Lemon Seedlings

I'm on the roll with planting stuff from seeds.  These are lemon seedlings and are just barely out of the soil.  Aren't they cute?

Lemon Seedlings

Morning Walk Series [10]

When I was young, my Mum didn't like us to drink Ribena.  "Too much sugar!", she said.  Now, she boils this drink that tastes a lot like Ribena and it is all natural!  Just use the fruits from the Roselle plant.

Common name: Roselle
Binomial name: Hibiscus sabdariffa

Roselle flower and fruit

Toilet Roll Planters

I saved some lime seeds from my Mum's place and wanted to try planting them from seeds.  Having run out of pots, I made some toilet roll planters and placed a few seeds in each planter.  From what I read online, when the seedlings get bigger, these planters can be planted directly into the soil as they are biodegradable.  Now, place them in a warm shady area and remember to water them daily!

Toilet Roll Planters with Lime Seeds

Morning Walk Series [6]

I've never really liked eating eggplant (or brinjal or aubergine). When cooked, they have that dirty purple look and it looks all mushy.... Eeeeeee....  But I saw these cute little eggplants on one of my morning walks and couldn't help but take a pic :)

Common name: Eggplant or brinjal or aubergine
Binomial name: Solanum melongena L.

Eggplant

Morning Walk Series [5]

Casually strolling one fine morning with Little One again, and we came across what looked like a patch of dead, brown leaves on the ground:

Dead leaves?

Upon closer examination, those "dead leaves" were actually a cluster of fungus!

Fungus!

In our daily rush, don't forget to look around you.  You don't know what you're missing.

Morning Walk Series [4]

While I've been eating ladies' fingers since young and later cooked them myself, can you believe that I've never actually seen the plant until last year??  Well, here it is for all city folk like myself :p

Common name: Okra or ladies' fingers
Binomial name: Abelmoschus esculentus

Ladies' fingers flower and fruit

Ladies' fingers leaf

Does the leaf look familiar?  That's because we've seen it here!

Morning Walk Series [2]

Continuing with the Morning Walk Series, here's a plant that my mum used to plant in our apartment.  However, this is the first time I've seen Aloe vera flowers.  Very pretty!

Common name: Aloe vera
Binomial name: Aloe vera

Aloe vera

Morning Walk Series [1]

I've been bringing Little One for daily morning walks for about a year.  Our place is slightly away from the train station and shopping centre, making it a rather serene area.  Even though I've been staying here for many years, it was only through these walks that I realised that there is so much to see in the rooftop garden!  Here are some pretty flowers to start off the "Morning Walk" series:

Desert Rose

Desert Rose

Common name: Desert Rose
Binomial Name: Adenium obesum

Saving Water

Singapore is a tiny island with few natural resources.  Where does our water come from?

1. Malaysia - Singapore has been importing its water from Malaysia under two bilateral agreements.  However, one agreement has already expired in August 2011, and the other is due to expire in 2061.
2. Local Catchment - Rainwater is collected in reservoirs, ponds, drains, canals and rivers
3. NEWater - Water reclaimed from treated used water
4. Desalination - Desalinating sea water

Given the importance of water as well as the possibility of lack of water in the future, shouldn't we try to save water as much as we can?  While preparing meals, I realised that quite a bit of water is used to wash rice and vegetables.  Instead of dumping all this water down the sink, I now collect it in a pail for watering my plants.  One - water is not wasted, and two - there's some good stuff in the water that the plants will love.  Win-win!

Water saved from washing rice and vegetables