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To my massive annoyance, a whole row of roselle plants (Hibiscus sabdariffa) picked up a virus due to the unduly prolonged monsoon season, just as their hips were ripening nicely, and the whole lot of them had to be pulled out and disposed of. We couldn't even use the leaves for soup (they make a nice sour soup, in the same way that sorrel does in temperate climates).
The papayas look all right so far, fingers crossed and I would have expected them to get sick more than the roselle, because they are dreadfully finicky. An interesting, small, roundish fruit, rather than the long ones I'm used to.
The office garden passionfruit did well. There're some new yellow hybrid ones in the market, from Thailand, so we'll try those out. And multiple packets of different sunflower seeds and one of a spectacular white Strelitzia from Australia, which may or may not grow, but seems worth trying.
We have started feeding a little ginger and white female cat who hangs around outside my gate. She is clearly the offspring of one of the neighbour's garden cats, and was presumably chased out by bigger relatives. Cat 4 cannot be adopted, since the Beastie Boys would have conniptions (they are 10 years old and set in their ways), so we are trying to get her tame enough that she can be handed back to neighbour, possibly as a new house cat. We are currently feeding her the expensive cat food that I bought to try to replace the brand that stopped production, and which the Beastie Boys disdained. When that runs out, we will move on to the freeze dried venison which was likewise rejected. She already knows mealtimes.
The intense blue flowers of Clitoria ternatea the Blue Pea, are used in island Southeast Asia as a food dye (soak the petals in hot water, and the blue comes out) and in mainland Southeast Asia to make a pretty, pale blue drink of no discernible flavour. However, if you squeeze lime or lemon juice into it, it turns an equally pretty pale purple colour, basically purple lemonade, but it's quite fun to watch it happen. One could presumably get a nice little science lesson for children out of it.
There are white and pale blue cultivars, and a very rare lilac-coloured cultivar, but obviously those are of no culinary significance.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=clitoria+ternatea&atb=v385-1&iax=images&ia=images
The papayas look all right so far, fingers crossed and I would have expected them to get sick more than the roselle, because they are dreadfully finicky. An interesting, small, roundish fruit, rather than the long ones I'm used to.
The office garden passionfruit did well. There're some new yellow hybrid ones in the market, from Thailand, so we'll try those out. And multiple packets of different sunflower seeds and one of a spectacular white Strelitzia from Australia, which may or may not grow, but seems worth trying.
We have started feeding a little ginger and white female cat who hangs around outside my gate. She is clearly the offspring of one of the neighbour's garden cats, and was presumably chased out by bigger relatives. Cat 4 cannot be adopted, since the Beastie Boys would have conniptions (they are 10 years old and set in their ways), so we are trying to get her tame enough that she can be handed back to neighbour, possibly as a new house cat. We are currently feeding her the expensive cat food that I bought to try to replace the brand that stopped production, and which the Beastie Boys disdained. When that runs out, we will move on to the freeze dried venison which was likewise rejected. She already knows mealtimes.
The intense blue flowers of Clitoria ternatea the Blue Pea, are used in island Southeast Asia as a food dye (soak the petals in hot water, and the blue comes out) and in mainland Southeast Asia to make a pretty, pale blue drink of no discernible flavour. However, if you squeeze lime or lemon juice into it, it turns an equally pretty pale purple colour, basically purple lemonade, but it's quite fun to watch it happen. One could presumably get a nice little science lesson for children out of it.
There are white and pale blue cultivars, and a very rare lilac-coloured cultivar, but obviously those are of no culinary significance.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=clitoria+ternatea&atb=v385-1&iax=images&ia=images
