Humble beginnings

It all started when I was thinking of decorating my balcony with plants a year and a half after moving into my new place. The balcony was seriously under utilised - save for drying my laundry every fortnight and an occasional hangout place for the neighborhood birds. Now which plants should I grow? I decided to start with chilli padi, lime and sunflower.

Months later, I harvested my first batch of chilli padi that I had grown from seeds. 

Young chilli plant

Ripe chilli fruit

This joy was short-lived, as the plant started to become infested with pesky white flies. 


The sunflower grew well. 

Young sunflower

In full bloom

Seed production

After blooming, the flower started turning brown during seed development. This was the time when it starting attracting various pests!


As for the lime, it took the longest time to grow. It took about two to three weeks before the lime seeds germinated and three years later, two tall one metre plants stand proudly at the balcony. 

Young lime plant

Lime plants standing tall

Sadly, there has not been a single flower from the lime plants. I started noticing black tiny caterpillar-like insects on the lime leaves from time to time. Thinking that these were the offspring of moths, I threw them out of the window! It was not until a few months later that I realised these creatures were actually the larvae of the lime butterfly...