Inspired by a picture of a huge adenium in flower I saw in a Facebook friend’s profile, and others I have seen on the Internet and comparing them with what I have in a pot, I resolved to plant it in the ground and let it grow.

I believe I got the right spot for it. It’s now planted by the front gate right in the middle of the oriental-style gravel patch. Here it is:

This time, close-ups of its beautiful flowers too.

I don’t think a garden is complete without some nice statues or other accessories.

In my garden, I placed quite a number of accessories in several places, but not enough to overwhelm it though, I think you have to have good balance in what you’re doing, otherwise it will rob the essence of a beautiful garden and you’ll end up with a backyard second hand store!

One of the best accessories that continues to give me a lot of pleasure is the bird bath. I’ve positioned this just outside my study and I have a full view of it through bay windows. It has become a mecca for all kind of birds who not only use it to have a drink, but also seem to really enjoy themselves bathing in it at all times of the day. Click the link above to see some of the pictures I’ve taken of some of the birds enjoying it.

One of the garden accessories that I would love to have but know that it will be useless here is a hummingbird feeder. I’ve seen them in action in Canada and I never tire of just sitting there watching hummingbirds feedings.

What’s your favorite accessory? What accessory would you really like to have in your garden? Please enter your comments below.

My wife and I spent a fantastic and relaxing short holiday in Velassaru, one of the Maldivian Heavenly atolls. The plants on that atolls were very similar to what we have here in Bahrain: plumerias, palms and other heat tolerant plants. I particularly fell in love with two plumerias, and the elephant ear plant.

I resolved to have them! And I knew it never hurts to ask. So I did, and got rewarded with two cuttings; one for the red-striped plumeria with it’s gorgeous red stripe underneath each petal (similar to the one on the bottom right) and another, as you see on the top left. The gardener there was generous enough to give me two young elephant ear plants from his nursery. I was a very happy camper indeed!

We packed the cuttings and plants well and brought them home with us. As I love plumerias and already have several of them in our garden, I initially didn’t have a good enough place for the new guests. I thought on it some more and then decided that the pool deck was an ideal place for them, especially as the area by the pump changing rooms was relatively bear, it being paved over and not having any shade in that area, they might well provide that focal point that was so far missing. Some digging was needed. So off I went to the construction equipment rental shop and got a small jackhammer and thank goodness I did, as the cement underneath those tiles was six inches deep. It took two guys most of the morning to complete the job. It was a hard slog, but in the end, the task was complete and we planted the two “sticks” in their places.

Nothing happened since they were planted in December 2011 and until late April 2012 there was no sign of life, other than the cuttings themselves continuing being green, which maintained the hope. Then at the end of April and all of a sudden, I noticed new growth! Finally, they had taken and are pushing through. As you can see from the pictures, both sport healthy leaves now and we’re all looking forward to welcome their first gorgeous flowers.

Expect some pictures, hopefully soon!

It’s really strange that when you observe a garden, or any other space for that matter, and you are used to that particular view, you not only get to take it for granted but your mind disappears some detail and you never really appreciate it. However, I found that if you do frame it through the camera and take a picture, more often than not you would be pleasantly (or otherwise!) surprised. It’s almost as if the two-dimensional view – especially if done well – would make you see it for what it actually is, in all of it’s glory.

Consider this for instance. It’s a view I pass several times a day without giving it much thought. In fact, I didn’t think it as “lovely” as it obviously appears here:

Isn’t this a picture fit for a gardening magazine?

Looking at it now and noticing the beauty of the “tear drop” in the middle; the depth that the Ixora on the left leads to the lovely purple Datura flowers and then onto the bed of Calendulas and onward to the rose bushes below the French windows. Then we notice the gorgeous framing offered by the two plumerias, going through to the two Cassia Fistulas and then at the very back, at the wall, we see the passion fruit climber in the middle and the plentiful flowering of the Oleander is just.. well, beautiful!

And then just imagine this space a few weeks from now once the plumerias are fully clothed and the fistulas have shed theirs leaves and replaced them with new growth, and you will be once again pleasantly surprised.

All of this in the arid climate of Bahrain? Yes, indeed it is. As I’ve said in the previous article you can indeed grow just about anything in this lovely country, but for a short while until the scorching sun put an end to this particular enjoyment and forcibly transfer your attention to the most heat tolerant plants; namely the palms, plumerias and the cacti.

But let’s not dwell on that. Here. Enjoy this view as well, taken a minutes of the one above and is what is available opposite. The one on top I call the Southern Garden; while the one you see below, obviously, is the Front, or even Northern garden.

I do love my garden!

Have a pleasant day.

Have a look at this beauty! We’ve just finished this new border this afternoon. I moved almost all the agaves and cactii from the cluster by the pool into this new brilliant arrangement, even if I say so myself

I’m looking forward for them to mature in place and hope all visitors to our neighborhood enjoy my xeriscaped garden border.

Have a look at the progress done on Op Hillside since this morning:

Really glad. And I think once finished it will be quite unique too. We’ll be leaving things to set now and put the plumbing and plants in place next weekend.

Can’t wait!

Today I start the “hills” outside the house. This area was just lined with conacarpus trees hiding the beauty of the house and not contributing much to the environment.

Not going to divulge much now other than to say xeroscaping is probably be nicer with less maintenance.

I just realized that I didn’t introduce Hope on the blog! Sorry. Well, meet Hope, the newest addition and the very much long awaited addition to the garden. Here she is sitting at her pond and being quite happy and content.

I had my eye on her for months, but unfortunately the seller and I couldn’t agree on a price. Now that they’re going out of business, they have met my stipulated price and I brought her over about 3 weeks or so ago, and yesterday afternoon was an opportune moment for to me clean up around her and spruce up her throne a bit. Now with the cable and various pipes hidden, I’m quite happy too.

With the change in the weather, the gardening season is most certainly upon us. Not to let our office garden to miss out, we cleaned it up and planted many geraniums and bordered them with lovely alyssum. It’s been a couple of weeks since they were planted, and as you could probably see form the picture, some of the flowers are starting to bloom. So far, the white geraniums have come through, making the garden take on a definite white motif this year.