CONTAINER GARDEN

I planted this small container on Wednesday for my office. It is not my best creation but it will do for now. The 4 plants are;)8

CONTAINER GARDEN

Recently, I bought a new glass container from IKEA and planted it up with the following plants:

• Saxifraga stolonifera
• Fittonia cultivars
• Hedera helix (variegated Ivy)

When the Saxifraga grows bigger, it would cover the other plants and droop over the edge of the tall container. Meanwhile, these plants act as fillers to the wide container. Anyway, I have not decided where to place it yet though, so it shall remain on my table first.

THAILAND - CHIANG MAI

At the Kampthien Market, there were really a lot of beautiful plants. I failed to mention this wonderful plant shopping market in my earlier posts.

There I saw the variegated Citrus aurantifolia (common name: Common Lime; Family: Rutaceae) and the reddish-purple plant that looked suspiciously like the Pseuderanthemum 'Jessica' (Family: Acanthaceae) that we know back home. But here, they call it by Alternanthera 'Singapore Beauty' or something like that.

I was delighted to be greeted by a Painted Jezebel (scientific name: Delias hyparete) visiting the flowers of the Brunfelsia calycina.

The photos really remind me of how much I love the place and I can almost imagine living there, and immersing myself in the beauty of the plants and a simple life. The pink flower Rhododendron (Family: Ericaceae) is delightfully sweet and the Thais really love succulents and small container planters because one can always see beautifully planted containers in some shops.

The seed heads of the mosses there are amazing. Similarly, the common Selaginella (Family: Selaginellaceae) that we have back home is surprisingly interesting with its extended fronds like outstretched tentacles from an alien animal. The cooler air temperature really does wonders for some of these plants.

The red flower climber was the Clerodendrum splendens that I posted earlier. On the brick wall in one of the flower shops were the self-sown Peperomia argyreia (common name: Watermelon Peperomia; Family: Piperaceae) and Begonia. The pink Episcia and variegated Ledebouria socialis (synonym: Scilla violacea; common name: Silver Squill; Family: Hyacinthaceae) were so eye catching and unforgettable too. Some links on the Episica and Ledebouria are attached below:

1. http://www.plantcare.com/encyclopedia/watermelon-begonias-767.aspx
2. http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/LEDEBOURIA/Ledebouria_socialis/Ledebouria_socialis/Ledebouria_socialis.htm

Finally, we were off to the night market place where we had our dinner.