Inch by inch, row by row...

When Pat and I found an apartment with a rooftop, I decided that I was going to test out my green thumb.  In my head was a vision of a glorious rooftop garden. So urban! So green!

Because I really know nothing about gardening, I enlisted one of my Foon Ying moms to take me to the flower market in Kowloon. The flower market is about 8 blocks lined with flower shops filled with plants, trees, fresh flowers, exotic flowers, and countless orchids of all colors, shapes and sizes.

After a few hours on the first trip we settled on an orange tree for the roof. If all works out, Pat and I should have sweet oranges ready to eat by September! Right now they look like limes on the tree. (I must point out that the woman who sold me the plant didn't speak a word of English. I wouldn't be surprised if come September we learned that we were growing grapefruits or lemons!)

I went back for a second trip and bought basil, peppermint, tomato, rosemary and a pepper plant. I also bought three planters and filled them with cheery flowers!

Once everything was set up on the roof it was time to start tending to my plants. I’ve really become obsessed and am out there night and day scoping the progress of the “garden.”  I’ve been reading up on blogs and diagnosing my plants as they progress (or, sadly, die) - dead-heading, pruning, monitoring bugs (do I have mealy bugs? – yuck!), spraying home remedies for some ants (which in turn killed my basil!), there may or may not be spider mites on my rosemary and I’m figuring out just the right amount of water to keep the orange tree healthy.

Of course, living in HK we contend with a different climate – lots of heat and constant humidity. My plants are a fun experiment and I am learning as I go, but admittedly I have a lot to learn before my garden looks like Ina Garten’s. Or, perhaps I’m truly just a city girl. And you know what they say…you can take the girl out of New York….

Spicing things up with pots of peppers!

Not a bad day to be a flower! These really add some cheer to our roof.

Got any garden tips or tricks? Send ‘em my way!