Thursday, January 7, 2010

Sayonara Plants

Well, at least now I know.. 2 weeks of semi shade and no watering definitely kills you plants.. especially if they are mostly Mediterranean herbs.

Not that I intended it that way.

I had made plans for them.

I watered them the night before I left... fertilized them... sprayed insecticides (organic for my herbs) and moved all of them into a place with semi shade.

Then I left my keys with my parents with brief instructions on how to water my plants.

Who would have guessed that the very next day, my dad would mistaken the bag which my mum left my keys in to be garbage and throw the bag (along with the keys) out.

By the time they realised it, the barbage man has come and gone.. taking my bunch of keys (house and car) and my beloved Marc Jacobs key chain (a present from The Husband when we were dating) with him.

And so my plants were left to fend for themselves.

But they didn't stand a chance with the sorching sun and lack of water.

So here they are, very much dead indeed:


From top left, clockwise - lemon balm, rosemary, sawtooth coriander,
parsley and sweet basil, thai basil and sage.

Only 3 of my plants survived my holidays.. My curry leaf plant (who is pretty drought resistant I have to say), my lime basil (survived due to a "better" position where it could get the rain) and my 3 pots of hibiscus (they are doing amazingly fine..).


From top clockwise - Hibiscus, lime basil and curry leaf plant

Seeing my plants like these is really upsetting. But at least one thing I can console myself with now.. I have the opportunity to redo my balcony all over again and this time around, I have experience on my side.

6 comments:

bossacafez said...

you're back? :D sorry to hear about your plants :( can't wait to meet you up, miss chatting!

Rummi, the gardener. said...

Aiyo, sa-yang la...

Its encouraging to 'hear' your undefeatable statement that '...experience is on (your)side...'. I will bear this in mind when approavhing future abstacles :)

Petunia Lee said...

Aiyo!! I am so sad!!

Open Kitchen Concept said...

Hi Evan, yes.. am back... just 2 days.. Thanks Rummi and Petunia.. I guess I have to look on the bright side lah.. but it'd certainly take a while for my balcony to be green again..

Anonymous said...

OK, I a little late. Here's my 5 cents worth.
I would leave my plants (the more delicate herbs) in the kitchen sink, in a tray with a little water to last them while I am gone. The longest time I left them alone was slightly more than a week. And they made it.
Local herbs and spice are more sturdy in our weather here, unlike the basil, thymes, rosemary, etc.
Hope that helps the next time ;)

Open Kitchen Concept said...

Hi Creatingobjectives.. Thanks! This is a good tip to know! I'd do just that next time... hm...