LEMON TREE... VERY PRETTY

Can you blame me for thinking that these lemons were sweet?

I cut a slice for myself like how I would cut an orange.  I sank my teeth and sucked in the juice.  Gosh... for a moment I saw twinkling stars!!  

Okay so I've been living under the rocks.  Google told me this: 

Meyer lemons are not actually sweet; they are just milder than most other lemons.  The juice won't pucker you up if you taste it straight. 

Funny to think that I gave three of them away and said "Try these lemons, they're slightly expensive but can you just imagine... SWEEEEET lemons!"  You should hear the glee in my voice.

Limoneira, would you consider changing the bags and replace that sweet word?  How about "Sweeter than normal lemons?" or "Less sour lemons?"

 

The fruit is heavy and juicier than that of a grocery store lemon.  It makes delicious lemon meringue pie and once you fall in love with this variety of lemon, you will certainly want to make Meyer lemon olive oil. 

Generally normal lemons cost $0.55 each or $1.35 for three. Meyer ones are $6.95 in a cute cheery bag of six and off course I can make delicious lemon meringue pie or Meyer lemon olive oil. Those store brought ones didn't tell me what I could do with their lemons apart from their lemons being cheaper.

Remember the Lemon Tree lyrics "Lemon tree very pretty...." Well time I plant these lemon seeds.  If they turn out sour, at least the trees look pretty.

LOTS & LOTS OF BULBS

A day of re-potting bulbs.

Spotted some volunteer stems under the shade of a tree.  Nature has her way of springing surprises.

Grabbed a shovel and out came these babies. 

Hopefully soon there'll be plenty of lush lillies; our tables are waiting to welcome them.  For now they'll join their graceful family in the garden.

I just love growing flowers and nothing like a garden filled with colourful blooms and butterflies flirting from bloom to bloom. 

SHHHH.... I HAVE A SECRET GARDEN!

Coming from a land-scarce city where it is common to be surrounded by tall skyscrapers, being able to spend time in MSG and potter around is truly a blessing.  

Home is actually an apartment on the highest level where the balcony because of its awkward shell shaped window does not offer much benefit to any plants, so it has been turned into a cosy corner which is actually one of my favourite space.  Flowering plants are housed in a row or rather two rows outside the corridor overlooking the main entrance but limited to the "most cherished, most important" ones.  Hence tomato or chillie plants should give up the idea of ever getting a space here.

I count myself lucky to have this opportunity to have a little secret garden that I fondly call MSG for short although I'm not too fond of people using monosodium glutamate in their cooking. 

MSG overlooks the sea and is right in the heart of this charming island where you can watch every arriving or departing boat.  The island is home to less than 50 people as most of the population have moved out to stay in the city due to family or work commitments.

However it's not all quiet.  On weekends hundreds and sometimes thousands of people throng the island for picnic, cycling or even fishing.  There is even a resort that lets out rooms and it is also home to many bike rentals shops; seafood restaurants and grocery stores.  

I would love to be at MSG, all day long every day but commitment in the city does not give me the privileges.  So on days that I am in MSG, I maximize my time there.  In order to take advantage of every single minute that I am there, I even take to preparing a "things to do" list before my every visit.   

Like a working parent, sometimes you miss your child's milestone like his / her first crawl, first steps, etc.   I am no exception.  Sometimes I missed out on the first bloom of a flowering plant or I get there just to witness the caterpillar about to finish off the last leaf of a presumably tasty plant, no kidding!

I gladly accept with much gratitude when people say I am lucky to have a garden to grow stuff because I truly am lucky for this great opportunity.

 

IT ALL BEGINS AGAIN...

I can't be more grateful for this opportunity ie. a place which is a stone throw from the jetty that overlooks the sea and beyond.  Did I mention there's a reasonably sized garden too and I'm a huge fan of gardening?

Would you not like a garden with a view like this?

You can say I fell head over heels in love the first time I saw it and my knees went weak with excitement.  Being a city girl and totally deprived of a proper garden, here was an opportunity that literally swam right before my very eyes! It was just too good to be true but YES... I now have my own little garden!

Even flowers love seaview

Not sure how long this place will remain but as long as it's still standing here I will live my dream of turning it into a fairy garden on borrowed land and borrowed time.

Butterfly loves it here too

LIFE IS A JOURNEY

At some point in our lives we come to a crossroad.  That's when we take a step back and ask ourselves what we really want.

For me, what I really want is a place where I can just be myself.  I yearn for a simple life away from the hustle and bustle of the city, bright lights and congested lifestyle.  

The irony is that for most part of my life I've always been a city girl; growing up, living and working in the concrete jungle.

I have never imagined in my wildest dream the one day that I boarded a wooden boat was the day my adventure was destined to start.  The ride was just a little less than 10 minutes but it was enough to leave a lasting impression on me.  

On some days when the waves are a little unhappy, water splashes over you and you may even taste a tinge of saltiness on your lips.  At the same time, the wind creates havoc and whips your hair to a dishevel mess.  However.... that is the beauty of it all!

I have found my calling on this little island and it is here that my heart belongs to although home is still in the city.

Every trip is an adventure in itself whilst every adventure begins with a journey.  When the boat comes to a standstill, that's where the magic literally begins for me.

This is just the beginning.  Welcome to My Secret Garden, a home away from home on an island... 

Where I can just be myself... working in the garden with painted nails, streaks in my hair, perspiration dripping on my brows, holes in my pants and no one bats an eyelid.  Where dogs roam freely and birds chirp happily.  Where there are more bicycles than cars and flowers grow abundantly in the wild.  Where islanders bother to stop for a little chat and I am accepted as one.  This is the kind of life that I want in place of those bright billboards and neon coloured lights where people are simply too busy to even say a little "hi."  

MY SECRET GARDEN @ MSP

I've started a few blogs (3 to be exact) in the past but they never lived beyond their maturity.

I love writing (if you include all the junk that I write) and I used to fantasize being on the bestsellers' list (don't laugh please and don't ever ask if I still harbour that hope) and selling a million copies of a book.  It's probably hard for me to decide what genre of a book as I have a stack of incomplete writing (manuscripts sound too professional) and an equal stack of "already lost interest" work idling somewhere.  

Right now nothing can take away my love for nature and gardening.  Inspite of my painted nails and stilettoes that I love to supplement my height or rather lack of height, I am perfectly okay with dirt under my nails or soot on my forehead from a quick wipe of perspiration from my smudged palms. 

I would give anything to make a living out of gardening / growing produce but unfortunately land is scarce where I am.  There will never be a chance of me relying on whatever little that I plant, grow and harvest to pay the bills unless by some miracle I find truffles growing overnight in the grounds.  I still have to shop at supermarkets for fruits and veggies but I am trying to minimise that as much as I can by growing a mix of every little thing even if on some days I get to harvest only 2 tomatoes or a handful of chillies.  Well, there's always chips to go with that salsa! 

So with all determination, I am giving it another shot of keeping a blog again and this time being a "garden blogger."  I love exchanging ideas and definitely happy to share snippets of my fun, funny and often silly encounters whilst out here.

If you expect advices or tutorials, sorry to disappoint as I'm no gardening guru.  However I sure love to share my little adventures with you here in my lil' Secret Garden.  Come join me....!

Happy gardening with much love,

Annie @ MSG