Flora in the City

These are some flora I have been cultivating for the past 2 years in pots. I keep them at the laundry area outside my room on the 3rd floor of the flat. I started going green about 4 years ago when I purchased an oregano plant outside the Quiapo church. It was quite an experience since Quiapo is the place to go to if anyone wants almost anything --including abortifacients. Horrible, but true. To my consternation, while looking at the strange herbs and roots on display, I was mistaken as someone looking for the "fix". Ugh. Mortified, I hurriedly asked for oregano, paid for it and went home.

Oregano, being not fussy, is very easy to grow--all you need is a leaf ,loam soil, water and the sun. No need to pay too much attention either; just remember to water it every other day, and before you know it, the plant has taken over the whole place. It is so unlike other plants which require constant watch for bugs like aphids or killer caterpillars--the ones that don't metamorphose into butterflies. Oregano is not only a low maintenance plant, it generously emits a certain minty scent too, once anything brushes against it.

My plant population started to grow when my Mother brought home a foot-high Angel plant from the mall. It is now almost 8 ft tall, lush with green leaves and white flowers, providing afternoon shade outside my room.

The yellow-orange hisbiscus (aka gumamela)has been with me for about a year now, and its stems are pregnant with flowers, always a delight to see first thing in the morning.

For fertilizers, I keep a covered container where I let vegetables and leaves putrefy. It's a sort of a compost pit in a bucket.