even the plants are nice to me......

lately, 2 of my most stubborn plants bloomed.

they have been my greatest adversaries to preventing me from staking my claim of having a pair of `green' hands.

i started growing a variety of plants last year and over time have gotten to be pretty ok about it. i wouldn't claim to be the male equivalent of martha stewart but most of my plants live within their normal life expectancy and i have seen many of them grown and bloom to my satisfaction.

except the 2 orchid plants and the soya bean seeds.

the 2 orchid plants were given to me by my mother and the soya bean seeds are request from my daughter paisley to `make them grow' since given by her teacher.

whenever my mum visits, she would lament at the state of the orchids; black spots on the leaves and not even visible buds. she didn't say in these exact words but `epic failure' is what she has in mind whenever she sees the state of the orchids they are in during her visits. my mother has a full bloom garden in her house and whenever i am at her place, she would never fail to tell me how she rescued some plants on the verge of death and how her orchids she grew bloomed in no time. i can only nod in approval everytime i hear her stories.

paisley gave me some soyabean seeds and told me to grow them. "should be a piece of cake", i told her. soon, we would be grinding soya beans for the milk and have homemade soyabean drinks. unknowingly, i think i raise an unrealistic expectation in her. i think all kids under 10 take their parents seriously. weeks past and nothing happened. it is as if those soya bean seeds have done gone into a prolong sleep. soon, this was forgotten and my daughter did not remember much (to my relief)

imagine my surprise when i look out on a few remaining plants of mine (the good ones were given to my dear 2nd auntie) recently, i notice the soyabean has sprouted greens and the orchid plants began budding furiously.

i was pleasantly taken aback tonight when i popped by the balcony to check the state of these plants. they are blooming beautifully, at least in my eyes since they have been most stubborn in all these times i try to nurture them.

the unfortunate thing was i will not be able to cart them with me, nor my mother or daughter will be able to see the fruits of my labour.

alas, i know that i am no dud gardener after all.

the soyabean long green stalks on the white pot.(top)
my orchids finally brought tears to my eyes.... (bottom)
[pictures taken on 14.november.08 on my nokia n95]



ps. i need to give credit to my wife who helps me water the plants while i was at work. she can take credit to some of my success but as some of you know, plants, like pets, responds well only to their rightful owner. and that would be me.