HOW I ACQUIRED BOUGAINVILLEAS WITHOUT SPENDING A CENT ….. well, except one.

​I am one who do not buy plants except the one on the photo below I bought during the pandemic. I bought it to assuage myself because I knew that propagating and waiting for them to bloom would take months. 

To work on a project is often fired up by an inspiration we saw, we read, we heard or experienced it ourselves. And in the case of artists and writers, a muse. 

I was inspired to propagate bougainvilleas when I saw the home of my walking/jogging buddy, Tess. I was impressed how such amazing blooms enhanced the charm of her already beautiful home. 

I wanted to take photos but held myself; I didn’t know Tess that well then. Nevertheless, I decided then and there that I also wanted bougainvilleas in my garden. 

Earlier,I thought that bougainvilleas are wild and uncontrollable. That changed after I saw that they could be tamed, allowed to be wild, or trimmed anyway we want or even made into a bonsai. 

Here are some of the flowering bougainvilleas in Tess’ home that inspired me. These are from Tess’ Facebook posts. 

Well, what do you say? Aren’t the flowers amazing? 

During the pandemic I was not one of the plant aficionados who bought expensive plants. Instead I propagated them from cuttings given by generous friends and neighbors. 

It took a bit of trial and error. I tried YouTube suggestions without success. And I wondered: how hard could it be? 

Frustrated, I just stuck cuttings in pots of soil after dipping in cinnamon powder because I know that it is a growth enhancer and hated by pests. I left a small leaf or two to indicate whether the plant is thriving if they remain fresh and intact. 

Finally, Success! 

I’m happy that I now have quite a variety of bougainvilleas. Here are some photos taken after 6- 8 months. 

RUBBER PLANT PROPAGATION

​Today I am overly excited that my friend Josie cut her lemon rubber plant and gave me the branch to propagate. Well, it has gone wild anyway and the plant needed trimming. 

I got the inspiration to propagate rubber plant when my younger daughter sent me a photo of the Ruby rubber plant she propagated. 

So when she came home for a visit recently, I asked her to show me how it’s done. She cut my burgundy plant halfway from the top where the trunk is a little woody already. 

This is how it looks after it was cut. It used to be as tall as the stake I put earlier to set the trunk straight. 

Three weeks after the cutting, I now see red shoots sprouted on the nodes just on top of each leaf’s base. These shoots will come out as leaves and eventually grow into branches. 

What happened to the top part of the plant that my daughter cut from the mother plant?  She cut each and every leaf along with a part of the trunk just so in the photo below

I then put half of the cuttings in water to grow roots

After three weeks, I noticed breaks on the”trunk part” of the cuttings and this was where roots came out. 

Soon longer roots are coming out

I’ll wait until the roots will grow about one centimeter long before planting them in soil. 

My daughter urged me to plant the rest of the cuttings in soil to see how they will progress in another medium. 

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So what did I do with the lemon rubber branch from my friend, Josie? 

I did the same as my daughter taught me with the burgundy; cutting each leaf with its trunk like this leaf. 

I put some in water to grow roots

The rest I planted in soil 

Using a tried and tested method of propagation will definitely ensure a greater chance of success. Let’s see how my plants will pan out. I’ll keep you posted in the next.blog. 

MY BACKYARD, MY HAPPY PLACE

​This backyard had gone through a lot of transformations; it has always been a work in progress; but now I’m liking what I see. 

It has become my happy place that it always beckons me when I’m indoors. 

This picture on the storage shed sets the tone of the day; a reminder that it is a pleasure to be alive; to smile, to laugh, to eat, to love, to dream.  It truly reflects our sentiment every time. 

It is really a wonderful life! 

The garden is a breakfast nook

A place to share coffee with a friend 

An entertainment area or a garden party

Being in the garden gives me a fabulous vibe; when the weather is fine, I love to sit under the mango tree and read, browse through Pinterest, compose my blog or crochet the time away. 

Jim loves to sit under the umbrella to watch videos or just listen to Spotify on his iPad or just be. 

Aside from plants, I like to put unique items I already have. I know this is not a garden decor for everyone; but I just thought it will give it a playful edge. 

This grouping of jars under the prolific calamansi tree is the first view of the garden as we approach. I thought I’d put them just so. 

The “pang bayo” or “ pang dikdik) looking like a baseball bat, a giant pestle was just sitting somewhere to rot, so I painted it yellow and it brightens the corner, don’t you think? 

The orange ball is a water tank floater in its previous life. And that old garden light, not working anymore brought from our previous home made up that corner. 

A pot of alocasia is flanked by two big shells that came from Jim’s ancestral home.  

The white basket on the ivy/covered wall came from a neighbor who discarded it. It had violet stains on it; it  contained mangoustine, so I painted it white. 

The hanging yellow fish used to hold a big smoked salmon gifted by a friend one Christmas party years ago. It had a natural finish but I felt it would call attention better if it’s yellow. 

Across the garden sat my old green bowling ball; visitors often mistake it for a watermelon. 

I’m sure in every home, there is that happy place where we can relax and be ourselves. If there is none, I’d say create one: be it in the front lawn, the backyard or even the balcony; anywhere that can be turned into a happy place to enjoy anytime. 

As the song popularized in the 90’s goes: 

“don’t worry, be happy”. 

MY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY

​I chose to have a quiet birthday celebration with my family; we dined in. Well, I say “dined in” because we didn’t go to a restaurant but dined outdoors, in the garden. 

I practically cooked the whole day but it was fun. I shared on Facebook as I completed a dish. Early in the morning, I browned the marinated beef for asado and let it simmer until tender. 

By noon, the cabbage rolls were done too

I prepared the puttanesca sauce after lunch, boiled the pasta and put them together before dinner. It was extra flavorful since I put three fresh bay leaves from Rotterdam. 

Last but not least is the favorite of all, the ensalata 

Caprese; the cheese was so creamy, it can only come from Amsterdam where they make the creamiest. 

My older daughter brought me my Ube (yam) birthday cake. What a coincidence, it matched my dress!

My son, vacationing in Sydney with his family FaceTimed. 

Then time to blow my birthday cake.

After dinner, my younger daughter also FaceTimed. There she is in the photo below with her husband. For every family occasion, we message early to greet with a promise “to call

Finally when the night was winding down, my sister in the US also called.  Early on she already greeted me on Facebook with lots of our. 

It was  the best kind of day, I thank everyone for making it a day to remember. Your greetings and well wishes were numerous, it felt overwhelmingly sweet. 

As I live my 77th year, the sun keeps rising and setting. The years go by and I keep breathing. Life goes on…,.