It's been a really long while since I did some work in the yard garden. The excessive rains in the last 3 weeks simply made me lazy that I spent most of my days indoors. With our power grid still out, there isn't much to do, except for some reading, more napping and a little bit Hiving.
The sky was looking better yesterday around mid-morning and got me on my feet to do some yard work. I thought of just raking or cleaning the fallen foliage but ended up pulling some weeds and trimming things first.
After the weeding work, I decided it was time to plant the lilac stems for they were showing some growth already. Because I wasn't sure where their place should be, having them in pots sounded a better idea. We can easily move them to a different location without disturbing their roots.
I don't have available pots so I opted to recycle (perhaps upcycle is the right word) the water bottles. We have been buying commercial bottled drinking water for a while now because our water source is no longer safe for consumption. That however, comes with a price — more plastics in the house. And so, what better way to reuse those stuff than to grow things in them, right?
Aah, some sunshine! I have been longing for its warmth and it came finally. It was a welcoming respite from the cold days.
My first thought was not to cut the 6-liter bottles but after having a hard time filling one with soil, the top most parts had to go.
I was just glad the husband's pruner still works despite being rusty, lol!
Next was putting holes in the bottles for excess water to drain. The farmboy taught me this trick.
Using a pointy tool, (I'm not even sure if it's a screw driver, lol!) just push it through the bottle filled with soil and voila, it puts a clean hole in it. Repeat until there are enough holes.
And no, I didn't have to exert a lot of effort to do that. It was actually easier and faster.
Putting holes in them when they are empty is harder (noisier too) and takes a lot of time so fill them with soil first.
After all four had holes in them, it was time for the stems to go in. But let's cut them shorter.
None of the stems have grown any roots yet but perhaps soon, they will.
This is a rose stem by the way. I pulled it out from its pot to check if it grew roots and glad it did.
My work was almost done and it was time to wash the tools, take a shower and have lunch.
And not to forget mentioning, I also used the top parts of the bottles. They are not to be wasted. Had then arranged along the edge and may grow some other things in the empty spaces.
And there they are!
Maybe I should have painted the bottles first? But then the rain came soon after I had the tools cleaned. What a bummer! I was hoping the sky would stay clear until evening. Well, what should I expect? It's the wet season after all.
Anyhow, I'm just happy to have done something during the day and it felt fulfilling.
Will probably be updating about these bunch of plants in the next few months.
Until then, Happy Sunday❤
Photos are my own. 06082023/09:30ph
