About me
I’m a 26-year-old Chinese female who lives in this tropical island called Singapore. I grew up surrounded by a lot of plants since my dad loves to grow bonsais (and he has been growing them since he was 18), but was never really interested in plants (except for weeding, which is therapeutic) until some time March 2008, when a friend mentioned she was growing mulberries, and got the cuttings from someone through this forum called Green Culture Singapore.
Intrigued, I joined and was pretty much hooked.
With all the hyperactivity of a newbie who plunged into the deep end of an ocean of plants, I started off with (yup, you guessed it) mulberries, and anything and everything else. At that time, I was simply intrigued and interested in everything, without knowing how to manage my space (since I live in an apartment now and have to contend with my dad for space against his countless bonsais), my spending, and my specialization.
Like all plants mature, however, I soon found the blind rush of wanting to grow everything from the smallest weed to the largest tree fading, learnt a lot of space management, and came into my interest.
These days, I grow mostly mints and a few other herbs as the edible and/or medicinal parts of my collection; and also grow some basic carnivorous plants for their sheer beauty and usefulness in catching those pesky insects for me.
I’m currently an eclectic spiritualist, with my beliefs and practices merging the most basic paths of shamanism, and the channelled knowledge of “You create your own reality” (YCYOR) by Seth through Jane Roberts.
I act crazy sometimes, talk with plants and trees sometimes, loves horses (and horse riding), adore and honor wolves and eagles, and will pretty much say hello to all the greenery out there.
I suppose you may call me Sky(fiery). Unless I find that I have outgrown that name, and am gifted with another.
If you like, do leave a comment to say hello to myself, so that I can say hello back. I like doing that. =)
I’ve been experimenting with creating my own health food such as kombucha, kefir and fruit enzymes. I would sometimes use my own herbs in these, so if anyone is interested, pop over to Living with the land.
I’m also an avid photographer. If you’d like to take a look at my pictures (and let me know what you think of them!), they can be found at Unending Horizons Photography. =)
Note: My previous gardening blogs were at Asëa Aranion, preceded by Plants’ Stories.
Moses
February 3, 2010 at 5:25 am
Hello Casey,
I just accepted Leon’s request and came across your name.
Wonderful blog (on all things green) you have going there. And, talking to trees and plants, is very normal. The native Americans did that, so did the Aboriginies in Australia, the Maoris in Aotearoa, and so on.
Cheerio,
moses
skyfiery
February 3, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Hi Moses! Thanks for popping by. =) I’ll add you on FB too. Hee hee.
Yups, I know about them talking with nature. However, in Singapore, it seems a bit strange to come across someone who hugs trees and talks with them, according to my friends at least. Lol.
Take care,
Casey
Liyana
July 29, 2010 at 4:44 am
Hello Casey!
I am amazed with your passion for plants! Your blog is a good read (:
I am wondering if the fertilizer that you bought from Envizyme works so far. Please let me know
Thanks!
Regards,
Liyana
skyfiery
July 29, 2010 at 7:52 am
Hello Liyana,
Thank you for your kind comment. =) How did you find my blog, by the way? Am immensely curious about that.
I think the reason why I haven’t seen any conclusive growth from the Envyzime fertilizer is because I have a fertilizing regime and I rotate it every week. So maybe even if the Envizyme works, I wouldn’t know if it was it which really worked, or the whole regime.
Speaking of which, I think I have two pots of balsam plantlets which I’ve never fertilized. I should use the Envizyme on one pot and see how that one grows. =D
Cheers,
Casey
Jo Jo
December 12, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Hi there, I live in both the UK / Australia. My blog documents my journey growing fruit and veg as well – we grow figs, plums, raspberries, snow peas, pak choi and now I want to grow more asian veg. I am reallly interested in growing kangkong and I’ve just bought some seeds and came across your blog during my research! How exciting to connect with another grower! Drop me a line! =) Jo Jo
skyfiery
December 19, 2010 at 9:08 pm
Hello Jo Jo! I’m glad to hear of more gardeners, and would love to connect. =) Thanks for dropping by. I’ll take a look at your blog too. =)
YM
February 22, 2011 at 11:29 pm
Hi hi!
stumbled across your webbie from nparks site. woo, am really excited by the plants that u grow in hdb. been collecting cuttings, plants and trying to start a herb garden. haha, any resources for western herbs? =)
skyfiery
February 22, 2011 at 11:35 pm
Hello YM.
What type of Western herbs are you thinking of growing? Most of the common ones like rosemary, thyme, majoram, sage etc. can be found at World Farm or various other nurseries. It’s best to do prior research on their growing needs before buying them though…
Koh Yan Min
January 3, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Hi skyfiery!
Actually I have a friend who is living there. I am thinking if he can just post me the seeds in an envelope via normal mail. Just more worried about the laws in Singapore that may deter me from doing so.
skyfiery
January 3, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Hi again Tan Min.
AVA requires phytos certificates to be included with shipment of plants and seeds into Singapore. So I think that if the Mediterranean herbs can be found as plants in the local nurseries, it’s much less fuss free to get from here…and also not all seeds of these herbs sprout readily (like rosemary).
Jaime
March 30, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Hi there,
Wondering if you be keen to attend a Terrarium Workshop on 7 April 2011?
Rgds
Jaime
skyfiery
March 30, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Hi Jaime,
Thank you for the offer. I actually know how to make a terrarium now; also have little time since I’m pretty busy. But thank you again for offering.
The Sage Butterfly
March 31, 2011 at 10:22 pm
You can link up to my blog anytime! I love your blog, too!
skyfiery
March 31, 2011 at 10:24 pm
W00t. Have done it. =)
Nishant
April 24, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Hello Casey,
I came to your site while searching (googling) for spice trees plantation. after reading your blog, I think people around the world have same passion about gardening irrespective of location and countries. Great work and Thanks for sharing the information.
Regards
Nishant
Mumbai, India
skyfiery
April 24, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Hello Nishant,
Thank you for stopping by! I think gardening, like a lot of other things, is a passion and way of communication without the need for words, which is absolutely awesome.
Cheers,
Casey
Kwan
June 4, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Hi!
Made an impulsive purchase among other herbs at our local nursery today, and were quite surprised by this little great smelling Lemon Eucalyptus plantlet after researching its growth and care online. It grows to be a giant tree of 51 metres if let be! As I was fading off among pics and posts after pics and posts about this plant, I came across your Lemon Eucalyptus post and photos. What woke me up was the background building in one of the photos, which is so unmistakeably Singapore, where I grew up. Flat, what we called apartment in Singapore. How in the world do you keep that giraffe of a tree in the balcony of a flat?!
Your experience sort of reminded me of my own growing up. My dad kept a “tropical rainforest” in our flat and it burst out into the common balcony. To get in and out of the flat, I often had to duck and push my way through huge leaves and tricky branches. I am now living in a suburban neighborhood in southern Texas, and yet I am scared to let my little Lemon Eucalyptus plant go wild. What if it tears up my yard, flower bed and fence? What if it overcrowds my bluberry shrub, fig tree etc.?
Btw, what is the root growth pattern of your Lemon Eucalyptus tree, spreads out onto the ground surface, burrows deep into the dirt? I also wonder how wide can the tree trunk possibly grow if it becomes a tree one day?
Anyhow, just wanted to say something like “you are unique or you are brave” since your hobby and tree whisperer nature seem so unusual among many Singaporeans I know, but I ended up saying way more. Will check back with you sometime, happy journey! k
skyfiery
June 4, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Hello Kwan,
Welcome to my blog! Growing herbs is always such challenge but such fun, isn’t it?
Let me try to answer your questions section by section to make things easier:
1. How in the world do you keep that giraffe of a tree in the balcony of a flat?!
Lol. Good question. I bought my first plantlet more as an interest without prior research into it. It grew in a large pot, and apparently, it can happily be pot-bound and still grow quite large. Just gotta make sure you do periodic root pruning, and fertilize it frequently. So…that’s how I did it I guess?
2. Btw, what is the root growth pattern of your Lemon Eucalyptus tree, spreads out onto the ground surface, burrows deep into the dirt? I also wonder how wide can the tree trunk possibly grow if it becomes a tree one day?
Unfortunately, since I live in an HDB, I can’t really answer your questions with my own experiences. My friends who live in landed properties all grow their lemon eucalyptuses in large pots as well, so I can’t ask them. Perhaps Googling might provide you with some useful answers?
I do know that if you plan to pot-bound your plant and want it to have a main trunk like mine, you’re going to have to callous it. In my case, I staked a thick stick and tied my plant to it using cable twists and twine. And then I forgot all about them, and as the plant grew, the twists and twine cut deeply into the plant, callousing it up. Amongst all the people I know who grow this plant, I believe mine is the only one with a trunk of this thickness, out of forgetfulness. Good for me, though!
—
Thank you for your long comment – I enjoyed reading it tremendously! Hope to chat with you when you can. =)
Cheers,
Sky
Chung
June 11, 2011 at 3:01 am
Hi, I am Chung now in Jb. I have been dealing with toothache plant since 2000. I also sold 200 plant in Sarawak. This is the best plant i ever have and have experience to handle this plant -spilanthes acmella. I have a blog at http://spilanthesacmella.blogspot.com. Also I love herbal plants. Hope tto know you about plant.
KT Toh
September 13, 2011 at 12:09 am
Hey, found you here on your new blog… My dad does some gardening too, in fact back in the ‘kampong’ days they (him and grandpa) used to grow their own orchids, vegies among other livestock. Coincidence huh?
Anyway, I can see you grow alot of interesting plants… is it for the enjoyment and experimentation? For me, I’m interested in growing my own food and eating it. But as I live in HDB, and a newbie, I’m getting my info from others already growing on the net.
My tomato plants arent really growing really fast but I think thats because of poor lighting, the good thing about my flat (no afternoon or evening sun) just became the bad thing for my plants lol.. but I’m trying to rectify that with my own indoor lighting… hope they grow to strong plants eventually.
skyfiery
September 13, 2011 at 7:47 am
Hi KT,
To be honest, growing vegetables in a HDB setting is an utter waste of time and effort. I’ve been through it. When I first started gardening, all I grew were herbs and veggies, both in soil and in hydroponics. I was also extremely taken with the thought of growing my own veggies for consumption. But experience has shown for me (and a lot of other flat-dwellers), that the effort put in to make sure the plants have sunlight, enough nutrients etc., doesn’t match up to the fact that the yield is dismal, and all that.
I don’t mean to pour cold water on you. It’s just what a great part of us have experienced.
Another heads-up is that tomato plants are extremely finnicky. They need A LOT of care and stuff which you will need to really read up on, especially on pruning their leaves, maintaining a proper brix level so that pests don’t attack them more easily, and this and that. AND, not all variety of tomatoes will fruit in Singapore.
Such a downer sometimes, isn’t it? Meh.
With that said, I really hope you have lots of fun gardening.
Daryl
May 10, 2012 at 12:31 am
Hi Casey! I stumbled upon your (old) blog while searching for tips on growing rosemary, and realized you’re a fellow Singaporean!
I agree with the problems of maintaining a ‘garden’ in a HDB setting, which is why I’m now experimenting with artificial LED lighting to grow my herbs/veges entirely indoors. Hopefully it will work out in the long run…
Just wondering, are you still growing all those unique varieties of mint (chocolate, orange, grapefruit, etc…)? And, where can I get them in Singapore?
Also, nice to meet another avid photographer.
skyfiery
May 10, 2012 at 8:59 am
Hi Daryl, thank you for dropping by.
I wrote about the use of LED lights for HDB gardening (personally, I wouldn’t go for it, but to each his own) quite a few posts back, when a certain minister came up with a competition for people to design something to grow edibles in HDB flats.
The mints were all gifts from friends, so you probably can’t get them here. However, I believe you can get the chocolate mint when Hortpark has the bazaars.
I hope you have fun growing your plants.
Cheers!