Screwed

Back in the fourth quarter of 2009 when we began the process of "greening" the farm, Mom bought some seedlings she thought were agave plants. But when I saw the picture (see below), I thought they were not agaves but maybe were related to the pineapple family.

As much as I can, I try to identify and record the names of the plants we collect and plant in the farm. Since I could not identify the common and botanical name of these plants I couldn't add it to my list.

In 2011, the last time I visited the farm, I didn't even remember seeing these plants. In fact I've completely forgotten about them. This year however, I've been noticing them very prominent in some of the e-mailed pictures I regularly receive from my mother. How couldn't I, they're big yet look very nice.

Now that they've grown big and bushy, I remember seeing pictures of plants that look  like these in  the internet. They are palm-like with stout trunks and prop roots near the base. They use these roots to support the main trunk as they grow top heavy with leaves, branches and sometimes fruits. They are called "screw pines" (Pandanus spp.) or "pandanus palms" although they are not related to the palm trees.

Screw pines are dioecious, meaning they have separate male and female flowers, hence male and female plants. Only the females will produce fruits. Our pandanus are not yet mature enough to bear flowers so we may need a few more years to know their sexes.

Now I know the genus where they belong. There are several species under the Pandanus genus. It may take more hours of reading and surfing the net before I could get lucky enough to identify the species of the pandanus we have growing in the farm.

At least, now I could include this in my plant list.

Rocky Garden

A footpath in the "rocky garden".

A "rock garden" is a garden in which rocks are arranged in a manner that is artistically pleasing to look at. Rocks are the main component of the garden and plants are placed around the rocks to accentuate the rock formations.

 This garden that Mom is working on is technically not a "rock garden". She is using the rocks as part of the garden as accents to the plants she will be putting there.

That is why I call this a "rocky garden".

There are plenty of rocks buried in the farm grounds. Whenever they dig a hole for planting or for whatever purpose, they are able to dig out rocks of varying sizes. I experienced this first hand when I tried to help plant one of the Foxtail palms we bought the last time I was there. What should have been an easy task took twice as much time since every time my spade hits a rock I had to manually pull that rock out before I could continue digging.

Sometimes there are these huge rocks that are just too odd or too interesting to look at, like this one pictured on the left. This too has been dug out of the ground in the farm.

And there are other rocks that have been unearthed years ago. They have been exposed to the elements for quite some time and have began to gather moss, like this one rock pictured on the right.

With the abundance of rocks buried underneath, could it be that the farm used to be a part of a river bed in the very distant past?

Waiting for the Bamboo Orchids to grow

The flower of a Bamboo Orchid. (image source: Wikipedia)

The spaces on both sides of the entrance to the farm is still sparsely planted. And I have not completely forgotten about it. From the very moment the first Triangle palm was installed, I have been thinking of what to put underneath and in between the rows of palms.

My blogger friend Africanaussie suggested that I use Ixora, a plant that doesn't mind aggressive trimming to keep it maintained. I so much appreciate the suggestion and I pondered about using it as well. My only problem with Ixora is that it's a very common plant in the country. Almost every garden, large or small has at least one to a point that almost nobody cares about it anymore.

Young Bamboo Orchids with other young plants in the nursery.

So I thought what else can I use? Then I remembered this one particular plant that happened to be blooming when I visited the farm last February. I was attracted by its unusual looks and the flowers resemble that of an orchid. But I didn't know its name then. It was only after reading Autumn Belle's entry that I got to know that plant.

The Bamboo Orchid (Arundina graminifolia) is not a native to the country. It was an introduced species and although it's quite popular it's not yet widely cultivated.

This ground orchid's reedy stems and grass-like leaves give its bamboo-like structure. It has a clumping habit so growing out of control or invading other spaces is not a big problem. The significant sized flowers develop at the top of the stem. This, I thought would be a good candidate plant to put in between the Triangle palms at the entrance to the farm.

More young Arundinas in the nursery.

Since we're on a very tight budget these days, buying is not a good option. So, I asked Mom if she could try to propagate them from our one and only clump of Bamboo Orchid. And off she went separating some of the offsets from the mother plant, individually putting each on separate black plastic bags. Those with significant roots she planted directly to the ground.

Mom thought these two are old enough to be planted to the ground.

The young plants shown on the three pictures above are either just two or three weeks old. And judging from their appearance they seem to be doing well. However, it might take several months (or years) before they grow to a significant height and volume and produce flowers. But as I have been slowly and painfully learning the hard way, all I can do (again) is wait. And waiting is torture to an impatient person like me.
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Up the garden path II

Lately, it seems that I've been concentrating in featuring plants, structures and projects in the lower garden. What about the garden in the upper area of the farm, particularly the back side?

Although the upper garden plants have been sort of "neglected" they are doing just fine. For some reason they are more independent than their relatives in the lower garden. When it comes to nourishment, they are able to fend for themselves without much human help. This summer alone they have not received as much watering as one might expect they needed and yet they are thriving.

For the past several months we temporarily hired additional help to clean the garden area. As much as the plants are thriving well, so too are the weeds. In fact, the viny weeds have found good structural support from the taller plants almost to the point of taking over, threatening to choke them. So the task of the extra helpers were to clear the grass and weeds around and under the plants, remove dead leaves and trunks and other gardening stuff.

Much of the upper garden is the realm of the grazing animals particularly our small herd of sheep, a few cows and water buffalos. In the small areas where they are not allowed to roam are where the plants are growing.

In the places where the plants dominate, you will find different types of Heliconia, different palms (Foxtail, Manila, Fan, Traveler, Triangle, etc.), Norfolk Island Pines, Indian Masts ("Indian tree"), Plumerias, Ti plants, Alocasias, Cycads (Sago palm), ornamental bananas (Blood, Yellow, etc.), different ornamental gingers (Red, Red Torch, Shampoo, Beehive, etc.),  Calatheas (Cigar, Rattlesnake), and somehow a lot of Crotons. Not to mention are some other plants, the names of some I do not know.

These are the plants that are currently there. The 'greening' of the garden isn't done yet. We will continue to add more plants whenever we could. As much as I'd like the garden to look like a jungle of tropical plants now, I'd have to be super patient since the plants with the capacity to grow tall are still relatively small.

If there is one particular thing that I am proud to say about these plants is that they look strong and healthy despite the fact that they are free from chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
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Astonishing!

"Katakataka" is the local name of this plant. It means astonishing, remarkable or puzzling. According to Wikipedia, its other names are Air Plant, Life Plant, Miracle Leaf, Goethe Plant.

The Kalanchoe pinnata is a succulent and a native of Madagascar. It's widely cultivated in temperate regions because of ease of propagation. In other areas, it can be grown as an indoor plant.

What's astonishing about this plant is its method of reproduction. Tiny plantlets begin to grow on the notches along the margins of its leaves. As soon as the plantlets develop roots they can be severed from the mother leaf and transplanted as individual plants.

The "Katakataka" (try pronouncing it fast if you don't speak Filipino) has become so common in the Philippines that almost nobody cares about this plant anymore. Even I was not a fan of this plant.

As I was walking around the garden last February, I was drawn to this curious profusion of chandelier-like clusters of upside-down flowers that are bell-shaped, reddish in color and dangling like pendants. In my several decades of existence it was my first time to see such a bloom. "How beautiful!" was all that I could say.

Upon closer inspection, it was a revelation. Surprise, surprise! The lowly "Katakataka" does not only reproduce in a remarkable way, its flowers are even more remarkable. This drew out a renewed interest in me. I will no longer ignore or dismiss this plant.

Because of its unusual but easy way of reproduction it has become an invasive plant in other parts of the world, especially in Hawaii. It's so easy to grow and as a succulent it even thrives on neglect. One leaf alone can produce several plantlets in no time.

In a sparsely populated garden like ours, plant invasion is still a welcome event.
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Another unplanned project - conclusion

The back-ordered Triangle palms have arrived.

In my Another unplanned project post, I discussed about the revamp of the landscaping at the entrance to the farm while I was there on vacation. I decided to remove all the plants in that area and replace them with Triangle Palms. However since the garden store did not have enough of the Triangle palms that we needed to complete the task, my vacation ended with an unfinished project.

On the evening of Monday of last week, all the back-ordered palm trees finally arrived. These trees should suffice to finish the two projects I started on that short visit. The other project required more Foxtail Palms. For this particular project though, my original plan was to use tall and short Triangle Palms in an alternating pattern. But I was informed by my mother that the short palms Dad picked are not short enough to achieve the effect I was going for. This meant another project revision.

Three Triangle Palms on the left side of the gate.

Instead of sticking to the original plan I just asked Dad to plant the tall palms where they were supposed to go, pull all the other plants out and plant them somewhere inside the farm. As for the five supposedly "short" Triangle Palms, I would have opted to return them had it been possible to do so. But since the backside of the farm badly needs more trees, I just told them to scatter these palm trees there.

Four Triangle Palms on the right side of the gate.

The same four palms as seen from the other end.

Now since the original design was not followed, consequently there are wide spaces in between the Triangle Palms. I still don't know what plants to put in between them as well as between the palms and the wall.

Although the changes we made may be considered simple, the area is neater and more pleasing to look at than before. As such for now I declare this project complete.
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Another unplanned project

Our three helpers installing the newly bought Triangle palm.

In conjunction with my impromptu project, this project was not planned either. The original plan was simply to replace the young Triangle palm near the gate which died late last year due most probably to neglect. So when I bought ten Foxtail palms on impulse, I also bought one mature Triangle palm as the intended replacement.

When the shipment of palm trees arrived this was the first thing our helpers worked on. They dug a hole in the ground and planted the Triangle palm. As soon as the palm tree was in place, that's when I had an "aha!" moment.

As it stands right now, there's a hodgepodge of plants growing at the entrance to the farm, as such there is no coherence. So I thought maybe it would be better to landscape the area purely with Triangle palms or at least make them the focal plant or the dominant species.

We measured the length of the space and decided to plant five Triangle palms on the left side of the gate and seven on the right. The right side needed more plants because it's longer than the left. To vary the height we will plant alternating tall and short palm trees.

Two of the Triangle palms already in place on the left side of the gate. The other plants will be replaced later.

When Mom called the garden store to order ten more Foxtail palms, she also put in an order for the required number of Triangle palms. However the store did not have enough of the Triangle palms, only two of the same height as the one we bought earlier are available. We took what's left and put in a back order for the rest.

One Triangle palm installed on the right side of the gate. Six more will be planted to replace the rest of the plants on this side.

All the other established plants along the entrance to the farm will have to go. They will be transplanted  inside. And once the back-ordered palms arrive they will replace those that have been removed. This will make the area around the gate more coherent and cohesive.

Once again, I did not get to see this project finished as my visit to the farm was over. Just like our other projects, I will have to monitor this one from afar and see to it that it gets completed.

An impromptu project

Our three helpers begin working on the newly bought Foxtail palms.

During my less than a week of stay at the farm, I had a brief opportunity to go to a garden store in a neighboring town.

On one particular day, we had a long list of errands in the closest city near our town. We (my mother, brother and a friend) were in a hurry to head home (my father was anxiously waiting for us as demonstrated by his endless phone calls) when I decided to go on a side trip to the garden store.

The number of plants they were selling at the store was quite varied. Pressed for time, we didn't have the luxury to go around. I immediately went toward the rows of palm trees and said "OK, give me ten of these and one of that", pointing to the Foxtail and Triangle palms respectively. After choosing which ten and which one, I arranged for their delivery in the afternoon of that same day.

That's me inspecting one of the newly planted trees.

It's not that we are lacking palm trees in the farm, in fact we have plenty. My only complaint is that most are still small, ranging in size from less than one foot to less than six feet in height. Because palm trees are known to be slow growers, the height of our palms trees stirs my impatience. That's why these eleven I just bought are already quite tall, and tall palm trees are not cheap, they are pretty pricey.

Back in the farm, I was thinking of what to do with the ten Foxtail palms I bought on impulse. I knew beforehand what to do with the Triangle palm so it was not a problem. As for the Foxtail palms... hmmm.

A few hours later a delivery truck carrying the palm trees arrived, the trees were unloaded, the bill was settled, the truck left and I was left with ten Foxtails and a problem of where to put them.

From the camera's point of view the palms on the right seem so close to each other, in reality they're 8 feet apart.

When my father asked where do I intend to put these trees, I could only smile and say "I do not know". Then all of a sudden an idea hit me. Why not line the path leading to the sheep's pen with these trees? That path is fairly wide and winding and has a great view of the ponds below. It once had a rustic bamboo hut on one side where they used to entertain guests until an infamous storm destroyed it. This path has potentials and I do intend to develop it anyway. Bingo!

Suddenly, a very busy day for our three all-around helpers. Thanks to me.

Not wasting time, we measured the distance between trees and staked the spots where they will be planted. After measuring the whole length of the path, it became apparent that ten trees are not enough to complete this project. Ah, what mess did I get myself into?

Hurriedly, I asked Mom to call the store and have them deliver ten more Foxtails, plus two more Triangles (there's a different story to this). While waiting for the next batch of palm trees to arrive, our three helpers began to dig holes for the Foxtail palms.

That's me again, checking each palm just a few hours before my visit to the farm ends.

At the end of the day, after unintentionally ending up with twenty Foxtail palms and three Triangle palms, we were still short of six of the former and nine of the latter to finish not one but two unplanned projects.

The following day was my scheduled trip back to the capital city so I didn't get to see the completion of a project that started on an impulse.

A quick trip to the farm

In truth the visit was quick, but the trip was not! After one interstate and two international flight connections and an overnight travel by bus, at last there I was.

Not losing any time and although quite tired from the trip, I immediately donned the proper gears and went on a quick walk around the compound. It was still early, the sun was just peeking out of the horizon, the morning dew has barely lifted and a fresh, cool and crisp air was gently blowing. The clean breeze of air was very refreshing.

Finally, I was seeing in person what I've only seen in pictures which I received through e-mails. And sometimes when you see only parts of a whole, it just confuses you when you don't get the full picture. Now, confusing things got clearer and disjointed thoughts started to connect.

As I was going around I was also able to witness the telltale signs and remaining scars left by the strongest storm that hit the farm late last year, like the deep gully scoured by the raging flow of rain water. I also noticed other pressing matters that require immediate attention.

Overall, the quick visit to the farm was so enjoyable that leaving it behind was quite sad and difficult knowing that it may take another couple of years before I see the place again.

Space Invaders

If only its as easy as shooting alien invaders with a laser cannon.

It's just a constant battle for dominance between our caretaker and the Cogon grass or Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) weed infesting the garden spaces in the farm. A few days of lull and this grass quietly gears up for a complete invasion.

Our gardener whacking mostly Cogon weed to expose the garden plants. Scars of last year's severe storm are still visible around.

I've been searching the internet for a "green" way to eradicate the Cogon grass but so far I have not found any effective method aside from using chemical herbicides. These herbicides are out of the question since they are non-selective, which could kill or damage other plants growing nearby. Also, the chemicals might leach into the ground and contaminate the watering holes which we use to water the plants.

Islands of garden plants in a sea of fallen Cogon grass.

The Cogon grass has no commercial value other than roofing material for traditional huts and in some rural houses. The ruminants only eat the young and tender leaves. Once they mature no animal would eat them because they're rough, tough and develop sharp, serrated edges.

A part of dirt road, now carpeted with Cogon grass. Young palms trees and other plants lining the perimeter of the sheep's pen. Piles of cut grass drying on the right.

The weather has been cooperative for the most part of the past several weeks. Taking advantage of this opportunity they have been aggressively clearing the area of  this invasive weed to level the playing field and allow the garden plants a space to breathe and grow. This is just a temporary solution though since this weed is a fast grower.

Another part of the dirt road temporarily cleared of Cogon. In just a few weeks it will be overgrown with the weed again.

Nuisance as they are the Cogon grass had an unexpected benefit during the October 2010 storm. Because they've been unintentionally neglected, they grew to several feet tall, taller than the tallest garden plants growing there. They acted as buffer against the strong wind and thereby sparing the ornamental plants from severe wind damage.

The fight to keep the Cogon grass invasion at bay is never ending. At times I feel like we're just playing catch up. By the time the back area has been cleared, its time to return to the front and begin a new cycle.