Amazing plant pillar

I just love this plant wall.

It is a brilliant idea to have this type of plant pillar in buildings.

And it's a good idea to have this plant wall at the elevated highway pillar.

Imagine the amount of carbon dioxide it can absorb and the amount of oxygen it can give.

Thanks to the team who came up with this sustainable and practical idea.

You can have different categories of plant for the plant pillars depending on local climate and suitability.

If I may put forward this idea to DBKL or the Majlis Perbandaran...we can always try with a few pillars / have a pilot project before going full fledged. It can serve as tourist attraction as well :)

Cotton cotton where are you from?

Ever wondered where do the soft fluffy cotton come from? 

Ever wondered if cotton come from plant?

Ever wondered is cotton original colour white?

We tried growing cotton and tara...this is how the cotton fruit look like and they are really white

growing more succulent

  Succulents are survivors. I adore them. Somehow they 

  survive and multiply easily. 

And they make me feel relaxed looking at them

especially those that shaped like lotus flower

and showed us how amazing nature is

My intention, grow and multiply them and give them to friends and family

Please grow well 

and I'm grateful to you for bringing me joy and relaxation. Thank you 

 

my ABCD ... my family favourite drink

ABCD = Asam Aloe + Butterfly pea flower + Calamnansi Drink

Sometimes when we think hard enough or we have limited resources, it will bring out some suprises. Like this particular day, the weather was hot, we have plenty of aloe vera, butterfly pea flower and calamansi if not plucked and made useful, will dry and wilt away...so we came out with what we can think of ... the asam boi was a 'must' though which i purposely brought to bring the drink to another level. 

Just the wonder '4' 

Butterfly pea flower never fail to amaze me with it's eccentric blue / purple

Sour salty chewy ... all in a glass

Before we add water + ice

why i like pandan leaves?

Pandan leaves is one of my favourite plant .. not only it gives a fresh green visual and aroma, it adds omph to our favourite foods...

                                        

Versatile & all-rounder pandan

Pandan rose.. the best air freshener for home

Pandan leaves can be kuih tako containers too =)

and last but not least, it just make kuih tako tastier

Moringa seaweed soup

I'm thankful I managed to grow moringa tree at my backyard (near my kitchen window) and didn't want to waste the nutritious moringa leaves which greet us every morning.

Cut some of the leaves and mix it into our breakfast seaweed soup. I'm happy children like the new ingredient addition. 

Benefits of moringa leaves (source : https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-benefits-of-moringa-oleifera)

Moringa leaves are an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals such as protein, vitamin B6, vitamin C, Iron, Riboflavin (B2), vitamin A, Magnesium. It is rich in antioxidant, can lower blood sugar level, reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol and protect against arsenic toxicity

my daily dose of vitamin N

I guess I'm not cut out to be a city girl aunty

I think I have vitamin N deficiency & need high daily dose of vitamin N(ature) for me to function well, else I'll feel lethargic and fatigue all day long.

But it's kinda not-that-easy to find a decent spot that can offer genuine vitamin N, so sometimes I just make do with whatever-I-can-find or placebo vitamin N.

Making full use of the 'solo' time of 15-20 minutes of time before start work (if I arrive early) to 'sit down & relax' before the start of another hectic day.

So here I'm hanging out on to the last available dosage of vitamin N within my reach. 

Here, trying to avoid those concrete jungle sky scrappers getting into the picture, but futile attempt

A rare glimpse to boost vitamin N effeciency

Here, trying to cheat with some 'placebo' 

To add salt to injury, reading a naturopathy book that emphasize on the importance of vitamin N

At least, this is a consolation, enjoying a custard apple from my backyard for breakfast

feeling serai (read : sir-ray-ee)

For a person who do not have green fingers, nothing beats the satisfaction of harvesting own fruits roots of labour.

Capturing the mess, the grass and the roots of serai (lemongrass)

The end product which distributed among relatives, neighbours and colleagues

grounded coffee bean

Thank you to a CETDEM booklet about home composting, 
I discovered a whole array of use for grounded coffee bean.
Would like to know too? Here you go...

Since our household doesn't consume much coffee,
So I with the 'thick skin face'' again think of ways to get for my garden especially.
So this was my execution.

1. check with coffee enthusiast / regular colleague, the nearest coffee shop / joint / franchise
2. check with coffee enthusiast / regular colleague, find out more about people working @ the coffee shop / joint / franchise
3. find out about their busy hours and not-so-busy hour (more appropriate to ask for something).
4. So I found the nearest is Starbuck and Gloria Jean Coffee. 
5. Starbuck is bigger franchise, may have protocol to follow. The Gloria Jean is a family owned franchise - easier to make decision.
6. So lunch time I braved (forced) myself to go, waited till all customers are served.
7. I told them I would like to buy grounded coffee bean from them. I honestly told them I am using it as fertilizer.
8. The pakcik asked if I am using for 'pokok bunga ros'? He knew & heard it was very good fertiliser. I told him I'm using more for fruit trees & vegetable compost.
9. The makcik asked if I am using it to make mask & body scrub. I say more for fertiliser, may tried that next time. 
10. I guess I could not be the 1st to ask them.
11. As it is mid-day, and some busy hour, I told them can I come back after work? Uncle told me yes, so he can collect more and stuff the plastic bag full full. 
12. So I went back after work. It was the pakcik's anak saudara on duty.
13. No customer at the moment, so they helped me to pack the grounded coffee bean (compacted into something like a big biscuit) into plastic bags.
14. He asked how frequent do I want the grounded coffee bean? So they can pre-pack for me instead of dispose. 
15. I told them my 1st time do compost use this, so I try out 1st.
16. He volunteer give me contact no. and ask to just call if needed so he can pack.
17. I paid them some money as token of appreciation but he refused to accept saying 'kita pun buang ini, baik kalau ada orang guna daripada bazir'
18. Since it was chinese new year, so I gave both the 'anak saudara' angpows. 

I couldn't thank them enough.
For their good deeds, I'll pay it forward since I doesn't really drink coffee much.
The grounded coffee bean is doing their 'magic' in my compost bin now (hopefully).
Maybe,  next round I will try with the body scrub / mask ...imagine basking in the aroma of coffee .... lol

I found that really if I didn't ask, I wouldn't have gotten the grounded coffee bean
and recycle it.
Sometimes it's this little things in life makes me feel great, makes me feel thankful. 
It could be some thing as disposable as GROUNDED COFFEE BEAN =)

'calm in chaos' patch

The unhealthy me have always wanted to have a patch of nature in which I can bask in the sun and do some 'grounding'. 
Basking in the sun is good for Vitamin D (since I stay indoor most of the time)
Grounding @ earthing is for bringing our body back to a balanced state with negative ion from earth when we make direct contact with earth / soil / grass or even concrete. This is especially beneficial when we are 'connected' with modern technology most of the time. (try googling if you would like to know more)

So, the other day, the 'kepochi' part of me prompted me to go 'walk & walk' during lunch to discover something new.
And I was ecstatic when I stumbled upon a 'patch' ... sort of like a little hanging garden.
I sneaked in, look for a spot which I think least probability of being found,
took of my shoes, sat down, breath and relaxed. (though I couldn't get my mind off what excuse to give if I'm being caught)
I'm ready to even beg to be allowed to enjoy this little 'heaven'.

So there I was for about 20 minutes, enjoying just being me ... relaxing ... breathing ... and writing my bucket list, feeling blessed.

enjoying my grounding therapy

the little bit of greenery for eyes to savour

my trusty recycle bag & shoes sitting next to me enjoying the light breeze and sun

the little morning glories that perk up the patch

the 'hanging' garden feel

project : reviving garden

Having a garden on my own has always been a dream since childhood (even though I do not have green fingers and sometimes plants that come to my hand die)

I always dream of having the time of my life to do gardening. 

(which explain why I insist to keep the part of our house a garden instead of cementing it).

And I always tell my kiddies that they can help me plant many many different type of plant in our garden. Now I started training them with watering and helping me with the potting.

When I got married, I did have a little nice garden (not something too big or fancy) but just enough to make me happy.

However, as time goes by, my garden turn from one with many plants to being a field with lots of weeds. 

So I made myself a vow to revive my little garden, this time with a twist. 

I'm going to make it a more edible one. 

Yes, at last the practicality in me took over the decorality in me.

So I started dreaming again ... of all the fruits / vegetables / herbs I'm going to pluck from my little garden.

It is not really a right time ... with the draught, haze and water condition in our area. 

But it still has to start, if not now then when?

Sounds crazy, but I do have a list of plants I wanted : 

papaya

custard apple

rozelle

aloe vera

raspberry

spring onion

avocado

pandan leave

curry leave

lemon grass 

ginger

kunyit / turmeric

kafir lime

vegetables

herbs

and I created a little spot for compost of garden waste with the hope of better soil for my future plants.

Another bad habit developed : I started eyeing what plants other people have in their garden / compound and am thick skin enough to ask for some stem / seed if I wanted it badly...LOL 

 Lemon grass, ginger, curry leave (which is still struggling to survive). Thanks to dear & kiddies for helping me pluck baby curry leave plant from nearby field.

Some kind of plant which help to clean the air @ home they say. The taller ones had turned all yellow due to renovation and all before I start to revive it. Smaller plant given by someone who saw my eager'ness in gardening.

Here's the nursery / rehab place : growing more roots for pandan leave, growing different types of lucky bamboo, a pot of japanese rose given by people, and another plant growing from the stem.

some other plants saved from older times.

Japanese rose with different colours. Too bad there are not flowering yet.

ps. if you do have any plants / seeds / gardening things which you wish to dispose, please do consider donating it to me. thank you very much =)