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 was practically starving my babies!

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.

The front path, originally uploaded by malyousif.

Did some work in the garden this morning, the first chance I’ve had for some time now. I trimmed the golden ficus bushes and did general cleaning up and removing dead plants etc. I’ll have another go at it again this afternoon and maybe tomorrow too if I’m lucky.

Have a wonderful Friday my friends.

Produce, just picked!, originally uploaded by malyousif.

We just picked these beauties from the vegetable patch, the first ever (other than herbs). I shall enjoy eating these, and tonight, I’m going to have a tomato festival based on that single beauty on the tray!

It’s only a few days to the much awaited Bahrain International Garden Show which will take place at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre in Sanabis from Feb 22 - 24, my birthday falling on the 23rd is no coincidence of course, they asked and I gave my blessing!

No no. I’m really looking forward to it this year. I’ve got a little more experience as a gardener now and I think I know what to look for and more importantly, to hold myself back from getting things that I don’t need!

The difference this year also is that I entered my garden into the “young gardens” competition whose criteria includes gardens under 4 years old. I’m not sure if I will win anything, it would be good if I do of course, but I’m looking forward to critiques by the judges from the Bahrain Garden Club, ladies (and gentlemen) whose experience and expertise far outstrips mine.

The judging will take place on Feb 16 and 17th. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Wish me luck!

My Garden, originally uploaded by malyousif.

A stitched vertical panorama of my garden. This is one of my favourite views of the garden, at the back "alley" looking into the front garden.

It’s Winter now, so there is barely any colour, but come Spring that story will change and I hope that I will post a comparative photograph then to see what I mean.

Have a wonderful day!