Tropical Plant Passion

[Queenie O.]

Having lived in the New England area of the US most of my life, I was very familiar as a gardener, with very short growing seasons and some limited plant varieties for my area. I used to have a lot of tropical houseplants that kept me happy through the the long winter months, but I longed for sultry heat and being surrounded by lush tropical plants and trees.

 Gardening now here in Cebu, has become a real passion of mine. i must admit that I don't personally do the usual "grunt work" of digging holes and shoveling compost, but the acquiring of plants and planning of all the garden areas has been a lot of fun for me. Tropical gardening here is not a guarantee of plants just growing non-stop with no issues though. It's trial and error, in learning which plants and trees will grow and flourish where, and which might tolerate strong winds, sandy or gravelly soil or salt spray etc. All in all so far tropical plants and my garden has given me a lot of pleasure, and taken up a lot of my time. I also love just sitting around and experiencing my wild tropical garden. It's an experience that is new to me, but very familiar at the same time.

How about you folks?  Is gardening a passion or interest of yours too? Those of you in the cities--do you have access to a small strip of space for  a garden, or do you have any special indoor house plants or orchids? Tell me about yours please:)

[Jack Peterson]

2 minutes ago, Queenie O. said:

I also love just sitting around and experiencing my wild tropical garden. It's an experience that is new to me, but very familiar at the same time.

How about you folks?  Is gardening a passion or interest of yours too?

 

 As you can see we are Getting there, We do had a lot of luck on most things ( If the dogs leave well alone) but our Water bill is getting quite high in this rather long Dry season. More Pics later maybe of the potted stuff we have done. later in the Topic. Need to get some Good Shots.

 

Jack

[OnMyWay]

Very nice Jack!

We are also very interested in landscaping and gardening at our new house.  We will have a huge front yard and will have a lot of planning to do.  We like to drive around the area and see the plants we like in other yards, to get ideas.  Our yard is mostly on a slope so I think I will hire someone to build more retaining walls to create a larger flat area for the kids.

[Gratefuled]

I'm happy for you that you have the time and patience for gardening here. I don't plan on being here much longer and I don't like to be out in the heat and humidity. 

[Old55]

I like this topic Queenie!  I would enjoy your posting on what plants you find grow well and their needs and care.

My mother in law is a skilled gardener, she has a large garden at their home in Cebu. She is successful growing Orchids. Years ago I got a bunch of live Orchids from a nursery outside of Moalboal Cebu that she was able to tend at the old house. If you grow Orchids you need to have a secure location for them. 

Google for the Philippine Horticultural Society They have a Facebook group and may still have a Yahoo group.

I would think you would be very welcome to join their activities in Philippines.

 

[Queenie O.]

4 hours ago, Old55 said:

I like this topic Queenie!  I would enjoy your posting on what plants you find grow well and their needs and care.

My mother in law is a skilled gardener, she has a large garden at their home in Cebu. She is successful growing Orchids. Years ago I got a bunch of live Orchids from a nursery outside of Moalboal Cebu that she was able to tend at the old house. If you grow Orchids you need to have a secure location for them. 

Google for the Philippine Horticultural Society They have a Facebook group and may still have a Yahoo group.

I would think you would be very welcome to join their activities in Philippines.

 

Old55, Thanks for the link--I'll check that out:) Glad that you like tropical plants too!

Well, it seems to me, it's all about location as far as what might be grown more successfully in one area over another. For me it's always "trial and error" to find what thrives. I even go to locations nearby but farther inland, and they seem to have better luck with certain plants than I do. Different islands must have different requirements too I'll bet.

As far as orchids go, the wind and salt spray in our location seems to keep many of our orchids from blooming as often as in more protected locations.  Even the soil that we use is one that the local nursery makes up for our general area.  The rocky, limestone based earth in our yard has had to be added to in order to build it up enough to best plant trees and shrubs. We have a compost pile in our yard for fruit and vegetable scraps that breaks down quickly in the heat, so that has been a help. I paid some of neighborhood children to help me get earthworms around the neighborhood, so that has helped too:)

Also, sometimes it takes a plant or tree time in a spot to get acclimated in order to start flourishing. The dry or wet seasons in Cebu seems to favor different plants too. It's all a happy experiment for me though. I don't like being out in the bright sun and heat of the day, so I mostly enjoy the gardens early morning and late afternoon. My husband does most of the watering, which is a job in itself:)

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I have always enjoyed having a nice garden but am not a gardener.  I like building the garden... but don't expect me to weed or water it ha ha.  Luckily my wife and her aunt love gardening.  Our yard looks pretty good most of the time.  It has been so dry lately it is suffering but still has more flowers than I had in Texas. Their favorite is orchids.  They put them in coconut shells and tie them to side of trees.  Seems to work.

My elephant ears all died.  Only thing I asked for was a hedgerow of elephant ears outside my porch. They grow wild here - but not in the yard. 

My calamansi is doing well, but my mint died (after 3 years), the basil died, and our oregano has mutated! I have never seen oregano this big!

We also have good veggie garden and tons of fruit trees in the yard (coconut, banana, jackfruit, mango, star apple, guava, papaya...)

My wife does not know a lot about gardening but does ok.  She loves it and is learning. When we are out places and she sees flowers she likes... she steals some seeds out of them. She figures if they grow in other peoples yards (and parks) then they may grow at our house.

[Jack Peterson]

3 minutes ago, Tukaram (Tim) said:

She figures if they grow in other peoples yards (and parks) then they may grow at our house.

You know Tim, I have the same thoughts but somehow it never all seems to work out. We can but keep Trying EH?

[Queenie O.]

54 minutes ago, Tukaram (Tim) said:

I have always enjoyed having a nice garden but am not a gardener.  I like building the garden... but don't expect me to weed or water it ha ha.  Luckily my wife and her aunt love gardening.  Our yard looks pretty good most of the time.  It has been so dry lately it is suffering but still has more flowers than I had in Texas. Their favorite is orchids.  They put them in coconut shells and tie them to side of trees.  Seems to work.

My elephant ears all died.  Only thing I asked for was a hedgerow of elephant ears outside my porch. They grow wild here - but not in the yard. 

My calamansi is doing well, but my mint died (after 3 years), the basil died, and our oregano has mutated! I have never seen oregano this big!

We also have good veggie garden and tons of fruit trees in the yard (coconut, banana, jackfruit, mango, star apple, guava, papaya...)

My wife does not know a lot about gardening but does ok.  She loves it and is learning. When we are out places and she sees flowers she likes... she steals some seeds out of them. She figures if they grow in other peoples yards (and parks) then they may grow at our house.

I'm with you on that part Tim:) 

[Queenie O.]

I don't weed either Tim, but mulch is a big help. The most watering I'm doing is with a watering can:) That oregano that you're growing looks to be a native variety. Locals here tell me that you can make a tea by boiling the leaves. It's supposed to be great for fighting colds. I have some mint plants and a tarragon and basil that I grew from US seeds. Planting herb seeds is a crap shoot for me here though, and herbs in general seem harder to come by locally.

 I'm also into trying to identify the latin names and local names of plants and trees here. Many locals either don't know the actual name of a particular plant, or only know the local island name. I have a great book that I'd recommend  to all interested called "A Field Guide to Tropical Plants of Asia" by David H. Engle that is helpful among others.

5 minutes ago, Queenie O. said: