The water lilies seem to have settled in their new home. I’ve got three blooms at the same time now, makes me really happy – especially that these blooms are an affirmation that they didn’t suffer to much from the abuse I subjected their plant to when I decided to move it.
Have a wonderful Friday my friends.
I came across this lovely tree at the Gulf Hotel a couple of days ago and fell in love with it. Just look at those flowers!
I most definitely NEED this in my garden. It doesn’t matter than I don’t have the space, but I NEED it!
If you do know the name, PLEASE let me know.
Here’s how the full tree looks:
I bought a Caesalpinia gilliesii from The Garden Nursery this morning, it’s a lot smaller than this one obviously, just a barely meter high twig, but is healthy and I think I have the perfect place for it in my garden.
Here’s a picture of the full plant in the nursery:
More information about this plant is available here and here.
My friend Rami and I visited Anne Al-Jalahma’s "The Garden Nursery" this morning, despite the horrendous weather we are experiencing in Bahrain – thanks to the huge Iraqi sandstorm earlier in the week – the nursery itself was a sight for sore eyes and a replenishment for the soul.
It is the ONLY nursery in Bahrain that I felt is made and maintained by a gardener for gardeners. It really shows where the others are going wrong; for while the others are interested in "moving pots", ie, bulk sales with whatever the season throws at them, Anne’s garden is a well thought out collection of wonderful plants which she herself has propagated in Bahrain and have been tested in our own climate.
The gardeners working with her are also knowledgeable and give good advice as to where and how to place the plants once bought.
It is also one of two nurseries – the other being Jannusan Exotics – who actually bother to label every plant with common and scientific names. Anne’s; however, comes out on top once again as most of the plants not only have the clear labels, but pictures of the plants when mature and flowered. I am sure that if you take a picture of an obscure plant to her, she might even help you name it, as she did with a very tiny picture of a Clitoria I showed her on my mobile phone.
Overall, this is the best garden nursery in Bahrain, barring none, and should be the real refuge for all of us who are frustrated with the box movers.
No sooner that I have written about the beauty of some Caper bushes found in desolate waste ground, I find while passing the site at around 6am this morning that the local municipality has sent a bulldozer to clear the ground completely!
Imagine my sadness, when coming back a couple of hours later, I find that the grounds were completely cleared, and only this pile of rubbish remain.
Not a single bush was left, not one!
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I drove over a waste ground this afternoon and was faced with a huge number of these flowers growing by themselves in the wild. I had to get out of my car to investigate and was gobsmacked to find out that these bushes (and plenty of them) are capers!
There are literally hundreds of these flowers in the bushes, and as you will see from this collection, they are simply surrounded by rubbish!
Diamonds in the rough?
Well, if you look for something nice, you could even find it in what seems to be a desolate ground.
I love these plants, quite unassuming as they grow, but come summer and BANG! Full of colour!
Have a wonderful, safe and peaceful weekend my friends.
Honestly, I don’t know much about orchids other than they are some of the most beautiful plants in existence. You might remember how I fell for them and went semi-crazy and bought a whole bunch of them during the recent Bahrain International Garden Show, brought them home and gave them some TLC. At least, I thought I gave them some TLC; alas, according to a fantastic book I bought during my recent visit to New York’s Botanical Gardens, Orchids Growing for Wimps
I treated them a little better than cactus. Just spray them every few days. The warning bells finally came on in my head when a lot of them lost their lovely flowers and some started to turn yellow. That’s when I thought I’ve got to spend some time and at least read the book a little to find out what is going wrong, and sure enough, these plants like being soaked in a tub of tepid water for 10 – 15 minutes every couple of days. So a little spray here and there – even with a fertilizer – is not enough.
Beware; however, that not all orchids require this soaking, so please do read about your specific orchid before dunking it. I will most definitely not be responsible if you kill it!
It pays to research your plants a little. They will give back an awful lot of joy to you if you treat them well. I just hope that mine will jump back to their former glory before long…. I’ll keep you informed.
I received an exciting announcement this morning which was the inauguration of a Farmer’s Market in Bahrain for the first time. It is very much hoped that this event will become a regular seasonal market with facilities that will promote local and seasonal produce and will support small scale growers and producers in Bahrain.
The organisers bill this event as:
A great day out for the whole family.
Lots of fresh local produce as well as handicrafts, entertainment for the kids and a tasty Bahraini-style BBQ lunch. It doesn’t get better than this!
Don’t miss out on this fantastic event. Enjoy a chance to reconnect with the land and the produce of the season.
Entrance fees will be charged at BD3 for adults, 1.5 for children but free for those who are under 2 years old.
It’s going to take place on Saturday the 12th of April, 2008, next to Jassim Agriculture (this is the “old” Jassim’s) between 10am through to 5pm.
If you are interested in having a stall for fresh produce or local and hand-made items (such as bakery items, preserves, chutneys or handicrafts) or sponsoring a needy person who produces such items, please fill in the contact form and I shall be happy to forward it to the organisers. Please include your contact details.
It promises to be fresh, fun, local and friendly!
The particulars;
Rose-ringed parakeets come to our garden every morning for the breakfast we put out to them. They must like it very much and appreciate it as their numbers increased over time. They actually wait on the surrounding trees and make such a racket until one of us gets out and puts breakfast out!
But it’s something we really enjoy. They are fun to watch as we’re having breakfast!
Mahmood’s Den
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