Garden Report...Mister Prik!

After reading @livinguktaiwans ‘s recent Garden report I thought it was time to do the same, and like LUT, have had some, ‘mixed fortunes’!

Let’s start with a success story though. A couple of years ago I planted a privet hedge into the sandy backfilled soil with only a bag of peat apiece for nutrition.

I proudly announced my grandiose plans for this huge patch of jungle I live in. Overconfidence is never a good thing and progress has been admittedly slow but at least the hedge went well, look at it now!

Of course, this requires a bit of upkeep which is why it looks slightly overgrown and unkempt rather than neat and tidy. It's a long couple of hours at dusk with the hand-shears trying to keep this bad boy in control and don't get me started about keeping the length on the neighbour's side firmly within the boundary! Whilst on the subject, relations with the neighbours, who it turns out, are distant family, have thawed somewhat due to a recent family bereavement. Let’s see how long it lasts…

Another success has been my Thai chillies, so much so that folks around these parts have started calling me Khun Prik.

Get your minds out of the gutter. Khun means ‘mister’ and ‘prik’ is the Thai word for chilli. Hmm, I need to try and remember when they started calling me this, if it was before I planted them, I might need a rethink but for now, I'll remain contented with the fact it’s because I grow the best Thai chillies in the area. Or my garden. Anyway, they’re bloody hot and someone even asked me for a cutting! That's proper grown-up shit! Being asked for a cutting!

Anyway, Thai chillies are also a good plant to grow as they went from seed to flower and first chilli in only about 2 months and they have consistently flowered and fruited ever since. I might need to top them to train them to become more ‘bushy’ but other than that, they’re doing great with just a regular watering.

The raised beds I made last year from some old concrete fence posts that were lying around in the garden but I never got around to creating a post, so here are a few retrospective shots.

I was going to try and get a full post out of my (slightly) raised beds but it looks as if that ship has sailed!

Now for the less successful.

Last year I bought some concrete planters and planted a whole row of beautiful little ‘fake’ heathers with their delightful little purple flowers.

They were watered often but spend most of the day in direct sunlight so perhaps this was the reason for their demise. I kept them going for as long as I could but last week, finally decided to dig them out and replace them with a little herb garden. A good idea because with me finally having a kitchen, I can use fresh herbs in all my culinary endeavours. It's amazing how a few leaves of Holy Basil can turn beans on toast into a Gordon Bleu masterpiece!

There’s holy basil, Thai basil, coriander and some spring onions.

The plant that is actually growing there is European mint. Some friends gave me a few seedlings and this is all that managed to thrive. Mint is notorious for growing quickly and spreading though so perhaps I’ll be making mint sauce sooner than I think.

Yes, that’s right, I’m soon going to be posting food posts too! This was your advanced warning!

Other than the herb garden, the jack fruit are coming along nicely.

The rambutan are just beginning to develop...

...and despite me whinging about the old mango tree in a previous post, the old girl gave us a half-decent harvest this year and is continuing to do so. I was right about the size though, they are rather small!

There are also still a few random pineapples still springing up around the place and no one has any idea who originally planted those!

And finally to a disaster. But not mine!

Three years ago, the mother-in-law planted an avocado stone in a pot. It did well and grew into a beautiful, over one-metre tall plant, covered in leaves and foliage but had out-grown it's pot so she replanted it in the garden along with a bag of peat and watered it well…

The very same day, the leaves curled up. By the next morning, most of the leaves had fallen off. A day later, all the leaves had fallen off and the stem was going brown. She chopped the top off in the hope it might recover but here we are two weeks later. She won’t give up hope although it looks pretty dead to me!

A stick. Formerly known as an avocado tree!

Oh, and really finally this time. I thought I’d got through a whole post without mentioning coconuts but I haven't quite been able to manage it as during one of my inspection walks, found the father-in-laws secret coconut tree nursery. As if we haven't got enough, he’s growing bloody new ones!

Thats it. Next update when I chop my first herbs!