Glass gem corn

This ear of corn might look like costume jewelry, but it’s 100% natural, a rare heirloom breed called “Glass Gems.” If you planted the kernels, every different color would grow into an entirely different corn plant, with a different mix of genes from the original!

Glass Gem corn was developed by a Native American farmer who noticed that every so often, a cob showed signs of unusual colouring shining through. Heirloom American Indian varieties were used as the  source of genes for these special corns.

Now the unique strain is available for purchase online, and is in hot demand from gardeners keen to add a touch of colour to their vegetable patch. Try Makulay.com

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Just think of the varieties of vegetables different, more colorful, more flavorful and nutritious lost in our history. A few heirloom vegetables and fruits like black tomatoes, yellow strawberries are being propagated by hobbyist. But how many have we lost from the past?

Get your seeds in ebay or thru makulay

Queen of the night Selenicereus grandiflorus.

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This is an unusual plant nicknamed Queen of the Night. The blossoms are quite large, green tip to green tip is about 9 inches. The Queen of the Night is a climbing succulent that blooms only in a dark location, only at night. It’s exciting to be able to share these photos, because the flowers are not often seen, especially in Manila. The flowers are fragrant.

This must be the thorny vine which is actually cacti that maleficent produced to prevent the prince from getting to sleeping beauty.

Selenicereus grandiflorus, is amongst the most striking and has enormous flowers to say the least.

 Selenicereus as a genus is distributed from southern USA through Central America, the West Indies, and Northern South America. This species, Selenicereus grandiflorus hails from Cuba. Members of this genus are all climbers or trailers (plants in my own collection trail almost 2 meters). The genus derives its name from the Greek selene (moon) which is in reference to their night flowering habit. Stems are elongated, ribbed or angled, and in nature climb or clamber amongst other plants.

In its natural habitat, bats pollinate Selenicereus, hence the night flowering habit. I suspect that the sheer size of the flowers is also associated with the relationship with bats. Pollination is another fascinating aspect of the life of plants.

A flower that blooms once every other year for a few hours and only at night during a full moon, more occasionally, a new moon. How is flowering in such plants triggered by the lunar cycle?.

The queen of the night is available in Philippine garden nurseries.

The flowers are very fragrant. Very rare and exotic indeed. You can get these from Makulay.

Growing Chinese Lantern Plant

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Chinese lantern plant is herbaceous, which means that parts of the plants are used for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It is a member of the family Solanaceae, most commonly known as nightshade plants. Nightshade plants also include potatoes, tomatoes and petunias, and share the genus Physalis with cape gooseberries (a very close relative).

The Chinese lantern plant Physalis Alkekengi  is easy to grow. In fact, one of its flaws may be that it’s too easy to grow. The chinese lantern plant, like mint, has rhizomes that spread horizontally, meaning that even if you chop down the plant without dropping any seeds, it might pop up in another part of your garden.  That’s why Physalis would do best planted in either a contained garden, or in a pot. Or even a pot that is buried in the ground, perhaps disguised with some cedar mulch.

Chinese lanterns like sunny borders but not all-day sunshine, and plenty of space or they will not produce lanterns – which is the whole point of having them.

They are also very invasive and will strangle other plants if given the chance, so they are ideal for a plot of ground with poor soil where nothing much else will grow.

If you don’t have a site like that you can grow them in an old bucket and bury the bucket to keep their roots from wandering.

Alternatively, grow them in a big pot or half a barrel, with something that grows tall and colourful in summer such as purple headed Verbena bonariensis.

The fruit will be transparent when dried or aged.

You can buy seeds from ebay Philippines or thru Makulay

Elephant garlic flower

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If you're flower  gardener or you're thinking of starting one, try elephant garlic (Allium ampelopresum) for an unusual and interesting crop. In spite of its name, this is not a true garlic but rather a type of leek that grows a large bulb. Also called large-headed garlic, it has a garlicky flavor that's milder than the taste of true garlic and is easy to plant, needing just a bit of soil preparation in advance and some basic care once planted.

The elephant garlic is grown for its flowers, buld and young shoots for salads.

The  flowers are very beautiful. Also grow these garlics to scare off the aphids. These are perennials. which means with proper care they last years. When ready to plant, purchase elephant garlic bulbs or single cloves from a garden center or nursery. Buy from ebay Philippines or order from Makulay Examine cloves carefully, discarding any that feel moist or have soft spots. If you start with an entire bulb, separate it carefully into individual cloves, being careful not to bruise the pieces.

If weeds grow near young elephant garlic plants, they can slow plant growth significantly and might lead to a poor crop, so check the area frequently, removing weeds when they're still small. If you use a weeding tool. Also cut garlic scapes which will slow down the growth of your garlic plant.

Harvest a few bulbs now and then, the young shoots are great for salads and the flowers divine.

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Allium Flower

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Best known for its edible varieties—onions, garlic, chives, shallots and leeks—Allium also includes hundreds of ornamental species. Far too interesting to be left in the vegetable patch. The tall-growing species, standing like sentries with big, round heads, provide wonderful contrast to other shapes usually found in perennial borders; dwarf species are well suited to rock gardens.

While some allium flowerheads are just a couple of centimetres wide, others can be ten times as large. These perennials range in height from 15 centimetres to more than a metre, with flower colours of white, yellow, blue, silvery pink and mauve. Their leaves (either round and hollow or flat and strap-like), although attractive when they first emerge, can become untidy later in the season. Plant them among other perennials or annuals such as roses, irises, poppies, anemones or petunias to help screen the leaves.

Growing allium in the Philippines is like growing its common table variety, the onion.

You can order seeds from ebay Philippines or from makulay

Best known for its edible varieties—onions, garlic, chives, shallots and leeks—Allium also includes hundreds of ornamental species. Far too interesting to be left in the vegetable patch. The tall-growing species, standing like sentries with big, round heads, provide wonderful contrast to other shapes usually found in perennial borders; dwarf species are well suited to rock gardens.

While some allium flowerheads are just a couple of centimetres wide, others can be ten times as large. These perennials range in height from 15 centimetres to more than a metre, with flower colours of white, yellow, blue, silvery pink and mauve. Their leaves (either round and hollow or flat and strap-like), although attractive when they first emerge, can become untidy later in the season. Plant them among other perennials or annuals such as roses, irises, poppies, anemones or petunias to help screen the leaves.

Growing allium in the Philippines is like growing its common table variety, the onion.

You can order seeds from ebay Philippines or from makulay