Hot-Looking Chili!

Attractively-ripe for picking are these wicked-looking chili peppers, so red you can see it from a mile away! Our staff, Edwin happened to see this  chili type among condiments that were brought along some grilled items one weekend. He "connived" with Lorie to swap it with our homegrown local chili (síling labuyo) so he can let it dry and use this one solitary piece as binhî.

Now, it's two dozen small bushes fruiting with scores and scores of chili pepper!

Davalia

I cannot have enough of this beautiful Davalia fern, which has gracefully flourished on the side of a mango tree in the garden, giving the Bird's Nest Fern (Asplenium nidus) an intricate, lace-like skirt to cover its underside. This is one type which we have not successfully propagated yet; it seems hard to train and quite sensitive to human interference.

Strapleaf Ferns

 Several varieties of Microsorum ferns, apparently collectively called Strapleaf Ferns, but I have also read some that refer to the one above as Sword Fern or Climbing Bird's Nest Fern (Microsorum punctatum). They have spreading rhizomes, and has generally thick, narrow and shiny yellow green leaves. The tips vary though: from pointed (above), ruffled and twisted (left), and lobed (below).

They produce their own spore case (sporangia) and would cling itself to trees, fern slabs, and practically anywhere i can get moisture and shade. All three are mature enough by now and produce their own spores on the leaves' underside tips.

Philippine Tree of the Month: Santol

 A beautiful local tree that's part of our everyday life is the common backyard tree, Santól (Sandoricum koetjape). Many people are familiar with this as it is one of the few tropical trees with random leaves that turn red before falling off. Its trunk is usually straight and can be sawed as lumber. In fact, Mang Pilô from whom we bought the farm, asked to cut three trees for lumber to make a new house before turning over the land to us, and a tall and regal santol tree was one of them (the other two were duhat and muláwin).

And who wouldn't know its fruit? I think everyone's grew up with it, peeled and eaten with rock salt, cringing from its slightly acidic taste just to get to the luscious whitish pulp at its core. To this day, it's such a simple pleasure to end a long, weekend lunch with a bowlful of santol, eating candy-like the sweet white pulp around the seeds. I guess it is for this reason some foreigners call this the lolly fruit!

Spathiphyllums in Bloom

The gardens look dazzling now that the spathiphyllums are in full bloom! They are in the pink of health and look like they're bursting with energy.

When I did not have the farm yet, I used to grow these in pots in Manila and were perpetually undernourished, no matter what I did. Now, we hardly mind them and they look like they even prefer it! They're actually low-maintenance plants that would always look good in a garden, what with its shiny, dark green leaves and creamy white spathes.