Category Archives: Growing Things

This used to be called “Green Harvest”, but it’s needs have grown to include growing things whose only harvest is their beauty.

An Unusual Beauty – dracaena surculosa punctulata

dracaena surculosa punctulata "Sierra Leone"
dracaena surculosa punctulata "Sierra Leone"

Dracaena surculosa punctulata “Sierra Leone” is known in Malaysia as “Japanese Bamboo”. It does bear a superficial resemblance to a thin ornamental bamboo and for decades I believed it to be one. Researching the flower recently I discovered it is not a bamboo at all, but a member of the Dracaena family, and possibly quite rare.

The subtle leaf mottling of dracaena surculosa punctulata "Sierra Leone"
The subtle leaf mottling of dracaena surculosa punctulata "Sierra Leone"

The plant was given to me in the late 1980’s, and for decades it simply sat on my kitchen bench doing little more than surviving.

Then when we built our “grand design” earth-covered house our kitchen bench did not have sufficient natural light for plants. However we had built in two light-well atriums, one of which I was determined to turn into an indoor tropical garden.

 

Tropical atrium in a temperate climate
Tropical atrium in a temperate climate

The  Dracaena and a collection of other, previously “house plants”, fish tank plants and glasshouse refugees were planted into a large artificial garden bed that included a pond system. They thrived.

The dracaena reaching for the sky
The dracaena reaching for the sky

The hoya carnosa I’d propagated from seed produced by another inherited plant took to the walls like ivy. The calathea grew so quickly it had to be divided and regularly pruned back. A philodendron that had not done much as a glasshouse plant took off up the wall to the elk horn and started to flower. Various bromeliads flowered, divided and pupped and the water plants tried to outgrow and escape the pond into the airspace above.

Dracaena cane striking roots
Dracaena cane striking roots

The new Dracaena shoots headed straight for the twin-wall double skinned polycarbonate roof with a speed reminiscent of bamboo. Some branches became so heavy with foliage they drooped back to fall in the pond – and struck root. It grew so well and prolifically I potted up a couple of rooted cuttings and they now challenge the roof space in the other atrium.

Flower detail
Flower detail

Within the year the Dracaena, happy in it’s new home, began to flower. All three bigger plants now flower regularly, although not all at the same time. Only one seed has been noticed to date although flowers have been numerous.

Sadly the elkhorn did not like the new environment and after a brief spurt of new growth and spore production died off, to be consumed and overgrown by the other plants. The Golden Hairy Legs tree fern thrived for a while, then withered away. Other small ferns appeared out of nowhere as they tend to do. One mysterious plant that was found as a featureless tuber when the glasshouse was emptied for the move is ever-so-slowly developing fronds reminiscent of the Tassle Fern I used to have once but had thought died off.

Black Bat Plant
Black Bat Plant
Phalaenopsis orchid
Phalaenopsis orchid

This collection was added to over time with Bat Plants – tacca chantrieri (black flowering), and tacca integrifolia (white flowering), more bromeliads, phalaenopsis orchids and rock orchids. The Black Bat Plant has been spectacularly successful – flowering, producing large seed pods and self seeding into the garden bed around the parent plant. The White Bat Plant has not yet flowered, but is increasing in size and vigor and may flower later this year.

 

Bat Plant flower
Bat Plant flower
Bat Plant Seedpods
Bat Plant Seedpods
Bat Plant self sown seedlings
Bat Plant self sown seedlings

The planted garden atrium is a wonderful feature that never ceases to surprise. A small piece of the sub-tropics in a cold wintered, dry, inland climate.

[ To see larger, un-cropped versions of any of these images, just click on it’s thumbnail. For a full size un-cropped slideshow of all images on this page, use the left and right arrows on the pop-up image viewer. ]

Many thanks to Joy from A Patio Garden for her invaluable forum posts with pictures helping to identify dracaena surculosa punctulata “Sierra Leone”.

Winter 2011

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins!

Jap pumpkin, 28th February, 2011
Jap pumpkin, 28th February, 2011

On the last weekend in June we harvested the pumpkins. Over 50 of them!

The once lush and invasive vine had started to die well back from the cold, revealing a large area scattered with pumpkins, big and small.

Jap pumkin vine taking over the compost heap. 28th February, 2011.
Jap pumkin vine taking over the compost heap. 28th February, 2011.

They had grown, as a lot of great productive vegetables seem to do, from discarded seed in the compost heap.

Over the summer months we watched the vines spread, flower and fruit. Completely taking over the compost heap and surrounds.

We began harvesting the occasional pumpkin for cooking in late summer. Even small they are still very tasty, like squash, and roast and bake well.

Jap pumpkin, 29th June, 2011.
Jap pumpkin, 29th June, 2011.

Through autumn their big full flavour and colour developed. Pumpkin soup, baked pumpkin with roasts and mashed pumpkin with sour cream and butter. Yum!

Jap pumpkins, 29th June, 2011.
Jap pumpkins in storage, 29th June, 2011.

Now we have more pumpkins than we can eat over the next 6 months they will keep. So what we don’t use, or give away to family and friends, will probably end up back in the compost heap … for next year 🙂

Yes, they really are limes …

Over ripe limes, 29th June, 2011.
Over ripe limes, 29th June, 2011.

The Tahitian lime trees have been extremely productive this year. We’ve been picking limes for Rum Punches and freezing the juice for months. Now the trees are shedding surplus over-ripe fruit.

These were picked up out of the herb garden under the lime tree. A full bucket!

The fruit skins have yellowed, but the insides are still a beautiful lime colour, very juicy and almost sweet.

Rum Punch (for the grown ups)
Juice of 1 lime
Equal quantity of rum
1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste)

Stir till sugar is dissolved. Sip and enjoy!

Lime shot (for all ages – really wakes up the taste buds)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Stir till sugar dissolves. Our daughter highly recommends it!

 

Winter Wonders

Jonquils starting to flower, 29th June, 2011.
Jonquils starting to flower, 29th June, 2011.

Every year it seems the jonquils flower earlier. Perhaps it only seems that way? So I’ve decided to record when we first notice the “spring bulbs” starting to flower. And this year, 2011, it was the last fortnight in June.

We know the micro-climate here is different to in town. Our Crepe Myrtles flower later, our frosts are less severe and our deciduous trees change colour at different times.

Purple spearmint, June 29th, 2011.
Purple spearmint, June 29th, 2011.

The colder weather has also had an interesting effect on the spearmint. In amidst a lush growth of green, was this eye catching bright purple stem.

Some of the winter flowering natives are in full bloom, and will be added here as I can …

 

Green Harvest

Snow apples and mint, February, 2010
Snow apples and mint, February, 2010

My father was a keen home fruit and vege grower, mum loved her flowering plants. Grandad loved his roses. It’s a family tradition that gets in your blood, or perhaps comes in the genes. So having grown up with home grown fruit, vegetables, and all manner of flowering and non-flowering plants it was only natural we should start to establish our own gardens on our 22 acre plot.

Figs, February, 2011
Figs, February, 2011

Recognizing food intollerances that seem prevalent in most families, we opted for following organic principles as much as possible, avoiding chemicals and even seeking out heirloom varieties where we could. Heirloom plants are those that have stood the test of time, have not been genetically modified, and are the basis from which a lot of modern hybrids sprung.

First olives, April, 2011
First olives, April, 2011

So far we have harvested home grown organic heirloom strawberries, loganberries, wild blackberries, figs and a small but growing assortment of stone fruits. From these we have made our own jams, sauces, pastes and preserves.

Strawberries and Loganberries, December, 2010
Strawberries and Loganberries, December, 2010

The passionfruit vine we grew from seed and established during the early house build stages has taken over 20 meters or so of the netting fence. It regularly provides tangy passionfruit pulp for pavlovas and passionfruit ice cubes for keeping.

Tahitian limes, May, 2011
Tahitian limes, May, 2011

Our citrus collection is starting to become heavily productive with Tahitian limes, blood oranges, lemonade lemons and ruby grapefruit. Two old trees we rescued from our city block, a Myer lemon and an orange, have started fruiting again. We’ve had a small handful of mandarins from our tiny mandarin tree, and the lemon tree we grew from seed started to flower for the first time in 2010.

Hand of Buddah
Hand of Buddah, decorative and fragrant citrus. May, 2011

Many of the smaller citrus struggled with the drought and water restrictions. Hopefully with the weather changing they will now start to flourish. This should eventually provide us with two more orange varieties to add to the mix.

The nut trees – almond, macadamia, pine nut and pecan – are growing slowly. The almond may fruit this year, the others are many years away but we look forward to pecan pie and fresh roasted pine nuts some day.

The collection of fruit and berry plants continues to grow in diversity and numbers each year. This year we will add Marionberries, gooseberries, thornless blackberries and raspberries.

Two more juvenile finger limes are growing on in the shade-house nearly ready to join the collection of micro-citrus, the original finger lime the Superb Blue Wrens made their nest in.

The essential herb garden continues to improve with mint, spearmint, Japanese mentha, parsley, golden oregano, chives, thyme and Rosemary. This year we hope to add some purple sage and when the weather warms up a fresh planting of basil.

Being able to harvest fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs from your own organic garden, free from herbicides and pesticides, is an extremely satisfying feeling. It’s not without it’s challenges but the rewards are well worth it.