Saturdays are becoming my day to meet with Local Guides virtually. I hosted my first virtual meetup on April 11th for Pet-friendly Local Guides.
Gardening Lovers Unite
For my next Local Guides virtual meetup, I was curious to see who in the Local Guides Connect Community loves to garden as much as I do. And staying home due to COVID-19, I wanted to know who else here on Connect is spending part of their time gardening.
On April 18th, I hosted my second virtual “Show & Tell Local Guides meetup with 6 Plant Loving Local Guides and their plants using Google Hangouts:
- South Asia – India (@GaganMishra), Pakistan (@Nasir11), Bangladesh (@MBabul ), Sri Lanka (@IlankovanT)
- Southeast Asia – Indonesia (@Nyainurjanah)
- Europe – Italy (@Giuseppe75)
Interesting Meetup Fact: Two Attendees had the Same Plant
During our fun, fast-paced hour, we happily talked about outdoor edible plants (Ilankovan, Nyai, Monzurul, and me), indoor plants (Guiseppe, Gagan), and a medicinal plant (Nasir).
I introduced a sample of my summer vegetable garden seedlings. I told the group I plan to plant them at the end of the month. I want to be sure there would be no chance of frost at night, which could kill these not frost-tolerant vegetable and herb plants.
And my passion for collecting pine cones.
Giuseppe introduced his Pothos plant he received as a housewarming gift from his sister years ago.
Gagan introduced his Desert Rose plant.
Nyai introduced her green onion and Lemon Basil (kemangi) plants.
Nasir introduced his medicinal Aloe Vera plant.
Ilankovan introduced many recently purchased fruit trees he will be planting in his yard.
Monzurul introduced his Litchi tree.
Importance of Edible Gardening
Given the current global situation, we discussed the importance of growing vegetables and fruits and to not be dependent on our local grocery stores or markets for them. Ilankovan showed his dinner consisted of Drumstick pods cooked in a curry. Gagan said this plant (moringa) is also popular to eat in India as an ingredient in curry dishes too.
Indoor Plant Talk
Giuseppe and Gagan talked about the importance of having a Pothos plant inside their homes because it has been scientifically proven that it acts like a “natural air purifier.” This houseplant can help clean your air by removing certain air pollutants indoors (See the NASA Clean Air Study). Gagan showed us he has his Pothos in his bedroom.
Gagan talked about how he loves having indoor plants because they fit his active lifestyle. They do not need as much care as having a pet. He can travel for a couple of weeks and not worry about them.
Impromptu Nighttime Garden Tours
Thanks to mobile devices, Ilankovan and Nyai happily gave us guided “walking” tours through their gardens.
Ilankovan showed us his mango, papaya, Drumstick, banana, and guava trees.
Nyai showed us she plants only things you can eat. She is not a flower gardener.
Let’s Map Green
We ended our Plant Lovers Social with Ilankovan introducing “Let’s Map Green,” his two-year-old initiative he started on Connect. He told us he came up with the idea to plant 50 trees in a Local Guides meetup, then increased it to 1,000 trees to help reduce climate change in his country of Sri Lanka.
Ilankovan’s “Let’s Map Green” initiative has now expanded to countries outside of Sri Lanka with the new goal of planting 1 billion trees and shrubs.
When we can meet up publicly again, Ilankovan suggested to contact him. He is happy to mentor, or guide, Local Guides interested in having a successful tree planting as an environmentally-friendly meetup.
Next Virtual: Plant Lovers Social Meetup
If you are interested in attending, please comment below. I am happy to host again a small group of Local Guides who want to share their love for gardening and talk about their plants.
What a****re “Show & Tell” Virtual Meetups?
My meetups are small in size because I use the free version of Google Hangouts, which has a maximum of up to 10 participants, including me as the host. The purpose of my Saturday1-hour virtual meetups is for the Local Guide who wants to fully interact, “Show & Tell” their favorite things, with up to 9 other Local Guides.
My Next Saturday Virtual Meetup will be April 25th
“Show & Tell” Wine Lovers Social Sorry, this meetup is already filled with a growing Wait List. I am happy to host a future virtual meetup. Please comment and tag me in the Wine Lovers Social link.
Cheers,
Karen
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love your photos wowwwww… green is the king here, a color spreading relax and positivity 
we need in this period!!!
and found so exciting the live tour in the gardens of 
