Starting a Garden

I always had a fascination with plants even as a young child. I just didn't get the chance to work with plants then. I also get sidetracked when I chose Information Technology for a career. Now as a mother of growing kids, I rediscovered my love for plants. I felt it is getting a necessity, especially with the quality of air in Manila. I started with cheap plants and learn gardening through Google and by experience. I have a very small space which makes gardening even more a challenge as most of the plants are potted. I have some failures and a lot of successes. Here are photos of my small gardens.



This is a 2 ft by 3 ft planter box which is the average size in an apartment in Manila. All the plants are potted, cheap and easily propagated and also small: a variety of sansevieria, triangularis (the purple one with triangular leaves), birds nest, cactus to name some.


Potted plants lining up a vacant space along the fence. Three of the plants I propagated through cuttings.


This small garden is located on our roof deck. The periwinkle is a real bloomer. I started them from seeds. One pack produced a lot of seedlings. It's a pity I didn't have enough space to transplant all. I'll write a separate blog for each of the plants that thrive well in a hot condition like that of the Philippines.


More potted plants bordering the fence: Pandakaki, Bottle Brush, Vietnam Rose, Coleus. There is a Green Dust behind the Bottle Brush but it is not visible in the picture. My Coleus appears leggy and it flowered actually meaning it's location is getting more than enough sun. I started cutting stems in one of the pot and placed it in full shade. I am waiting to see if I am going to achieve my desired foliage.

Here are some tips if you want to start a garden with limited space and resources.

1. Start with cheap, small plants. Buying cheap plants wouldn't hurt and discourage you when they die. I bought plants ranging from 50 to 100 pesos only. Also note that normally small plants are cheaper.
2. Buy plants that are common. Be sure that when you buy a plant, you have seen it grown plentifully around. This way, you do not need to guess whether the plant would thrive in your place or not. I bought beautiful flowering plants before and after a few days they died because they are not suited to the climate.
3. Fertilize your soil. Add compost to the soil. If you are living in an apartment, soil is a luxury and you really have to buy it. My home happened to have some soil which is really not ideal for gardening but I mixed it with garden soil I bought from the plant peddler and with compost which I bought from the hardware and viola, I have more soil suitable for plants.
4. Take care of your plants. You need to water your plants regularly. Mine, I water them every morning. There are some plants that require less frequent watering. You can research what is the water and light requirement of your plants from the internet. I'll post additional details on my plants later on. Over time, you will also learn how much sun your plant needs. I move my plants around and observe how can I get optimum growth. For Periwinkle, the one I placed at the roof deck which get around 7 hours of sun (7am to 2:00pm) has the most beautiful blooms. I have periwinkles that just get 4 hours of sunlight and another one with just two. They don't get so many flowers.
5. Be adventurous. After you started small and cheap, you can move on to plant exotic and rare plants. They will be expensive but then you already have some experience. Remember, you will have failures but success is much sweeter after a failure.
Mind you, gardening is rewarding and a stress reliever. It really pays to have a breathing space around you!