One of my two french lavenders died. I tried transplanting them to a bigger pot because they've grown so big. I gave one a bit of a shake to loosen the roots as advised by my online research on how to transplant lavenders...and it didn't like it.
Lesson #8. When transplanting lavender, take it as is and don't attempt to loosen the roots because they are super sensitive they'll die.
This weekend I'm going to try to grow them from cuttings.
I was dragged
Dumped where the dog sleeps
And then the lashes came...
I counted them to dull the pain.
One..two...six...sixteen!
Why doesn't it stop?
Twenty-two.. .thirty....
My back is raw and my body is shaking.
My shirt clings to the oozing flesh on my back.
I want to rip it off.
Please make my heart stop beating.
She is my world--my one and only. How can she hurt me like this? I'm just a child and my hands are still tiny To get a good grip of big things like jars.
He is my defender
My knight-in-shining armor.
The heavy buckle of his belt crosses my cheek
Something tastes like the metal lid of our salt shaker.
What is wrong with me? Why am I like this?
My Mona Lisa stops him to say not on the face
I'm so sorry...little arms reaching for a hug
For a blanket of protection
But some things never come.
In between the lashes
A little heart was dreaming
To be ever so tiny no one could see me
Oh, I'm a dust in the afternoon sun!
Some wishes never come true.
She lets him have a go
His hands--the broom--a stick--the thin black belt!
A shoe across my face
On my fifteenth birthday.
The days roll past into months
And years into faded photographs of decades past
I try to live my life
But something's not quite right .
How can he hurt me like this? He is my world my one and only.
I will wait.
I will strive.
I cannot fail...
What is wrong with me Why am I like this?
I need some sweets
I need a fix.
It got broken when my hands were still tiny To get a good grip of big things like jars.
It's been 5 months since I started this small experiment on whether lavender could grow here in the Philippines. The answer was an obvious yes, but whether they will thrive as perennials, is another tough question that I'm facing as the months go by.
I started with 70 seedlings. After Typhoon Yolanda and a few rainstorms, it was down to 54 last month.Today there's only 42 left (2 dentata and 40 angustifolia varieties). More died since I stopped running like crazy outside to put an umbrella over them whenever it's raining or moving them over to a shady part of the garden when it gets too hot. I was thinking that if I'll be realistic about this experiment then I should stop doing that. I left a few in the shade though just in case...
Today, the temperature reads 34 degrees Celsius (92 degrees Fahrenheit) with 52% humidity rate in Manila. And this weather is just wicked even for the other plants, my lawn is brown and the other plants are also dying from the intense heat and humidity. The good news is,the ones that survived are healthy and branching out. These are the True Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia):
Below are the French Lavender which I bought from SM Makati Supermarket in December. They're so much bigger now I need to transfer them to a bigger pot:
From my research, seasoned gardeners recommend French Lavender in the tropics because they are more tolerant to the extreme heat, humidity and rain. Though if there's a storm, I would still bring them inside because as with any lavender, wet roots kill them. Just look at the ones below:
Above are the ones which I notice that even after two days the soil around them is still wet unlike the other plants. What I learned so far are these:
1) Water only every 2-3 days.
2) Use a water sprayer and water them lightly at the base. Never over water or else they'll die.I can't highlight this enough.
3) Water early in the morning to give their roots a chance to dry throughout the day. Never in the late afternoon or evening If you skipped it, then just water the next morning.
4) The soil should have good drainage. I bought Folia Tropica potting mix from Ace Hardware. It has a good mix of sand, compost and coconut coir. I had the mistake of using leftover seed growing mix in the past and the ones I planted with those died because the mix is designed to retain water which is important for seeds to germinate but causes root rot for lavender.
5) Put some pebbles at the bottom of the pot before putting soil for better drainage.
6) Fertilize at least once a month.
7) Cut dead leaves as close to the stem as possible because that's where new leaves/branches sprout.
I only have a few plants left than when I started but if you consider the leaves and the branches, I actually have more. From what I read, they aren't fully mature until about a year so I have a few more months left to wait and hopefully on my next update they're starting to bloom.
Thank you for all your messages and sorry if I am not able to respond sooner than I wish. If you have started growing them (in the Philippines) please share your experience with me. Perhaps we can find a way to make this lavender growing work. If not, I still think it's worth knowing first hand.
Can lavender grow in the tropics? Will it grow in the Philippines? Yes it most certainly can! For I have been asking myself the same question since September and been researching as much as I could on the web about it. There is a lot of information available about growing it but none about growing lavender specifically in the Philippines.
Here in Manila, it is something you wouldn't find in your neighbor's garden. According to the website on Philippine Alternative Medicine, it isn't native to us and was introduced to the Philippines though it doesn't say how. As such for the benefit of those not familiar with it let me share with you what I found in Wikipedia: lavender belongs to the genus Lavandula of
the mint family. This probably accounts for it's strong fragrance. It is an herb usually with purple
flowers (though there are also yellow, white, pink and green varieties) and are used
in
perfumes, oils, soaps, shampoo and even in detergents (like in these Bonux and Surf TV ads) due to its fragrance. If you want to know more about this plant you can Google it for more info as I'm going to limit the information here related to growing lavender in the Philippines.
So I took the initiative and started my own experiment to see how they will thrive here in Manila. You may find updates as the months go by on my little lavender growing experiment by clicking on the 'Home' or 'Gardening' tabs at the top of this page.
Below is my simple three-step plan:
My Three-Step Plan. The Lavender picture and farm were taken from http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/giftflowers/flowersandfragrances/lavenders and http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6022/5956794509_2238b6b3cf_z.jpg respectively.
Step 1. Research.
Why do people always want what they can't have? My research leads to the conclusion that I'm one of those people. But as the The Little Prince said in Antoine de Saint
Exupery's famous novel, what makes a desert beautiful is that it hides a
well somewhere. And I am determined to find that well.
If you look at the map below which I found in Wikipedia, it will show you areas where lavender grows. Look for the green regions representing the temperate regions like France, Canada, North America, Spain, and the southern part of Australia among others.
As
you can see, the Philippines is on the tropics where it's either sunny
or rainy. This lavender flower that I'm trying to grow loves the cool climate with
a little bit of sun and hates getting wet. So it's already a challenge to begin with, but I'm not backing down on opportunity it could present.
There's really very little I could find on the web about growing lavender locally. Mostly people want to grow them, but couldn't find how. There were a few who saw lavender being sold at Quezon City Circle and some at SM Supermarket. Further digging around led me to sites and people who seem to have grown lavender successfully in the Philippines.
1. Yahoo Answers Philippines shows that someone was able to grow them 5 years ago but they wouldn't bloom. It's just all leaves.
3. Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm in Silang, Cavite. In English "ilog" means river and Maria is the same as Mary. They're the biggest honey farm in the country. I don't exactly remember which blog was it that mentioned Ilog Maria but there was a write up about them in the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 2002. According to reviews they make one of the best lavender and honey soap. Then I saw a picture of a lavender that grows in their farm. As per the person who uploaded this picture saying it was taken at Ilog Maria, it seems genuine lavender:
I haven't been there but I will definitely grab my sister one of these days to see for myself. They prefer to be contacted via email at: info@ilogmaria.com.
4. Fil Mabuhay Pot Garden Herbs Distributed. I found their ad thru sulit.com. Here's a picture of the plant that they sell. I don't know whether this is a picture of the actual plant so it's best for you to check it out for yourself. This is the one on sulit.com:
They are selling their lavender for PHP 150 per pot and when I asked them how much they charge for delivery to Muntinlupa, it's PHP 400. So if you want to save some money and just want to buy a few pots, I suggest you go to their shop. Below is their contact information:
FIL MABUHAY POT GARDEN HERBS DISTRIBUTED
BY: FIL MABUHAY HOTEL & RESTAURANT SERVICES
1202 GENERAL LUNA ST., ERMITA, MANILA
So to answer the question on whether lavender can grow in the Philippines? The answer is YES!
Please see my youtube video below so you can see how well my baby lavender are growing. I grew them from seeds on 20th of October. I bought specialty seeds at SM Supermarket which says: 5 in 1 Herb Italia from Ramgo . It has Parsley, Chives, Basil,Dill, Lavender and even comes with free Rocket Aragula seeds.
So what do you need to start growing lavender?
Lavender Seeds
Soil
Paper Cups with punched holes at the bottom
Pots
Water Sprayer
Patience
Slow Release Fertilizer (only after 3-4 set of true leaves has emerged)
I used ordinary garden soil with a bit of rice and coconut husk to improve drainage. Since the seeds are so tiny, I made sure that the seeds weren't planted too deep just around half a centimeter or 5 mm. Then I planted them in paper cups and placed them on my window sill. I also put anti-ant chalk around the base of the cups to protect it from ants and other insects. It's been raining like crazy so I kept them safe from rain and direct sunlight since it's really hot in the tropics during the day. I lightly sprayed it with water when needed. It took three weeks before the first few seeds germinate.
After one month I had about 20 seeds germinate from around 100 seeds that I sowed. After 40 days I have more than 70! This morning, I was surprised to see a few more seeds that just sprouted. I guess it's also because I planted them now that it's a bit colder but I doubt they will grow as well if you plant them during the hot season from March-May.
I had to transfer the ones with true set of leaves to a bigger pot but since I didn't have enough soil nor pot I put around 4 in a pot and will transplant them again once they grow bigger. It's okay as long as the spacing is at least 2-3 inches. But you need to transfer them once they grow bigger, otherwise their roots will get all tangled up and it will be hard for you to transplant. You also need to make sure that it's not too crowded to allow for better air circulation. Don't water them unless you see that the soil is really dry because while they need water the plants hate it when their roots are wet. I sprayed slow release fertilizer for the plants that have 3 or 4 sets of leaves just to encourage new growth.
During the Typhoon Haiyan (which the strongest Typhoon ever recorded) I put them all inside. Last night it started to rain again at around 11 PM and I run down the stairs like crazy (I bet waking up the entire barangay!) because I forgot to put my baby lavender under the window sill where it's protected from heavy rains. This morning I put them out again under the sun for a bit of sun-bathing. :-)
Step 3. Dream big and start a farm
Right now, I am still in the first part of Step 3, which is dreaming big. This post about growing lavender in the Philippines is one my life dreams. I hope you get inspired by it and learned something. Please feel free to comment or ask a question if you need clarification. Right now, it's 1:07 AM and it's time to dream more dreams. Wish me luck!
November 7, 2013, Manila Time. We knew he was coming. The Angel of Death named Haiyan or Yolanda in the Philippines. It was like an apocalypse saying "in the hours to come I will sweep upon your land and reap souls by the thousands."
Who could prepare? Nobody. Nothing could prepare us for this. Everyone in Samar and Leyte lost someone they knew.
Yet, it seems like we've been given a warning before. I saw a video on Youtube of a man and another of a woman who both
predicted that this would happen. Below is a video from four years back
of a prediction made by Cindy Jacobs.
And this is another video which I just saw today of an Indian prophet named Sadhu who predicted the tragedy in Samar and Leyte:
God spoke to them to warn us of this tragedy and also to
give hope that after this an anointing of our land would follow. Whether
or not this is true, all I can say to God is this---I don't understand
why, but I have faith and trust in Your plans for my beloved country.
As I prepare a compilation of video clips and images that struck me I can't help but cry. Here I am in the comfort of my home, watching my baby play. I am safe and my family was spared, but that doesn't mean that we don't share their pain. The tragedy is felt everywhere in the Philippines and the whole world.
There was a picture of a father carrying the body of his lifeless daughter, another is a woman on her knees crying and dead bodies were piled everywhere. There were images of newly orphaned kids wet and crying and in another photo-- a boy with a wounded face amidst debris they once dearly called home.
Yesterday I heard Susan Boyle's version of You'll Never Walk Alone and in my mind I saw the pictures of survivors of the typhoon and the overwhelming help we got from all over the world. Kindly see the video below that I created and uploaded on Youtube as a tribute to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda and to the International Community who came to our aid. You'll see pictures of survival, courage and faith in God. This is a story of humanity and that how different we may seem we are one. We breath the same air, we see the same stars at night and feel the same kind of joy and pain.
I made this so that when we get through it all we will feel proud at recalling how we survived this nightmare. At the same time for all the Filipinos to remember that in our time of
need, our brothers and sisters from different countries helped us and
was with us on our grieving.
* Please note that I do not own any of the
materials used in my youtube video.You may see the credits page for the original
sources. Neither do I own the other two videos and picture used in this blog post.
Like Lexi, I was fiesty and rebellious. Brutally honest and crazy like Nina. After all I was just like Kaye --young and carefree. I used to put on make-up while working and had a mirror on my monitor (like Jane). I was unsure on which path to take (Gerwin, at one time). But I tried my best to be strong (Ayie) for my dreams because I couldn't depend on anyone but myself (Dax) until I decided to give my all (Rommel) and tame myself (Cecil).
I digged around my old blogs and now I find myself meeting my self seven years ago. I must have been one tough employee to manage:
" Wednesday, August 18th, 2004 6:24 pm
Purple Angst
How I hate the world today! How I hate the way the keyboard makes me feel stupid. I hate the cold air that make my fingers numb. I hate the rain outside--it will drench and put dirt on the edges of my pants. I hate the callers I got today! I hate the Q.A., I hate my age, I hate the friendster addicts! i hate the stinging pain on my back.
I hate the way i hate the things I used to love.
I hate him.. I hate spaghetti, I hate the stars... I hate these thoughts that wouldn't keep me still. I hate the way time pushes me, when all i ever want is to just breathe for a moment and feel myself.
I am young but the world doesn't seem to be for my age today. Just today....
Maybe I should go get myself a drink and sleep.
"*ring...ring* that's the landline, as it breaks the silence downstairs. I hear it, but I don't give a damn. *ring...ring* that's my cellphone. "Hi...me pasok ka today, right?" that's my supervisor in his calm voice. My conscience bugged me. I have the most patient, and the most understanding boss in the planet. "Opo...papasok na po..." my voice sounds sleepy. I told him I am not feeling well. I don't lie to him. If I don't feel like going to work, I tell him straight out. And today, it's true that I am not feeling well...my soul is sick. I realized it's an hour past my shift. I slept a few minutes after that...woke up and screamed "AYOKO NG PUMASOK!"
Have a read at the link above for the full blog if you like. For I was just like you at one time.... Just sharing these with you so you would know that I know how you feel and when say I understand -- I REALLY DO. ;-)
But you can get ahead and turn things around.
For at one point in my not so recent past...I was famous.
September 15, 2010. I got my certificate in Basic and Advance Chocolate Molding. I can now make 3-D chocolate figures, chocolate lollipops, chocolate truffles, chocolate cornflakes, bonbons, etc! I hope I could get started with my own chocolate designs for my business.
It's way past my shift and I am still here at the diner singing a happy love song over and over.... and it makes me want to write a poem about how I feel today.
Like sunshine
and marshmallows
And freshly squeezed orange juice
Like the smell of the dock At the back of my grandfather's beach house On a Sunday...
Like pink, red, orange and blue dragonflies I used to catch at the playground
I kept them safe in between my sweaty little palms Like hugs from Yumpkin
And a spoonful of Mama's yema
Like staying up all night talking With your best friends in a tent
Or jamming with Utoy while eating manga't bagoong
On a summer at home
This is how I feel today And I know it's not just because of the chocolate cake...
Thank you for coming at the right time in my life. For treating me with respect, kindness and unconditional love. I have never felt this special before.
I am glad I waited for the right guy. You are the best!
I am alive again! =) A few years ago I killed myself through cyber suicide. Now what have I been doing in my cave all these time?
Studying.
I was studying about happiness. About power. About love. About God. And mostly about myself.
I got me a cute classmate named Yumpkin (a shih tzu - it's her 9th month today). Though I tend to think that she got herself promoted to teacher while I have been permanently designated to being her student.
What can you learn from a silly, playful puppy? A lot.
A lot about cleaning after her mess. About forgiveness after she ate 4 pairs of your best shoes and the TV wire. About patience when she wakes you up in the middle of your sleep so you can take her downstairs to pee or poop. About taking care of another creature whose life is wholly dependent on you. About loving as you forgive her little mistakes for being too young and too dependent on you.
I learned about power as she obeys me when I say "Stay!" and in the same way I also learned to be obedient. I learned about a God who was kind enough to send me a dose of laughter to get me through my days through Yumpkin. That happiness is a choice.
That I am thankful I am me, for despite all things, I am still capable of love and kindness.
When you're with me baby, the skies will be blue for all my life... :-)
The lady next to me was singing this beautiful song. Always, when I am about to give up, the universe gives me a little nudge to remind me to have faith.
I will be writing again here soon as I just bought a new laptop! Soon I will get internet connection at home, but for now, I will be content sitting at Starbucks drinking tea, while posting my life on the web.
This movie reminds me of Mama and Papa. I have written so much but not much about them.
I just can't find the words. It always makes me cry when I think of them. I miss them a lot.
I'd like to tell them that each day I try to be someone whom they can be proud of.
When we are young, we need our parents to take care of us, but when we are older, we need them for support as we try to find our place in this world.
I like the part when he saw his daughter again. I was never really as close to Papa as my Ate Karen was. We always get into an argument because he was so strict with me. I thought it was just favoritism, why he was always so lenient with Ate Karen, but now I understand that he was like that to me because I needed it.
I was naive and still gullible most of the time you know. He knows that although I am a bitch I am just a child.
He likes surprises, and I got this from him.
He was very thoughtful and we used to plan surprises for Mama a lot of times when I was in High School. Sometimes, we'd buy a gift or a card, or sometimes we cook up some tasty dish and we fetch Mama from school for lunch.
My bestfriend just made me cry today. I don't like crying. It smudges my mascara, swells up my nose, and makes my eyes smaller than they already are that I can barely see the letters on my keyboard.
But this is not about me. Yet in some ways it is--as it is about everybody. And from a philosophical standpoint, I know it's no use discussing it. Who ever invented love needs to be put in jail for serious criminal offenses. But you cannot put God in jail, can you?
Do I really think that watching my missed episodes of Full House on youtube will give me the answer? She is expecting answers from me, but I could only cry with her. I think this is what parents were created for-- for you to ask them on things like this. They've been there, done that and screwed it up a hundred times. I am sure they do not want us to count our mistakes in the same way that they did. They were once just like us.
LOST.
When I was in kindergarten, which was the year before I became a brat, there were times when I got pushed around by my classmates who were a year older than me. And when I tell my parents about this, they start to shout and threat me that they'd kill them. And now I bet they're just kidding,but to me back then, they were real threats. So most of the time, I'd keep mum about it, until I learned how to make my classmates cry. There are some things you learn about survival when you're little, but you either forget about it or you just grow up that you realize it's better to get hurt than to hurt people.
As you grow older your threshold for pain increases and you learn to shrug it off as though it doesn't hurt. But you'd get hurt a lot more as you wait for the people around you to grow up too. I've used the word hurt a lot but it doesn't even compare to the number of times we've felt it, right? It justifies the redundancy.
It's the disadvantage of being the bully first. You'll also be pushed around by people you first bullied around when you have had enough of being the bully. When I use the word bully here, I need not explain that I use it figuratively. In the end, what comes around, indeed goes around.
If Mama and Papa were alive today, they've probably been in jail already for killing or at least attempting to kill or threaten all of the people who hurt us. Losing someone you love can shake us to our very core, and yet it is embarrassing to talk about it.
My best friend’s parents are as loving and protective as any parent would be. She wouldn't open up to them for the exact same reason that I would tell Mama and Papa about everything except for my heartaches.
But what I'd like to tell her is that there are no right nor wrong decisions. I don't want her to think that I don't care for her, but that's just the truth. Specially in love. I've learned by far that you cannot play smart with it.
When I was in college, I got a 4.0 in Math 11, and I partly blamed my neighbors who were drinking that night. Not that they were so loud, but because I eavesdropped in their conversation that I wasn't able to concentrate on Algebra. I'd have to admit though that though I failed in my Math Finals because of them, they gave me something to think about which would eventually help me deal with my adult dilemmas later on.
One guy was having problems because his childhood sweetheart suddenly made an appearance and though he's still not yet "married" with his girlfriend, they now have kids. The oldest man in the group said that he should choose the one who seemed like the air to him. She who doesn't give him anything, and yet fills him with life.
For a long time I held on to this belief, but as I grow older, I realize that if you really get to know a person, this feeling which I thought was exclusive to one person, is not so.
You'll feel this to anyone you fall in love with during the first stages of love. And it fades through time. If people would think of love this way, there would always be pain, and our search would be endless. One relationship after another. For the truth is that true love is always a decision and never solely the wonderful feeling we thought it to be. Sadly, it fades, but if you still want to love the person and treasure him or her for the meaning he or she has brought into your life, then that I can say is what true love is.
Do you really think that your parents still feel romantic towards each other? But in some ways they love each other deeply, right? It is the disadvantage of being young. At our age, not many of our peers are ready for this kind of love no matter how mature we deem ourselves to be.
As I was in the MRT station on my way to the office earlier, I was the only woman in the coach crowded with men. And I tried to observe them. They seem neat, okay. Shirts tucked clean. Pants are ironed. Hair washed and combed. You would have to thank their mothers for teaching them this. At least they look clean. But in truth, I pity them in as much as I envy them.
I feel sad that they cannot love as deeply as women, no matter how much they claim to be. Women are naturally emotional and that's why it doesn't come as a surprise to us that we always find ourselves at a losing end when it comes to relationships. It is both a gift and a curse that we are created to be this beautiful, sensitive and fragile creature. Most precious things are fragile indeed.
Yet, I envy men sometimes. Most of them can be happy with just sex and alcohol. Though when I say this, I am not generalizing. I'd have to make an exception for someone I personally know. But this doesn't go to say that men are bad. I think they just know how to live more than we do. Sometimes I feel that it's unfair that we feel so much. In my next lifetime, I definitely do not want to be a woman again.
As for my best friend, she just have to let go. If someone doesn't love you anymore, you shouldn't keep him to yourself. It's gonna be hard for her. They've been together for more than 6 years. But women need to understand men as they are and not as we want them to be.
It's sad, but it's true. ****, I cannot help but cry for you.
Whether you decide to wait for him or let go, I know that you'd definitely cry a lot longer than I wish you would.
If I were Santa Claus, or someone powerful and magical, even if it means that I don't even get a chance to be with the one I love, I'll make sure that there will be no goodbyes.
O ayan, papaka-self centered muna ako at kakareerin ko lahat ng quiz dun! hehe
Pero totoo to. Type A konti, pero maski parang carefree ako, ang totoo mdami ako plano at pangarap sa buhay. Charing! Anong kalokohan ito?! :-) Gusto mo mag-business? Idamay mo ko, at idadamay kita sa mga raket ko. ;-) Life is good!
I got this from this site:http://www.blogthings.com/howhappyareyouquiz/
After all I went through this surprises me. I guess it's just a matter of time and perspective. I am still the type of person whom I know I'd like to spend the rest my life with--and I know a lot of people think of me this way too.
