Our Fourth Session: Redecorating the garden
Thursday, September 13, 2007
SESSION 4
As we all were really excited and couldn’t wait to get started on the gardening, we came early. Some of the people from Orchidville were already there with the plants and fertilizers, ready for us to begin our planting.
We first put lots of fertilizer on the ground. Then Mr. Suti and his helpers helped us to put the small trees at the back of our piece. The boys then took initiative and drove long sticks into the ground so that we could tie the orchids onto them.
After that, we each took some orchids and tied them to the sticks. There were different colures so we had to be careful to put the same colour of orchids together. Next, we took small potted plants and put them into the soil in front of the orchids.
Our piece of land looked very nice as all the plants were according to height and colour. We are really proud of what we did. Our hard work really paid off. It is looking beautiful!
(3:38 AM)
Our Third Session: Learning more about Orchids
SESSION 3
On our second session we met our landscaping guide, Mr. Suti. He explained the different kinds of orchid and showed us where each of the type of orchid is used and how it adds beauty the place. He then divided us into groups gave each group an area and asked us to plan the landscape.
When we were stuck and did not know how to continue, he taught us how to draw the front, plan and the end. By drawing it, we can the planning more clearly and have a rough idea of what we are supposed to do. He also made us draw a rough figure of what kind of landscaping we would want to do in our given area. Each group was supposed to come up with 1 drawing. We were also asked to colour the drawing. We were told to submit the drawing as a group on the next session.
We then had a short break. When we came back Mr. Suti then showed us how the plant the orchid correctly. He also showed us how to plant it wrongly so that we will not do it in the future. We were shown how to plant the orchid more stably and rooted to the ground. We then did hands on tryout session on planting the orchid plant. At first it felt so disgusting but as we continued doing it, we thought it was very fun and enjoyable.
After that we were taught about the different kinds of viruses and bacteria. We learned about the causes, the effects, the positive and negative side of the viruses and bacteria. We were also showed how to spot a dying leaf, a leaf which had just been attacked by the viruses and bacteria and plants which have other illness. We did not really know the difference between viruses and bacteria.
From the session, I also learned to spot the difference between a leaf attacked by virus and a leaf attacked by bacteria. We also understood the seriousness of the problem of the leaf being attacked by virus or bacteria. We also learned how to cure the illness or how the remove the virus or bacteria from the plant.
We were taught when to use what kind of medicine and solution for the growth of the plant and for the healing of the plant. We were showed how much of solution we must add to the water to make the perfect mixture for the growth of the plant. We were also told how many times in a week we should use the growth solution on the plant.
(3:37 AM)
Our Second Session: Making of Souvenirs
SESSION 2
We went to Orchidville again. This time we learnt how to make bookmarks and souvenirs out of dried orchid flowers. We all were as excited as this was a new art that we had never attempted before.
Our group members made brooches. We took the mould then arranged the dried and pressed flowers of our choice on the mould. We then added the polyester resin onto the mould. It was very important to keep the air out of the mixture and any bubbles were to be removed by a pin.
The polyester resin is a mix of resin and hardener. We allowed the mixture to cool and harden and then collected it from teacher after a few days. We even made a paper weight by placing the dried flowers onto a pebble found at beaches and then gently poured the mixture onto the pebble too. We let it dry again and soon it was ready for use.
It is a very good skill as we can also do it in our own home. The bookmarks were also fun to do. We were given some dried and pressed flowers and some coloured paper. We used the flowers and stuck them on the paper and it was ready to use s a bookmark!
My friends even laminated it for a better effect. After doing all this, we had a briefing on landscaping techniques. We were also told that the next session we were going to do some landscaping of our own. That thought made us all smile.
(3:32 AM)
Our First Session: Introduction To Orchids
SESSION 1:
Our project I started with all of us going to Orchidville Pte Ltd. We all were excited as learning about orchids is really fun and we had the opportunity to try it.
We learnt the different types of orchids. We were really amazed that so many orchids existed! We only knew about some until then. The instructor then told us how different species of orchids can be combined to form a new type of orchid. It was really something that we had never even heard of.
Then we tried to pollinate the flowers of orchid too. It was really fun to watch all my teammates struggling with the pollen! The instructor then made us familiar with the names and the growth types of the different orchids. We were surprised at how complicated it is.
We even learnt how to plant an orchid in a small pot with charcoal and tips on how to take care of it. Then we got to bring it home too. Some of us left our plants in the school as we were afraid that we may not be able to take of them and that may die due to our carelessness.
