WHAT'S NEW IN THE GARDEN

Written by Money Tai Tai




Half of 2011 will be gone within few hours time, it is indeed a very discouraging 'semi-year' to me. Instead of working hard in the garden and writing some bad grammar English articles, I become withdrawn into my own corner licking my old wounds and inferiorities.

I just sent off my little 6 years old 'colicot' to an oil city to let my old folks and eldest sister taking care of her for the next 5 months. Everyone is happy now, old folks don't argue as often thus my eldest sister has less headache and my eldest sister has a 'little doll' to dress and play with as her grown up kids don't play with her anymore, and I don't have a talkative girl around me frequently asking questions or telling me 'I hate mommy' while I was in another realm!

Honestly I can't cope the marriage life well, unexpected without "French bread" and "Caviar" while Mr. Money likes only "Man Tou" and "Tou Fu Fa"! Luckily we both eat rice, while I ate Bario rice he would tell me that I shouldn't eat good rice to spoil my taste buds! Here is the famous phrase China-men expecting their wives to abide: "Married rooster follows rooster's way, married dog follows dog's way"!

My next article will be teaching ladies how to make hard crust Ang Mo bread; few years ago when I gave a piece to a Britain graduated nutritionist, she was thrilled after she took a bite of my newly baked bread, "Wow! So nice! Gosh, how you did this? ....... Please teach me how to make it! I have been making bread for 10 over years, how could I not produce something like this?!"

Lemon grass:

10 lemon grass and three big onions or 30 small onions boil in water for two hours, then add lean chicken (optional) boil another hour to get rid your stubborn cough effectively! I learned it from a Chinese herbal magazine.

Small lemon-lime tree:

It is the new member in the garden, remember when you prepare this lime juice, add in pre-cooked lemon grass sugar syrup.

Hong Tian Wu:

This red number is the 5-stars herb to save you from heart bypass. You need to prepare this herbal drink with red date (drink 7 to 10 grasses a day for a week then reduce half, then once a week to twice a month) or else you will cough badly. People who has diabete, use stevia leaves instead of rock sugar.

Orchids

Papaya 001:

I have papaya 001 to 005! Taiwanese species with purple zebra lines on trunk is the best.

Aparagus:

Friend Richard Wong gave me 8 of them, I shared one to a garden center friend and another one to a stranger.

Little money plant:

This number can't be eaten, so from 6 I smuggled in from NZ now only remained three.

French Tarragon:

This was another smuggled item from NZ

Lavender:

Another smuggled number from NZ, from cuttings to this one foot tall height! Three cuttings survived two, not too bad huh!

Green Leaves Shiso:

My sister's Japanese housekeeper gave me the seeds, not easy to get its seeds to germinate and its plant to grow happily!

Genovese basils:

Here comes my long dreamed white flowers Genovese basils, famous for preparing pesto. It is the best flavour basil species.

Rue:

Another number smuggled from NZ from cuttings, they grow very well under shady place, I have numbers of successfully seedlings grown from cuttings for my friends.

Mushroom vegetables:

Need lots of water creepers. It smells like mushroom, famous for adding to Ban Mee to replace money chai (advise not to take money chai at all if you have heart bypass!!!)

Kacangma:

Women's herb, this was the seedling given by Mr. Ling CK

Strawberry:

Richard Wong gave me so many seedling and taught me the secrets to cut off those new extended shoots, so that it will flower and bear berries.

Jia Ku Lan:

Replacement of Ginseng, remember it needs a cooling place and needs lot of water, then it will grow happily like mine!