More new addition to the family

The Hibiscus was insect-ridden and these were drying to death. I waited for two weeks for the regular gardener to turn up and save them. This Sunday the hubs had been out for some work in the morning, and I threatened him to go get another gardener if he wanted to set foot in the house again. Poor chap found one and dragged him home.
The Hibiscus was saved with some insecticide-laced fertilizer, but the others had to be buried... er... uprooted and forgotten. We couldn't stand having an empty planting pot at home, and we also thought the balcony seemed to be a little too big for the very few plants we currently have. So the sweet hubs took me along (I drove, of course) to refill the empty pot and buy a couple more.

So now we have...

the Pink China Aster,

the Purple China Aster,

and the Twins (know what they're called?)

We also noticed that the plant droppings (yes, that's what they are) in between the pots were growing by the day, and it was becoming more and more messy to clean up. Besides, we had the clotheslines right overhead, which made it difficult to hang the clothes, and would sometimes threaten the erection (pun unintended :P) of the plants (when the clothes flew off and landed on them, of course). So we moved the little darlings from their old positions, so that now they huddle together...

like this :)

I'm all set for the next few weeks. We ended up paying way too much: the hubs obviously did not ask the gardener what he would charge prior to plonking him on the bike and bringing him home. And now, he threatens to throw me and my precious plants outta the balcony if I don't take care of them.

Here's what I will be found doing for quite some time to come:

1. Water everyday
2. Loosen soil every week
3. Add fertilizer / pesticide every fortnight
4. Clean the droppings as often as possible (or the stink will be a bonus during the monsoons)
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 as long as the plants live or I do.