Thursday 13 October 2016

Dubai Municipality Nursery and Indoor plants

Peter and I have been fostering dogs, collecting them from Warsan, out in the desert and we came across the Municipality Gardens Nursery. These aren't photos of the actual place as it is government owned and the laws on publishing photo's are a bit hazy, so I've posted pictures of the independent nursery's next door.

You can buy just about anything here, from bedding plants at 40p and fully grown palm tress in pots. It's close to where I work and I intend to call on a regular basis.




 My indoor plants have done rather well, I'm surprised by the basil, but I still have a few empty pots that need filling.




My son bought me an orchid, I've been advised to give it an ice cube once a week so I don't over water it, it seems to be doing ok for now.


I'm running a gardening group as an after school activity and during my research I've found an organic farm, that I need to go and visit, fortunately it's near where I work also, so I'll hopefully be able to pop in during the week.

I've been doing some research on cut flowers, they are very expensive to buy in Dubai and typically only last a few days. Two of my favourite cut flowers are roses and hydrangeas and I learnt these tips that I'm going to try out. I'll let you know how I got on.

How to Hydrate Hydrangeas.

Place each bloom face down in room temperature water and leave to soak for 20 minutes, shake gently and remove any loose foliage.

How to Shock Roses into drinking water.

Wrap the flowers in brown paper, then snip a 1/4 inch off the stems and place them into an inch of boiling hot water. The Shock forces the air out of the stems, leave in the water until it cools, give the stems a fresh cut and transfer to cool water.


18 comments:

  1. I've never heard of the ice cube trick before, sounds like a good one. My orchids always die, perhaps I have been overwatering them. Good luck with your gardening group :)

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    1. i'm not sure about the ice trick as i find that orchid roots like room temperature water. they are tropical plants after all but i do see the ice thing being advertised on new orchids to purchase. if you just soak your orchid once a week, it should be good. make sure it's not getting too much direct sun also. xx

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    2. well it failed, the orchid has stopped flowing already, my mum does very well in the UK with hers

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  2. I'll have to read up on the ice cube trick. I wonder if it is a hot climate trick of if you can use it everywhere.

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    1. sadly the Orchid's flowers died after 3 weeks, but i suspect the air con has something to do with it

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  3. In stark contrast to Gemma, my orchids have always done really well - I rarely water them though (far too forgetful). Maybe it's true - there's a plant for everyone - even me!
    I'm looking forward to hearing more about the gardening group :)

    Thanks for joining in again, wish I could post you some UK rain!

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  4. i love the plant you have in the purple pot. what cool leaves!

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    1. i've no idea what it is called but it survived summer with us both away and no watering for 3 weeks

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  5. I'm not good with orchids either, and like Claudia love the leaves on the purple potted plant. Interesting about the roses too.

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    1. i'm really surprised with the roses, all will be revealed next week

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  6. Wow!! Still impressed that anything grows in the dubai heat!!! Orchids are a very interesting breed of flowers. Some people say keep them in the shade, some say they need light, less water, more water Sigh!!

    Hope you are feeling better?

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    1. feeling a lot better, i have no idea what is going on with my orchid, now going to leave it soaking for an hour or two and see if that helps it come back to life

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  7. How is the school gardening club going?

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    1. only done 2 sessions as I've been away this week

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  8. All around Britain you will be hard-squeezed not to discover a "Veitch" plant or one got from their nurseries. The Veitch family sent numerous authorities everywhere throughout the world to bring back seeds and plants. see it here

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  9. I'll have to read up on the ice cube trick. I wonder if it is a hot climate trick of if you can use it everywhere.
    indoor plants

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