It was a nice day outside (ie, not too hot), so I planted some new plants I bought last week. The green stuff on the left is a vine (some form of ivy I think) that grows abundantly here. I have been plundering from a nearby park and propagating in water in order to grow them at our house. They have been doing really well. The trick seems to be to plant them in groups of 4 or more cuttings and water generously every day for the first week.

I planted five plants today among the ivy. The blue one in the center is a Plumbago (plumbago auriculata). Next to it on each side are two Citronella plants. They smell spectacular and I thought they might work as a helpful mosquito repellant. From what I’ve read online though, they have no benefit for that. Apparently it is the Citronella grass that is effective in doing that. Bummer. At least they smell great.

Next to each Citronella is Ixora Karla. It’s a nice looking flower which looks ready to bloom. When it blooms, it supposed to look something like this:

It’s possible they’re all dead within a week. That would certainly be consistent to past performance. At least plants are really cheap here. The hope is that the ivy will grow around the other plants and provide a nice looking ground cover from the brutal summer heat (as opposed to the brutal winter heat).