One could digress and parallel gardening with human relationships. The deeper truth about a person will be revealed only through closer associations. Close associations develop with trust. Like my boxwood, people can and will try to appear composed in the eyes of someone who is not willing to get their hands dirty. Imelda Marcos' slogan at one time was "Makialam" (which means meddle). If indifference is the opposite of love then meddling for the sake of others is a noble thing to do.

I like to advise gardeners to regularly sing to their plants (which often cause eyebrows to rise). Surely, music is not a requirement for plant growth! However, the proximity of the gardener to the plants is what matters. Closeness results in communication, communication in understanding, and understanding in meddling.


"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Ephesians 4:29