I am finding the green.

So I am finally reviving this blog, and my gardening activities. My gardening projects for the past two seasons did not come to fruition (no pun intended - quite literally too really). I know I should attempt a lessons learnt list of sorts but possibly that warrants a dedicated separate entry; however, in this post, I would like to focus on the new plans for this gardening season: spring is upon us, it is already warming up here and I am a few weeks behind in starting the seeds, but I can't be any more excited about this project.

I am now a proud member of التعاونية الزراعية المنزلية (وِرْوِر) - the charmingly named "Domestic Agricultural Cooperative (Wer'wer)" - a group of Cairo based gardening enthusiasts and wanna-be urban farmers brought together by a friend of mine. We've already had a first meeting, and despite having the camera on me for the specific purpose of taking a photo to share in this post, I just somehow didn't get around to snapping that shot. 

In addition to all the potential activities and plans we discussed, I also have some pending ones of my own, which I am hoping to be starting and documenting here soon enough.

In all cases, I am also hoping to develop this blog into a collaboration tool for our gardening group (in addition to others like a calendar an mailing list), and am so looking forward to comparing notes and getting feedback and sharing experiences with other fellow gardeners and friends in my city. So I think I will be posting here more regularly again. And I am feeling good about it.

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is now.
 

Two posts have been updated.

The Pests and Bugs post has been updated:
Entries for scales and spider mites have been added (including photos!). The post and its structure have also been revised and edited; it now contains three sections on the prevention, identification, and control of pests.
Personally I find this version more organized and accessible, so be sure to check it out. And did I mention the post features photos of the new pest additions?

I also updated the Gardening Supplies page, which gives some information about where to obtain needed these. It still lacks some photos and more specific detail, I'll get around to that; for now, check out the update for a revised map with driving directions to Ahmed Maher Street (تحت الربع) - and if you are wondering what that is, then you need to check out the page.

Pests and Bugs Post Updated

I want to share and highlight the update of the post published earlier about pests and bugs. I added an entry about whiteflies and meanwhile also had ran into a mealybug and was surprised to be able to produce some pretty decently sharp photos of it with a point-and-shoot camera.
To check out the photos and learn more about pests check out the post. Personally, I am excited to be adding clear enough up-close photos of the mealybug, so check them out if you are curious.

Correction: It is a Plumeria Alba

About ten days ago now, I posted an entry about my latest plant - the West Indian Jasmine, which I assigned to the acutifolia variety of the Plumeria. A keen reader (ok, it was my father), pointed out that the variety obtained in Egypt is actually the Plumeria alba. The post is meanwhile accordingly corrected. Thanks Paps!