GO RIGHT IN....MY GARDEN

Sweet, Sweet Pulasan

2011-08-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

What looks like rambutan but sweeter than rambutan and lychee? Its the pulasan, a native of Malaysia. It looks almost like rambutan and some people do confused it if they are not familiar with our local fruits.They come from the same family Sapindaceae. While rambutan is called Nephelium Lappaceum, the pulasan is called Nephelium Mutabile or the Hairless Rambutan. The word pulasan comes from the Malay word pulas which means to twist. Thats how you open the fruit, you have to twist it at both ends to get the sweet fleshy white inside.

On my trip to Muar recently, I came across 2 bushy, laden with fruits, pulasan trees at my friend Som's house. It has been a long time since I saw one! Rambutan trees are more commonly planted in most compounds and I have one in mine which is about 40 years old! I think people prefer rambutan to pulasan because the flesh are more firm and easier to come out from the seeds although pulasan is much sweeter and juicier.

almost ripe pulasan on the tree

ripe ones

opened ripe pulasan to reveal the sweet flesh, the skin is thicker than rambutan's

unripe fruits on the tree

one of Som's pulasan tree laden with fruits, the tree is only about 6 feet, rounded with dense bushy branches sweeping the ground.....even the fruits are kissing the ground too!

comparing those of pulasan these are the rambutans

thinner skin of rambutan

the hairy rambutan (rambut means hair in Malay)

Both fruits are in season now and you can get them by the roadsides in make-shift stalls set up to sell them to passing motorists along with the King of Fruit, the Durian! On the way back, I loaded my small car boot with 30 durians, bags of rambutans from my friend Asiah's orchard and pulasans from Som's! They are my favourite fruits and was craving for them when I was pregnant with my first son!

Next Tuesday the Muslims here and all over the world, will be celebrating the end of the fasting month, Ramadhan, with the festival Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. There will be cooking, eating, visiting and be merry for the whole month with our local open houses. So enjoy everybody.....watch your weight!

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI TO BLOGGERS AND ALL MUSLIMS!

Today's Flowers - My all time favourite

2011-08-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

WATER HYACINTH

Go to Today's Flowers and Macro Flowers Saturday to see some gorgeous blooms displayed.

ENJOY!

Wordless Wednesday - Homegrown spinach and instant noodles- Slurp!

2011-08-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

First blooms

2011-08-11T09:39:00.001-07:00

The orange and yellow blooms are very attractive and catch your eyes immediately. They are climbers and will make good decorative plants on your fence or a pergola. I bought this plant seedling last year and placed it behind the mulberry bushes outside the fence. If you stand in front of the fence you cant see them. Finally it has shown its bright and lovely blooms. The blooms are showing their lovely faces to the garden inside facing my small pond, gracing just above the fence.

But I dont know the name of this plant!

Well...since then, Stephanie of Steph's Green Space had provided the name of this vine, its called Bauhinia kockiana. Thank you again Steph!

Linking this to Tootsie's Fertiliser Friday/Flaunt your flowers.

Tomatillo in my garden?

2011-08-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

I thought at first they were some new weeds, so was looking forward to some pretty tiny flowers I havent seen before. Then as they grew bigger, they resembled a lot like chilli plants, they even have blooms just like chillies but only tinier and yellow in colour. Completely forgotten about them much later until one day I saw small dangling fruits looking just like our local Chinese lanterns! They are paper thin and some have turned yellowish. I remembered seeing these in a few blogs and googled to find out more about them. Lol...they are called TOMATILLO! Pronouced as 'toe-mah-TEE-yo'. I was surprised but delighted indeed they can grow here and in my garden!

a ripe and unripe tomatilos

green tomatillos dangling like lanterns

I was curious when I felt that inside the paper thin outside covering called husk, is a small lump, so to see whats inside I tear the husk and...a small tiny fruit!

......with tiny seeds inside, though I havent tasted it yet...

the plants looking so much like chillies though the stems are softer not like chillies which are woody

the tiny yellow flowers

The tomatillo is called the husk tomato or green tomato by the Mexican and a staple ingredient in Mexican cuisine in making their green salsa sauce. It gives a tarty flavour to the sauce. Though called green tomato, it shouldnt be confused with the unripe normal tomato which is of the same family but of different genus. I dont know what to do with my harvest of these new fascinating vegetables in my garden. Should I cook them in my curry and stew or just toss them in my salad?
I guess you can never trust whats in the seed packets you sow!

Flaunting them but not mine!

2011-08-04T20:44:00.001-07:00

Got 2 days break from babysitting last Thursday and Friday, so my friend Noni and I went visiting our friends in Muar, a small town in the southern state of Johore. The main purpose was actually to savour the local food there before the fasting month of Ramadhan, the gluttons we are!

I couldn't help myself, snapping away when we went over to our friend Som's small garden especially her orchids and euphorbia millis.

some striking colours of foliage

Then last but not least, blooming at the R&R stop at Seremban along the highway were the lovely plumbago....

Linking this to Tootsie's Fertiliser Friday/Flaunting your Flowers

Happy Weekend!

Floral arrangement from my garden

2011-08-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

I love to have floral arrangement made from whatever blooms I have in my garden at that moment. It may be just a single flower or a few bunched up together for my dining or coffee table. And its so happen, Amy from Get Busy Gardening is also showing off her weekly
floral arrangement too!

Its a simple one, starting off with a single bunch of water hyacinth which is blooming in my pond, let it stand in a bowl of water

then I fill in the gaps with some blue hydrangeas and pink impatiens.....

there!...a bowl of low flower arrangement for my dining table

Do you have enough flowers in your garden now to make one flower arrangement? Go to Amy's garden and see her beautiful and colourful floral arrangement!

Crouching tiger under the mulberry bushes

2011-07-18T19:56:00.001-07:00

Time for mulberry picking! Again...

Every two months, the 7 mulberry bushes in front of my house is heavy with sweet berries to be picked. Armed with a red strainer, I went crouching under the bushes to pick as many as I can before my grandson woke up from his nap.

7 mulberry trees outside the fence

after two months without pruning, they shoot out almost covering the front of the house, higher than the fence and covered completely my pondok on the right

crouching like a tiger under the bushes laden with fat juicy berries, my hand, one holding the strainer, while another busy picking the berries and popping some in my mouth...well, they are safe, no pesticides were ever used on the plants

the mulberry bushes are pruned every 2 months...well, actually they are hacked roughly by the Bangladeshi I hired to cut the grass around my house...

anyway, the pruning will automatically trigger the bushes to flower and bear fruits....I think there must be thousands of those berries!

the berries had actually started to ripen a few days before I picked them, so lots of those 'black' berries (actually they were dark purple) were on the branches and some on the ground

each tree trunk is this thick after 3 years of planting them and many had since being propagated and given to family, friends, and neighbours

one strainer laden with mulberries from 3/4 of one tree was picked....too many of them and my back was killing me!

the next day I went crounching and picking again and got another strainer full! So far only 2 trees were picked....

....and many more fell on the ground because they were too ripe, and with the slightest shake of the branches will see those berries dropping like bombs!

one strainer full of those sweet berries resulted in a 2 litre bottle mulberry juice....I have 5 more bushes to harvest with many more unripe berries on those already picked!

Im making bottles of mulberry juice and also roselle juice in time for the coming fasting month of Ramadhan in August. They are so refreshing!

Blooming for GBBD July 2011 and FF

2011-07-14T12:17:00.001-07:00

The dry, hot and humid weather we have been experiencing here is ideal for some of my garden flowers who are showing their beautiful and colourful flowers and foliage, just in time for the monthly and weekly flaunting of flowers hosted by two of the garden bloggers, Carol and Tootsie.

first bloom of cosmos caudatus (ulam raja)

wild ruellia tuberosa

desert rose

Autumn Belle had so kind enough to let me know the name of this flower which looks like angelonia but much bigger and no fragrance. Its called Otacanthus caeruleus or Brazilian snapdragon or Amazon blue. Thank you Autumn Belle!

red malvaviscus arboreus (a miniature type of hibiscus)

tibourchina urvilleana

peach hibiscus

pink impatiens balsamina

pink ruellia brittoniana/ruellia tweediana or Mexican petunia or Mexican blue bell

blue flowers of one type of coleus

attractive colours of foliage of another

Carol's May Dream Garden is hosting Garden Bloggers' Blooming Day

Tootsie's Time is hosting Fertiliser Friday/Flaunt Your Flowers

Wordless/Outdoor Wednesday

2011-07-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

Cherry blossoms decorated tree

A tree is a tree by any other name...

Soup and curry

2011-07-08T11:05:00.001-07:00

My first calabash (labu air) picked for my pot today. I can see another 2 calabash coming out with my help in their pollination!

Its bigger and longer than the one I usually bought from the market, almost 2 feet long! So I cut it into half to be used today.

Calabash soup with prawns and slices of carrot and tomato

Then I tried the Chicken and Lemon Grass Curry recipe from Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, she has a lot of easy to follow recipes and are delicious for your taste buds! Though this time with some modifications on my part. I used beef instead of chicken (since I had chicken 2 days in a row), prawn stock instead of chicken stock (I think it complimented the fish sauce well), and a dash of curry powder to make it more spicy! Walla! It tasted so delicious especially with the coriander (daun ketumbar) and kaffir lime leaves from my garden (daun limau purut) and of course, thumbs up from my three sons! Next time I will try with chicken. Thanks Joyce for sharing the recipe!

Happy Weekend!

Sweet butterfly peas

2011-07-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

Locally we call it Bunga Talang/Telang. Otherwise its called butterfly pea or blue pea vine (Clitoria ternatea). Mine was given by a blogger friend and was grown in a flower bed near a chain fence for easy climbing. Its such an unassuming little plants until they bloom with the violet/blue flowers. Usually the flower petals are single with white or yellow markings in the centre but mine is a doubled-layered.

pretty violet/blue flowers

though I wish I could have the white flower variety which is seldom seen or maybe the soil composition that produces the white flowers instead of blue?

very petite vines with small but showy blooms, self-seeded but will grow lanky, so have to trim the vines to make them bushy

I just noticed that my butterfly peas (bunga talang) plant has lots of small flat pod fruits

on it

So this morning, I picked all the bigger peas - maybe will cook them in a stir-fry mixed veggie? Usually they are grown for their blue flowers to make dye or food colouring but havent heard of eating those peas but I guess they must be edible since their flowers are edible too. You can dry the flowers and make blue tea just like the Thais with added sugar or honey or make blue jelly or blue ice-cream! The Thais grow the butterfly pea flowers commercially. But more familiar locally are the blue rice (nasi kerabu).

the lovely flowers are a food source which attract butterflies, thats why they are called butterfly peas

their peas reminded me of the sweet peas I usually bought in packets at the supermarket though sweet peas are broader

today's harvest - butterfly peas and okras

the seed pods dried on the plant and kept for future planting - I dont have to worry about running out of seeds because Ive seen a few new seedlings already sprouting nearby the parent plant, since they are also self-seeded

Its a calabash!

2011-07-02T02:02:00.001-07:00

Remember all those hype about my guessing games on the vines with the delicate lacy light pink/peach blooms, I have on my vegetable patch? Well...finally it showed itself last weekend. It was not snake gourd, not Kakdi (a type of Indian cucumber),....its a CALABASH! A cucurbit family, scientifically its called Lagenaria siceraria or Lagenaria vulgaris or commonly known as water gourd (labu air), bottle gourd or long melon. I guess we can never trust what the packet of seeds stated - though I remember they were not calabash I planted!

Imagine....the surprise I got when I saw this dangling on the vines! Its one of my favourite vegetables which usually will be made into soup with anchovies or shrimps

......but I remembered I did a hand-polination on one female flower which later on looked like this...

From my observations, usually there were so many male flowers at one time and the female and male flowers very seldom bloom together. When the female flowers start appearing, the male ones already past their prime and started to close and whither away...So it was a lucky day indeed when I found a female and male flowers blooming at the same time and gave them a helping hand to get better acqainted!

so the mystery of the delicate lacy blooms finally solved!

Now Im paying closer attention to their blooming habits so that more calabash can be produced. Happy weekend gardening!

Outdoor Wednesday - Enjoying morning walk with fauna and flora

2011-06-28T20:06:00.001-07:00

Before it rains this morning, I had my usual morning walk after a week break. Morning walk is now a luxury since Im babysitting my grandson. The sky was a bit cloudy which made the air on the slopes cool and crisp. The monkeys were out and about looking for food or just sitting around enjoying each other's company.

spotted theses two couples grooming and looking for lice on each other's back..

a mother with its baby clinging for dear life under the belly, running away when I came near

another 2 young ones foraging the area for food left by walkers every evening

the gently sloping greens of a Golf Club nearby

early morning golfers

ferns in abundance on the hill slopes by the roadside binding and holding on to the soil which ultimately will prevent erosion

a small man-made pond on the ground of the club with lots of pink blooms of lotus covering it

On the way back, spotted these geeses near some houses there, nearly got chased away when I went too near to get their photos!

Along the way, couldnt help be fascinated by the trailing Thunbergia Lauriflora on the polycarbonate roof of a porch...they looked so pretty
Thunbergia Lauriflora were also spotted on some trees by the roadside near the slopes, Im not sure whether these were growing wild there or were planted by the Golf Club

a dragonfly on my aloevera plant (lidah buaya)

another red one perching on one of the water plants on my pond

a whitish looking caterpillar on my water spinach (kangkung)

one of the common yellow butterflies seen in my garden having a rest on a periwinkle one on the tomato plant

are these the dreaded red bugs which invaded Bangchik's garden...though not that many near my pumpkin patch but still they did some damage to the leaves

Im linking this to Susan's A Southern Daydreamer for hosting an Outdoor Wednesday. Lets see whats her story today.

Wildflower Wednesday - Pretty Wild Things

2011-06-22T05:55:00.000-07:00

Not sure whether these are called Native Plants but to my sometimes blur eyes, they are really pretty wild things! Here we called them WEEDS!

Fountain grass - in great abundance near the river bank behind my backyard

tiny wild morning glory

Asystasia sp. - a very common weed

Star of Bethelham also shown on my last post

tiny daisy-like bloom or looking like miniature sunflower is called Singapore daisy

Ruellia tuberosa (wild petunia)

Those wild things grace corners of my garden and backyard which definitely dont go unnoticed and Im taking a very keen interest of their presence.
Im sure you agree with me, those sweet tiny blooms are pretty. Even if they are just WEEDS, which will be yanked by me later on or are cut mercilessly by a Bangladeshi I hired once a month.

Im linking this to Gail's Clay and Limestone - Wildflower Wednesday Celebration. Hop over there to see some spectacular wildflowers in her garden!

ENJOY!

Another round of roselles and greens

2011-06-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

The 3 roselles plants I had in my veggie patch have been very productive indeed with more fruits after every harvest. This time I got 50 or so of the red fruits and I managed to make 1.5 litre of roselle juice! So refreshing in these hot weather! The same goes for the new 4 okra plants which give 3 or 4 okras every other day!

freshly picked okras, roselles fruits and 2 sprigs of Thai basils for my Hot Basil Squids

The extra okras I gave to Noni and my son's MIL when they came for a visit. The rest were blanched and with Ulam Raja (cosmos caudatus shoots) were eaten with sambal belacan for lunch with the Hot Basil squids and a grilled fish...

Today's harvest of the last pak choy (white stem), some kangkungs (water spinach), kacang renek (they seemed to look like long beans but they dont climb like them though) and long beans, more okras and sayur manis/cekur manis....for tomorrow's or next day's lunch! The cekur manis I will mix with pumpkin and its shoots to cook sayur lemak (veggies in coconut milk) - its one of my favourite dish.

2 pots of newly planted beans were attacked by swarms of aphids...looking at them makes my hair stands. Manually squeezed them everyday, though the next day they will be there again, it was so frustrating! But then when I put some eggshells in the pots, they seemed to dissappear althogether! Well...they didnt dissappear forever, but came back after a few days though this time, it was less than before.

Ulam Raja shoots (cosmos caudatus) tastes and smell a bit like mint and green apple.

I was introduced to them by my Grandma when I was a kid. The picture of a small field of green leaves and sweet pink blooms besides her house in Sitiawan were one of my happy childhood memories. When I introduced Ulam Raja to my youngest son to eat as herbal salad with sambal belacan, he loved it and have been asking for the shoots everyday to eat with his lunch or dinner!

sayur manis/cekur manis before harvesting

A lush bush of Thai basil given 3 sprigs originally by my friend Noni, though now hers has since perished - are my source of fresh herbs in some simple Thai cuisines like Hot Basil squids/prawns or Manggo/Papaya salads....love their fresh fragrance!

next harvest of spinachs/amaranthus

So happy gardening to all!

June 2011 GBBD - Blooming Snake Gourds

2011-06-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I joined in the monthly Garden Bloggers' Blooming Day hosted by Carol of MayDreamsGarden.
I was pretty busy with so many things besides gardening...being a first time Grandma and all! So today Im posting some photos of whats blooming in my garden though not all the flowers since I have shown them before in previous posts.

Im fascinated with the delicate blooms of snake gourds (Trichosanthes cucumerina) , their white lacy flowers are nature's work of art. At the moment they are blooming profusely in my veggie patch which I hope will be able to see at least one fruit in my pot soon!

the delicate lacy white petals reminded me of a ballerina's tutu...

the new bud is white but slowly will turn very pale pink/peach as it opens up...

male flowers of the snake gourd

the female flower which will grow as gourd later if its polinated or else it will just drop off

more female blooms

new flower buds coming up

snake gourds so called because of its shape - longish like a snake, here shown the plants are supported by trellis or poles
I was sure I planted bitter gourds or angled luffa but then they turned out to be snake gourds when they started showing their delicate lacy flowers (thanks to Antara of Garden Jewels)

a sweet frangrance is coming from my pink/white Plumeria Acuminata (pointed frangipani)

these tiny 'morning glory' are in fact the Jacquemontia Pentantha fighting for climbing space with their big momma the Morning glory on the chain fence

Yellow Walking Iris

this tiny white flower is the star of Bethleham (Laurentia Longiflora) although considered as a minor weed, I love seeing these in my garden which at first I mistook it to be the herb rocket as the leaves are similar

I just love the double layered bunga talang or the sweet peas looking like miniature blue roses, also competing for climbing space with the morning glory and the tiny Jacquemontia - all blue in colour!

....and last but not least, the pink Rain Lily is blooming after the rain yesterday

Go over to Carol's blog to see whats blooming in her garden this June.

Meeting up

2011-06-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

This is simply gorgeous...the red frangipani given by One of Onenezz! Its worth waiting for and meeting her at IKEA last week for the plant after postponing it for so many times! So sorry One, you have to carry the heavy bulky plant to meet me there.Thank you so much, it really brightens up my garden with those lovely red hot blooms! Too bad cant show her photo here as she is camera-shy like me...

Then here is another plant worth going all the way to Pusat Bandar Damansara to get it....the Bunga Kantan (torch ginger). After meeting One, my friend Noni and I made our way to see Keats of Keats The Sunshine Girl at her lovely home.

bunga kantan (torch gingers)

Torch ginger has a strong spicy fragrance and used mainly in Malaysian and Thai cuisines especially in the Malaysian laksa dish (spicy rice noodles soup). Keats gave me not one but two pots of the plant and she threw in another pot of a type of hibiscus, the Malvaviscus arboreus for good measure! Offered one pot of bunga kantan to Noni but she said her garden is too small to have it! Thanks so much Keats for the Bunga Kantan and that particular plant which was actually in my wish list.

two pots of bunga kantan

Malvaviscus arboreus

We loved Keats' house with its well-kept beautiful spacious garden flanked by big shady
trees, ferns, plants with lovely blooms especially the different types of Heliconias, and those from the ginger and galangal families, in different colours. They looked so exotic!

Keats' lovely home from my car parked outside the gate

the house from the left side of the garden

I particularly loved this part of the garden with staghorns cascading down a big tree and mixtures of plants at the bottom....felt like Im in a rain forest, shady and cool even in the hot sun!

there were green and lush plants like Impatiens, Kaempferia, Spathiphyllum like the above and others that thrived well under the shade of a big tree

the sunny part of the front of the house were planted with ferns and angelonias on the ground

Then there were these two spectacular bright red blooms from the ginger family, Zingiber Spectabile which were my favourites because of their unique and exotic looking blooms

the galangal (lengkuas) family Alpinia purpurata - pink

red Alpinia

two colours of Heliconia psittacorum (Sepit Udang) - orange

yellow one

another type - Heliconia mariae

also these two attractive colours of Canna on the sunny side of her garden

Rangoon creeper

Here is the ever friendly and cheerful Keats showing Noni a very tall tree in her backyard (sorry I forgot the name of that tree Keats)

that tree has unedible berries looked like the chiku tree (Manilkara zapota)...Keats called it her 'Christmas' tree

My friend Noni and I enjoyed our meetings with both One and Keats that day and of course thank you so much for those plants. My small car was full to the brim with 4 pots of plants, so much so that, our prior plan to stop by the nurseries in Sg Buloh was abandoned! Thanks again Keats for your warm hospitality and welcoming us to your lovely home and garden. Hope to meet you both again some other time! Sorry to post this so late because this old pc of mine was having so much problem and still is (I didnt go for holidays Milka)......this post took 3 days to complete!

The ever useful banana leaf

2011-05-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

After 10 days with my newborn grandson, I got a break yesterday, to go for lunch with my friend Noni. My DIL and baby have gone to her mother's house for the post-partum period until end of June when she starts work again. In the meantime, Im trying to catch up on my gardening, blogging and other activities which have been neglected since the birth of my grandson. For a long time, Noni has been pestering me to follow her to eat the Banana Leaf Rice in Bangsar and away we went yesterday!

The place was very crowded with the lunchtime crowd and had to queue up just to get a sit. There was a mix bunch of people from all walks of life and races enjoying the sumptious food there. We were sharing our table with 2 lovely young Chinese ladies.

the laying of the banana leaves on the table...

- the Banana Leaf rice originated from South India, a generous helping of rice served on a banana leaf in place of a plate with curry, veggies, meat or fish of your choice! You can ask for second helping too...more rice, more curry or more veggies!

you can choose your curries - fish, chicken or dhal...all 4 of us had all three!

the generous helping of rice with all 3 spicy curries 'flooding' my banana leaf! The smell of the curries have you salivate and anticipate what else is coming on your leaf!

Walla! Just look at my 'plate' - we have 3 types of veggies - cucumber in coconut milk (salad), gourd in tumeric and crispy deep fried bitter gourds plus a plate of chicken masala and freshly fried ikan tenggiri. A mountain of a rice to savour and enjoy! After eating this, you will definitely fall asleep!

my two banana plants - grown mainly for the useful leaves, to wrap sweet kueh (cakes) like lepat (ripe banana mixed with flour and grated young coconut as filling) or to grill fish or as a lovely background on a serving plate, as the leaf gives the food a subtle aroma and flavour to your food

In Malaysia we have many restaurants serving Banana Leaf Rice and they were favourites among all races. The banana leaf acts as a plate, so you can just throw it away after eating - no need to wash, though we presumed, they are cleaned before being served food on them. Most Malay or Indian household will have at least a banana plant grown in their compound.

the most common use of the banana leaf in Malaysia is as a wrapper for our all-time favourite food - Nasi Lemak! When you open up a wrapped nasi lemak, the aroma of the banana leaf makes the rice not only fragrance but tasteful! Emmmmm.....

photo from viets world kitchen

also widely used when grilling fish

photo from wan's kitchen
kueh kochi - glutinuos rice flour wrapped in banana leaf with sweet young grated coconut filling
in the centre

photo from wan's kitchen
pulut panggang - glutinuos rice wrapped in banana leaf with savoury filling, roasted on hot charcoal

otak-otak, - spicy fish paste wrapped in banana leaf, roasted on hot charcoal, a very famous dish from the Southern state of Johore. Those are some of the uses of the banana leaf in cooking, there are plenty more kueh wrapped in them which are are not shown here.

The banana tree is a very useful plant to grow in your backyard. You can eat the fruits, the flowers (jantung pisang), use the leaves in cooking, and make rope with the hemp from the trunk. Besides being used in cooking, the leaves are also used as a decorating element during weddings and religious ceremonies for the Hindus and Buddhists. They are nicely cut and patterned with strings attached to them, hanged on wedding tents, doors, temples or decorating the altar or on their gifts offering.

Blooming Flowers

2011-05-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Flaunting my blooming flowers from the garden and vegetable beds.

our National flower the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Hippeastrum reticulatum sometimes called 'amaryllis' by nurseries or a variety of Dutch Hybrids

a delicate tissue-like flower of a bean plant or something else I planted which I have forgotten to note down the name!

Clerodendrum incisum (Musical Note Plant)

purple impatiens balsamina

Melastoma malabathricum (sendudok) white variety

Tibouchina urvilleana (sendudok) purple variety

Japannese honeysuckle or Lonicera japonica, the seedling was given by my friend Noni, it is a woody vine that has a sweet fragrance

Thevetia peruviana (peach)

Thevetia peruviana (yellow), this plant's white sap is poisonous or toxic, so must warn your small children when handling the flowers

Adenium obesum (desert rose), the first bloom since I cut the whole plant bald end of last year!

Texas sage or Ash plant ( Leucophyllum frutescens)

my okra having a blooming time now

This is linking to Tootsie's Fertiliser Friday/Flaunting Your Flowers

Im going to be very busy with the coming birth of a grandson probably today, going to be a first time Grandma! Yeay!

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Sinful Wednesday!!!

2011-05-03T20:54:00.001-07:00

Went out for an early lunch with son and daughter-in-law after the rain. What's with rain and your tummy making extra growling sound? Anyway, DIL wanted to eat a lot of things before she gave birth because she would be missing all those yummy food during her maternity confinement!

FOOD - GLORIOUS FOOD!!!

but this very sweet sinful looking dessert is mine! hahaha..

my son's Cantonese noodles

DIL's order - green noodles with chicken?

....and some other dishes to be shared between 3 of us - fried Enokitake mushrooms

kailan with garlic oyster sauce

grilled chicken

my order - fried rice with Enokitake mushrooms

and last but not least....the banana split!

Its fine for DIL to eat all those...but Im slowly gaining whatever weight I have lost for the past one month!

Harvesting roselles and kitchen greens

2011-05-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

The first 3 roselles (Hibiscus sabdariffa) I planted have been harvested twice for their fruits. Though still not enough to make roselle jam like Bangchik, they are a source of sweet sourish roselle juice for a hot day. To make the juice, just peel the calyx which are red in colour and boil in water, then strain to get the juice. You can either add a bit of sugar or just drink it like that. The plants are almost the same height as me and still growing. I love their lovely pink blooms with dark red centre.

today's harvest of roselle fruits and okras

roselle blooms (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

the red roselle fruits on the plants

their fruits are as big my big toe

the first 3 roselle plants bought cheap from a nursery which I nursed them to health after a bout of disease and mealy bugs..now almost reaching my head!

after the first roselle fruits, I got plenty of seeds to sow...here are a few of those new seedlings

Greens harvested today

spinach and kangkung (water spinach) with okras from new plants

spinach (bayam)

new okra plants on the new vegetable beds are growing well reaching my height now but the leaves are all perforated by grasshoppers I think...on the right is a belimbing tree I bought at last MAHA 2010

I cant remember what bean I sowed but these are climbing high now competing with the pumpkins next to it

their delicate light pinkish blooms

pak choys growing again after last harvest

one of my two tumeric plants...Im using the leaves to add flavour to rendang

Chinese chives, seedlings given by my friend Noni, to add to stir-fry bean sprouts
with tofu or fried bee hoon (rice noodles)

new addition to the vegetable beds - ulam raja (Cosmos caudatus) the young shoots are eaten as salad by the Malays

very healthy and bushy Thai basils...no holes on their leaves! caterpillars and grasshoppers are really avoiding these aromatic herbs...

newly sown beans (not sure what) since the packet of seeds I bought also in MAHA didnt say what type of beans they are...

finally to quench our thirst in this really hot scorching sun.....lets sip on a very cold roselle juice! See how red the juice is from those calyx..

Wildflower Wednesday - Simpoh Air

2011-04-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Simpoh Air scientifically known as Dillenia Suffruiticosa as illustrated in David T. Jones book Flora of Malaysia Illustrated

Malaysian wild flowers are really wild. Usually they are found in dense secondary vegetation (belukar), along the margins of forests and swamps in the lowlands and hills. As new highways are built across the country, cutting across mountains and forests, these can easily seen by the roadside as we pass up and down the highways. They are not found in the meadows or lawns of gardens and not as pretty like those from the temperate countries. Though some of these wild flowers are now being cultivated as ornamental plants to grace our home and gardens for example: Melastoma Malabathricum (Sendudok) with its many varieties (I have white and vivid blue/purple varieties in my garden) and Cassia Alata or Candlestick Cassia (Gelenggang), to name the two common ones.

Today Im featuring one those wild flowers called locally as Simpoh Air or the Dillenia Suffruiticosa. 'Suf' meaning under and 'fruiticosa' as shrubby which characterise the bushy growth habit of the plant.

its bright and broad yellow bloom

black ants love these yellow flowers for their sweet nectar...

the bushy plant are easily distinguished from other belukar vegetation by their everflowering yellow blooms (photos were taken by the roadside in Sepang)

flower buds covered by red sepals

the star-like pink fruits contain seeds enveloped by a fleshy red-coloured arils which are very attractive to birds which help to disperse the seeds across the landscape

The woods are good for making tools or fuel like in India. In some countries, the tannin is used as animal hide tanning and it is sold commercially. Simpoh Air is used to staunch bleeding wounds in those days where hospital and medical facilities were scarce and the fruit pulp was used for washing hair. I remember when I was a kid, their big broad leaves were used as wrappers of meat and vegetables in the wet market. And if Im not mistaken locally, they were also used to wrap fermented soya bean to make tempe but nowadays, I see the tempe are wrapped in banana leaves which are more readily available.

Im linking this to Gail's Wildflower Wednesday (Clay and Limestone) to see her pretty wild flowers!

Outdoor Wednesday - Lovely morning!

2011-04-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

It rained early in the morning but by 7 am it stopped. Time for my morning walk. But today to another direction since my walking partner Noni, is still recuperating at home. So Im walking from my house to a nearby residential area just 10 mins away, called Taman Kosas. The air felt so fresh after the rain though the road coming out of the residential area was starting to get busy, people rushing to work or sending children to school. How wonderful life is without having to join in the rat race!

the morning sun was just showing itself behind the cloud - the air was so fresh and crisp

water cascading leisurely over the boulders in the river nearby, which is the same river that flows behind my house - the Ampang River

although the skyline is changing fast, the track around the residential area is quite peaceful for a morning walk

majestic willow trees on one side of the river bank behind the Ampang Waterfront, the IN place to chill out (lepak) with rows of restaurants, cafes, furniture shops etc etc...just 15 mins walk from my house

on the other side, cascading bougainvilleas and palm trees are lining the river bank

while walking near the houses, I saw some plants and flowers in their front yards...this is buah kedondong (Spondia dulcis or Ambarella or Malay Apple), sourish fruit which can be eaten fresh with a hot spicy sauce or salt, or it can be pickled in brine and sugar

this petai belalang (Leucaena leucocephala) is found near some secondary jungle or bushes.... the last of a green lung near the houses

betelnut tree bearing a bunch of little fruits

close-up of the betelnuts

spider orchids...one of the oldest known species of orchid, blooming profusely in front of one house

a shrub of little white flowers found near the roadside, known as Asian rosebay or Tabernaemontana divaricata, a double layered variety, usually these are stringed to make a garland to be worn by Indian ladies on their hair, though it has no sweet fragrance like the jasmine

I saw lots of big bright orange flowers littered under their tree on the sidewalk on my way back

such lovely colour...African Tulip or Spathodea campanulata (thanks Arati for letting me know the name of this lovely flower)
near a modern apartment, lovely sepit udang are flowering, part of a beautiful landscape there

their bright colours are very attractive from far

just next to the apartment which is close by the river bank, I saw these polystyrene containers perched precariously on the narrow ledge, with okra, chilli and some other vegetables being grown by a garden enthusiast, probably one of the residents of that apartment!

this placid river, the Ampang River, is flowing down towards my house...how nice if I can have a small sampan (boat) tied near hear and I can row back to my house!

Lets visit Susan of A Southern Daydreamer for more outdoor Wednesday postings!

Monday's Harvests

2011-04-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

This morning I harvested my green vegetables and young sweetcorns. The hot and wet season we are experiencing now has done a lot of good to my vegetables. They are thriving but because of my busy schedule since last week, I have no time to harvest them. A few of them are showing some flowers!

from left: white and green pak choys (the stems), first time green and red spinachs (bayam), second time kangkung (water spinach) and eggplants

young sweetcorns and cute little capsicums for stir-fry mixed veggies

Milka and FoodsoDelicious were asking about my pumpkins. Here are some photos showing those little fruits. I tried hand pollinations to help them, not sure these will be successful in forming pumpkins. Hope they dont drop off please....

So my lunch today consisted of those greens I harvested this morning. I blanched everything. The kangkungs, long beans and bean sprouts are made into pecal, a local salad eaten with a hot spicy peanut sauce.

blanched kangkungs, long beans, bean sprouts and fried fermented soya bean (tempe) with the hot and spicy peanut sauce

The rest of the veggies - pak choys, green and red spinachs are also blanched with cauliflower, brocolli, sweetcorns, cubed red apples, pear eaten with mayonaise. Emmmm...I can eat this everyday!

Sorry, if my photos are haphazardly arranged...its just one of those things that is beyond my control..hehehe

April Blooms Day!

2011-04-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

Its that time of the month again for garden bloggers from all over the world, to show what's blooming in their gardens. Yes...the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! Moreover today is Friday, a weekly flaunting of flowers at Tootsie Time!

Besides my white and peach hibiscus which have been blooming continuously for more than a month now, I have these blooming flowers to colour my garden!

very sweet and cute self-seeded pink/white Torenia Founieri

Bunga Melati scientificically named Wrightia antidysenterica or commonly called Artic Snow or Milkyway (thanks again to Bernie), also known as Thailand Jasmine ( courtesy of Milka), though not sure whether its under the jasmine family but this one does not have any sweet fragrance like jasmine. Love the pure white little flowers!

Ruellia Brittoniana purple, the pink one has not bloom yet

red balsams (Impatiens Balsamina)

pink balsams

the red and pink balsams are having a great blooming time in my new flower bed

even the wild morning glory in my backyard has a miniature version!

lots of male and female pumpkin flowers from my pumpkin patch - hope to have at least a few pumpkins soon!

the shocking pink flowers of Texas Sage

Have a nice weekend gardening!

Wednesday Blues!

2011-04-12T20:10:00.001-07:00

Today I have the blues!

Early morning surprise....the clitoria ternatea (blue pea) or bunga telang/talang blogger Adiwieyah sent me has finally bloomed! A bigger surprise is that the flower has a double layer petals, which is the first time I have seen one. Looking like a miniature blue rose or a double layered blue balsam, it is so lovely! Thanks Fie for the seeds!

clitoria ternatea (blue pea) double layer bloom...like a miniature blue rose

the creeping vine is about 3 feet tall now with 2 vivid blue flowers

clitoria ternatea the common single layer bloom (Wikipedia)

clitoria mariana...light purple bloom (Wikipedia)

comparing this long bean (snake bean) bloom with clitoria mariana...almost the same

the blue flowers are picked for food colouring in our local cooking

Clitoria ternatea (bunga telang/talang) is a native of tropical equatorial Asia but has been introduced to other continents like Africa, Australia and America. They are creepers with vivid blue flowers, though there are some varieties of white and light purple/lilac. The plant is grown as an ornamental but mainly for its blue flowers as a food colouring in our local cooking instead of using the blue dye.

another blue in my garden - Tibouchina Urvilleana or Princess flower (senduduk)

a pretty blue wild petunias (ruellia tuberosa) growing everywhere out of cracks of cement in my backyard...but I have also taken cuttings to plant in hanging pots and the new flower beds...

miniature blue morning glory

finally something blue (morning glory), something white (anthuriums) and something wispy and soft (fountain grass/bunga lalang) to make up a small impromtu garden bouquet to brighten up my day!

HAVE A NICE DAY!

Today's flowers - Red, Yellow and White

2011-04-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today's flowers are not from my garden.

The first two flowers, the Peacock flower and the white Lily were from my walk this morning planted along the track by the roadside.

Caesalpinia Pulcherrima commonly known as the Peacock flower

I have always called this Lily, Bernie said its called Spider Lily (Hymenocallis), though there is no sweet fragrance coming from it

Cassia Fistula or the Golden shower flowers

Love the bunches of yellow flowers hanging profusely from the tree in my cousin's garden...I felt like walking under a cherry blossom tree!

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com

Cranes came to visit....

2011-04-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

picture perfect!

While hanging clothes in the backyard suddenly I saw 3 cranes wading the knee high water of the Ampang River behind my house just a few feet away. I ran in to take my camera but by the time I came back again, they were all gone to the neighbour's side!...Only one was seen and luckily I was able to snap its photo. She's a beauty isn't she?

No idea what's its called but have seen this type on Chinese scroll paintings....red markings on the head near the beak and black feathers on the wings and back. The cranes look so graceful, with their long slender necks standing on their two twig-like legs in the water. Their beauty and spectacular mating dances have made them highly symbolic birds in many cultures dating back to ancient times. I wonder if our dance in the ballrooms or the discos is a copycat of their mating dances, showing our dancing skills, moves and manouvers to attract the perfect mate!

Anyway, its my lucky day today to get a glimpse of these rare big birds so near human habitat foraging in the river, which I know have lots of fish especially after a heavy rain this morning. Athough a fleeting meeting, its such an exhilarating one! I hope someday I will have the chance to meet another river dweller there - the Monitor Lizard (biawak)!....Though not face to face, mind you, I have seen glimpses of it a few times, quite huge! Just far enough to photograph it!

Malayan Ground Orchid

2011-03-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

Its Friday again!

Blooming Friday this week's theme is On the Ground - hosted by Katarina at Roses and Stuff. Today Im flaunting (Tootsie's Fertiliser Friday/Flaunting your Flowers) my ground orchid planted on my new flower bed near the pond.

Scientifically it is known as Spathoglottis Plicata or the Malayan Ground Orchid and the Philippines Ground Orchid. It is a native of South East Asian countries and the Philippines but it is one of the most common orchids found in the islands of Hawaii!

the first flowers of my Malayan Ground Orchid planted in a pot are white/pinkish with a bit of yellow in the centre

transplanted the whole clump on the ground...they love the sun or semi shade

the second time blooms show more yellow after that

The colour of the flowers are usually white, purple, lavender/violet, peach, light pink, orange/yellow

the plant was a big clump, had so many bulbs, so I broke them apart and planted them in the new flower bed circling the pond

How about this? This dainty sweet flowers are the Chinese Ground Orchid (Bletilla Striata) a tiny version of the showier Cattleya....though I dont have this in my garden, just to show here another variety of ground orchid

While doing my gardening, Im usually accompanied by the Ground Patrol, today is Comot's turn. She was the neighbour's kitten who came one day for lunch, then dinner....then stayed for good!

snooping and snipping around under the flower and vegetable beds...

hmmmm...can I eat this? snipping water cabbage thrown from the pond for my compost bin under my vegetables....dont disturb me...Im working! here's the weed! the weed!

not weed you....its my newly planted lemon grass!

hey you Ground Patrol...are you pooping or what? Ground Patrol indeed....making a mess of the ground in my garden!

Pop over to Katarina's garden to see what's on the ground there and to Tootsie's for her Spring flowers and seedlings!

ENJOY!

Wordless Wednesday - Perforated!

2011-03-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Today's Flowers

2011-03-27T03:10:00.001-07:00

Not only the flowering plants are blooming, the vegetables are also not to be left out!

Miss First Pumpkin

Miss Shy Eggplant

Miss Prim Bean

Last but not least...a big surprise indeed, a late entry - better late than never....

a rose? Nope....its

Miss Sassy Red Balsam!

( move over Miss Pink Balsam!)

Visit more flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com

Cat's Whiskers

2011-03-25T01:52:00.000-07:00

Remember I took home the wrong plant a few months back? Well, this time I got the right one! The cat's whiskers (Orthosiphon Aristatus) or misai kucing as it is known locally. I just adore the pretty purple inflorescences.

The plant is not only a medicinal herb but a pretty ornamental one, found mainly throughout South East Asia and tropical Australia.

The leaves are dried and boiled like tea for drinking to treat ailments of the kidney, bladder stone, urinary tract infection, liver and bladder problems, rheumatism and gout.

the buds of Orthosiphon Aristatus campared to...

the buds of Clerodendrum Incisum which I mistakenly took home because of the similarity of their leaves

Im flaunting these pretty purple blooms showing the characteristic cat's whiskers for Tootsie's Fertilizer Friday/Flaunt Your Flowers this week.

Why is mine pink?

2011-03-24T03:31:00.000-07:00

The balsam seeds Malar (My Little Garden) gave a month ago finally bloom today. But what a shock I had, its PINK not RED!

but still....its a beauty!

Could it be the soil or not enough fertiliser?

Malar's

I was looking forward to the red double layer blooms shown in Malar's and Bangchik's garden.

Bangchik's

But Im still happy they finally bloom, no matter what colour!

Thank you Malar for the seeds

Veggies for my pots

2011-03-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

It has been raining since last night until this evening. The air smells fresh and invigorating. Harvested my vegetables yesterday and today after the rain.

today's harvest...pak choys, spinach, kangkung, long beans, eggplants, roselle fruits...will make sayur campur masak lemak putih (mixed vegetables in coconut milk)

yesterday's harvest...okras, chillies, tomatoes, capsicums

All those vegetables mostly came from my new vegetable beds and those planted in pots placed in my backyard.

before....new vegetable beds in January 2011

now....the beds are grown with pumpkins, 5 angled loofah (petola) just coming up, sweetcorns, pak choys, kangkung, celery, onions, 10 roselles, 2 banana trees, garden herbs (mint, kesum, Indian borage, lemon mint, Thai basil, local basil), lime tree (limau kasturi), kaffir lime (limau purut), lemon tree, belimbing tree, 6 new okra seedlings, 4 new eggplants, sayur manis, spinach, tumeric plants, lemon grass, blackberry and grape vines

soon I will have sweetcorns

seen a few of these on pumpkin plants..flower buds?

2 original okra plants in the backyard are still giving me endless harvest plus 6 new ones in the new beds

the capsicums I planted maybe small and cute but still sweet and crunchy for stir-fry mixed veggies

a lot of young beans on the plant for the next harvest

5 original eggplants in pots plus 4 more in new beds...all are flowering and fruiting now

It has been a joy to see my vegetable harvests since the new year. I have achieved at least half of what I planned to do in my post World Garden Carnival Jan 2011. Though it has its back-breaking moments, I have thoroughly enjoyed it even though doing it all alone! I wanted more greens in my new vegetable beds and I got them, though I still have lots of seeds to be planted and to try out like cabbage, radish, carrot, lettuce, french beans etc. I would like to thank Bangchik (My Little Vegetable Garden) and Diana (Kebun Malay-Kadazan Girls) whom have been very inspirational in starting my own vegetable garden!

Enjoy the early morning walk..

2011-03-17T06:25:00.001-07:00

MORNING WALK

It was such a joy to start my ritual morning walk again after stopping for so many months! Walking was not only my at least 3 times a week form of exercise to keep the muscles and limbs flexible and in tip top shape, but its also a way to de-stress myself from the tension, stress of everyday life. Picked my friend Noni from her house this morning as I usually do, so that we can walk together.

Always on a look-out for beautiful plants in my outing, I saw these beautiful trailing orchids on her jackfruit tree (pokok nangka). Such beauty I have never seen before. Noni said its a wild orchid picked by her husband from the forest near their dusun (orchard) in Negeri Sembilan.

Must ask Makarimi (Orchid de Dangau), the name of these beauty since he's an expert in orchids and have a large collections in his garden. I was so happy Noni offered to give the seedlings later!

So away we went walking at a popular area near Noni's house in Taman TAR near Ampang Jaya. It was a wooded area with canopies of rainforest trees, some of them were showing beautiful blooms along the road. What a breath of fresh air in the early morning...so quiet from the hustle bustle of city life!

Actually its an elite residential area where the creme of society and royalites are making their homes here, very secluded, very private gated palaces like the photos below. But its a very popular jogging or walking track along the main road. People will park their cars by the roadside and do their walk, jog, cycle or walking the dogs. The track is a winding and uneven gentle hilly slope circling a small golf club mainly catering for the residents there. Its very cooling when you walk here in the early morning.

one of the many gated palaces along the main road

this is on top of the hill, down below on the left side is the golf club

The thick wooded hills are also homes to our furry long-tailed friends, the monkey. Its an added attraction to the joggers here especially in the evenings, where food and fruits are brought to feed them. They come in hordes, granpa, granma, uncles, aunties, small babies all very friendly and eager for the free food! In the early morning, there are only a few providing company to us who walk or jog here. Noni is scared of them, so she walks with a cane, well...just in case the monkeys tease her or follow her.

GARDEN WALK

After walking, usually we will end up going for breakfast near there! You must be thinking, after all those brisk walking at least for 5 km, you put on what you lost earlier by having a hearty breakfast at a mamak stall! Hahaha...No, we were just having light one, no nasi lemak or roti canai!

dill seedlings

saw-tooth corriander seedlings

Today she followed me home to see my new vegetable garden. I gave her seedlings of okra, eggplant, local and Thai basil (which she originally gave me 'cos hers are now dying!) and also Vietnamese mint (daun kesum). She wanted to know how to grow corriander and I showed her a pot of tiny seedlings, saw-tooth corriander and also dills given by Joy of My Little Potted Garden. Thank you Joy, the babies are looking great! When I showed Malar's (MyLittle Garden)balsam plants (now 1 foot tall), sprouting all over my new flower bed, she promised to give me some other colours she had in her garden! I guess by exchanging plants we are spreading them out of our garden to other areas! Such great pollinators we are, dont you think?

my first time pak choys

arrgghh....an invited guest on my okra seedling!

Our early morning walk turned out to be more than just a walk after all! We walked, we ate, we talked, we exhanged plants and gardening tips! I felt rejuvenated again and had an adrenalin rush the whole day after such a long time and I felt so good! Will walk again next week because Im off to Penang tomorrow for the weekend!

HAPPY WEEKEND GARDENING!!!!

Blooming Day

2011-03-13T21:53:00.001-07:00

The sun is scorching hot right now, the evenings will see some respite with rain. Such an ideal condition for flowers to bloom, showing their happy bright colours in my garden!

The portulacas seem a happy lot, all smiling and showing their blooms to others. We are here..we are here!

portulacas - Yubi purple

portulacas - Fairytale Cinderella pink

portulacas - double layer white

portulacas - Yubi yellow

second time bloomer - asters

Three of my hibiscus are taking centre stage too, singing along full of pride of their big showy blooms!

pink roselles

white hibiscus

hibiscus - peachy pink

all 6 sweet corns are flowering now

ground orchids

Lantanas not to be left out are perking their necks up with sweet pretty blooms...hey look at us!

lantana - white/yellow

lantana - orange/yellow

lantana - pink/orange/yellow

bougainvillea - dark pink

petunia - dark pink

from the ginger family...curcuma petiolata (courtesy of Darla) thank you Darla for letting me know the name of this plant

If you want to see more blooms elsewhere, lets visit Carol at her May Dreams Garden who is hosting the Garden Bloggers' Blooming Day.

Feeling blue and grey

2011-03-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

Early morning sky is grey, makes me feel a little bit blue. Resisted the temptation to pull my blanket and lie in bed the whole day...

The rain starts early today, not the heavy, lightning and thunder type that we had in the evenings. Just a steady drizzles that soak the earth....I dont have to water the plants, thats my first thought!

The garden looks gloomy and grey with flowers and leaves drenched in water droplets

Though I love when it rains in the morning, I could just curl up in bed daydreaming, it dampens the mood today, just a tinge of blue/grey feeling.....

making my round in the garden, spotted roellias looking blue and drenched in the rain...

a lone weed with a tiny blue flower looking so lonely and shivering in the rain..

though soaked to its roots, morning glory still look pretty amazing even in the rain...

same goes for these miniature morning glory...

poor ants clinging for their dear lives under the wet stems and blooms of the long bean vines...

Having a touch of blue today like me?.....The rain has finally stopped, though the mood has not lifted, better pull my warm blanket and lie down for a while. Or maybe I could just drop in on Katarina's Roses and Stuff and see whether she's also feeling blue today!

The whites in my garden

2011-03-09T16:12:00.001-08:00

When featuring White Wednesday yesterday, I looked around my garden and noticed that I have a lot of plants with white flowers and most of them are blooming right now! So here presenting you.....my lovely Whites!

pentas

hibiscus

water orchids

frangipani

periwinkle

clerodendrum insicum (not blooming now)

portulacas double and single layer

portulacas double layer

orange jasmine close-up

orange jasmine clusters

serrisa feotida or snowflake plant (courtesy of Bernie)

.....thank you for letting me know the name of that plant

even the hydrangea is slowly turning white now

anthuriums...have been flowering non-stop for a whole year!

citrus microcarpa (limau kasturi)

rose jasmine (bunga melur)

spider plant (not blooming now)

even the wild flowers are whites

I love all my white flowers! So how about you guys, what colours dominate your garden at the moment?

White Wednesday - Old finds

2011-03-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

Today a variation from Wordless Wednesday.....its White Wednesday!

I simply love the White Orange Jasmine blooming in my garden now, I got their sweet fragrance day and night through my bedroom window

I cant resist a good bargain when I see one...anything under the sky! These I got cheap about 15 years back from a gift shop. Reminded me of old English country charms...

a white porcelain teapot

for my morning tea or coffee when I got tired of making them in a pewter pot

when there was a rave for anything sunflower back then...I use this for fresh flowers arrangement when Im bored of artificial ones on the tables

Whites are simply charming to me, though those are not vintage charms, I treasure them as though they are. Im into gardening as much as Im loving the charms of beautiful things around the house! Go over to Faded Charm to see more beautiful whites, it will blow your mind, that is if you love those things like me!

A recent discovery - Flowers of Dracaena

2011-03-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

While fertilising my pumpkin patch, I noticed a small green spindly thing on a Buluh Jepun bush (our local name), scientifically known as Dracaena surculosa 'Punctulata'.

such sweet blooms

On a glance, it looked like a spider dangling from a stem. On closer inspection, it was a green thing with tiny blooms opening at the ends.

the blooms not fully opened yet

new flower buds

I had these plants, one in the backyard near the pumpkin patch, the other under the rambutan tree, at least for more than 15 years! Both had outgrown their respective pots and popularity as a coveted indoor houseplant long time ago and had firmly planted their roots deep in the ground, ignored and placed out sight. That day was the first time I noticed their tiny flowers after all those years!

Pumpkin shoots (Pucuk labu)

2011-03-05T23:36:00.000-08:00

Feel like eating some greens from my vegetable garden today. But pak choys are not ready for eating yet, kangkungs (water spinachs) were harvested last week.
The only thriving healthy greens left are my pumpkin patch!

So lets have pumpkin shoots for lunch!

today's harvests besides the pumpkin shoots, are long beans, tomatoes, eggplants and okra

my small pumpkin patch...started with 6 seedlings excluding those in pots and those grown near the pergola

close-up of pumpkin shoots

Masak lemak pucuk labu or pumpkin shoots cooked in coconut milk is considered a kampung dish or sayur kampung. Nowadays, if you are looking for their shoots, you may try the local morning market (pasar tani) or the wet market..if you are lucky! That shows how rare those shoots are! Since my pumpkin patch has not given any fruits yet, I bought a small one to accompany the tender shoots which are then cut into big cubes. Traditionally, a small piece of tumeric leaf is added to the dish, but I prefer a handful of fragrance Thai basil. The coconut milk and the pumpkin gives the dish its sweet and creamy taste.

cut and washed pumpkin shoots ready for the pot

easy-to-cook pumpkin shoots in coconut milk...and of course the pumpkin too!

I can't wait for my pumpkin plants to bear many yellow fruits so that I can make lepat labu, pengat labu and bengka labu!.....all sweet delicacies made of pumpkins!

A day later Blooming Friday

2011-03-04T19:32:00.000-08:00

Since yesterday Friday, was my cooking day, Im flaunting my flowers for Blooming Friday a day later, today. Katarina of Roses and Stuff had set the theme this week as BIG and small. There are plenty of specimens to compare in my garden, so I just pick a few that are blooming now.

white hibiscus as BIG as a small saucer

small white chilli flowers

a BIG bright pink mandevilla

a small hot red flower of Espiscia

my small neighbour's-now permanently staying at my house-kitten playing near the rambutan tree

This is also my entry for Flaunting Your Flowers at Tootsie Time. Why not go over there and join in the party and flaunt whatever flowers are blooming in your garden!

HAPPY GARDENING!

What's cooking on Friday

2011-03-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

Today being Friday, Im not flaunting my blooming flowers as usual but instead Im showing what's cooking in my kitchen! Im trying out something new from Joyce, an Indian curry and rice recipes which I love very much and can eat them everyday! Its called Lemon Cardamom Rice and Balti Chicken! You can go to her Kitchen Flavours to try out a lot of new delicious recipes.

Lemon grass and cardamom pods with a bit of tumeric powder to give the rice a yellow tint...emmmm...lovely smell of the lemon grass!

Balti Chicken with my own added variations - green chillies (from my garden) cut into half, sliced potatoes and carrots and coconut milk instead of yoghurt

all the green tomatoes Im forced to harvest because the plants had wilted and dying from the scorching heat we are having now are made into a hot tangy salad below..

green tomatoes, cucumber, red and green chillies and cherry tomatoes are sliced thinly to make salad (jelatah) with pounded onion and dried shrimps, fish sauce and lime juice

walla!....a complete meal from my kitchen...sooo delicious!

Thank you Joy for sharing the wonderful, easy to follow recipes from your kitchen. I hope to try out more recipes from you!

Happy weekend to all!

Wordless Wednesday - First Meeting

2011-03-02T00:35:00.000-08:00

Blooming Friday - A Pinch of Green

2011-02-24T22:37:00.001-08:00

Katarina of Roses and Stuff must have been thinking of those bloggers who are still in the winter season with thick snow in their gardens when she themed her Blommig Fredaq (Blooming Friday) today - A Pinch of Green. In that cold grey/white wintery scene there is hardly any green or any colour can be seen at this moment except maybe brown. But still in some warmer parts, a bit of colour here and there is beginning to show out of the thick snow. Here in the tropics, we have greens all year round, but still looking for a bit of green on a flower is not in abundance either. I was looking the whole garden front to back, for a streak or a pinch of green in any of the flowers in my garden and I found these.

pink agloanema, though the flower is white and green (courtesy of Stephanie)

thats all you get from this flower...its not going to bloom any bigger

green stems of water hyacinth with its green guest

hydrangea turning from green to purple

some seeds from a purple lily plant...some are still green

a tiny bit green in the centre of Impatient

flower of long bean, greenish with a bit of light purple

streaks of green on this white spider blooms

which part of this flower is green can you see?...its green stamens of eggplant flower

water orchids

A pinch of green in a cold, cold white wintery scene is just like a pinch of salt in a bland and tasteless food. Will warm your heart and makes you want to jump with joy and celebrate!

At the same time since its Fertiliser Friday, Im flaunting my blooming flowers hosted by Tootsie of Tootsie Time. Lets visit her for more blooming flowers!

Pistia Stratiotes

2011-02-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

Commonly called water cabbage or water lettuce. Why? Their soft thick leaves form a rosette with wavy margins just like a cabbage or lettuce. Too bad its not edible or I would have endless supply of them for salad! It is a genus of aquatic plant in the family of Araceae, found in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate fresh waterways and ponds.

beautiful green rosettes

The tiny flower is hidden right in the middle of the rosette. Can you see it? No? Well..Im not too sure either if its there because it looks the same to me.....all green colour! Its supposed to bear little green berries after successful fertilisation. But so far I haven't seen them or maybe Im not observing them too closely. The male and female flowers are on the same plant for asexual reproduction. Mother and daughter are connected by stolons which will form dense mats on the water surface.

the roots underneath the rosette

The basket-like shape of the plant traps air bubbles which keep it afloat, while the roots are submerged in the water. Because of the growth habit of the plants, it is considered an invasive weeds clogging and affecting the biodiversity of waterways and ponds in some countries. The dense mats of Pistia block the air-water gas exchange in the water, reducing oxygen and killing fish. They also block light which kill the community of submerged plants.

invasive water cabbage covering my pond

By the end of each week, a thick mat of Pistia will form on my pond, covering almost all surface. I have to throw basketful of them or give out to my siblings and friends who want them, to save my koi. But the plants are also good as they protect small fish and fry under their leaves. They also outcompete with algae for nutrients in the water, thereby preventing the invasion of massive algal blooms.

a single layer Pistia just like the one my blog Header.....now you can clearly see the tiny round green flower in the middle

the koi also nibbles on the thick soft leaves of Pistia

Pistia Stratiotes in my garden, started with only 5 rosettes given by a cousin, and since then they have multiplied so fast and furious. Other countries considered them as an invasive troublesome weeds, clogging waterways which need to be destroyed. Here, we are clamouring for them as a must-have aquatic plant in our gardens' water feature!

Wordless Wednesday - Wild Bloom

2011-02-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous Roselle..an update

2011-02-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

Today one of the three roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa) plants in my vegetable bed has bloomed its first flower..pink and gorgeous! When I bought them, they were a sorry lot, so skinny, stunted and diseased (lots of mealy bugs). I guess that was why I got them very cheap. Plants nobody wanted! When I brought them home, I pinched all the diseased leaves and cut the tops off, got rid of the white mealy bugs and sprayed some homemade pesticide. One plant grew very well than the rest, double the height of those stunted two. Those two are still looking miserable but an improvement from their original sorry state.

first Roselle bloom...hello gorgeous!

pink roselle

brighten my day...

I can see 3 more flower buds on the plant

When I told Bangchik my roselle plants were not very healthy (with a very sad face!), hoping he could 'throw' some roselle seeds my way...hehe..He implied, since I have my 'plant hospital' I could surely nurse them back to health! Actually the 'hospital' is for my potted plants that need to be in the shade (under my mengkudu tree) to recuperate. Anyway Bangchik, its ok since I have one plant that is healthy and hopefully will produce seeds for future planting.

My Harvests

first home-grown water spinach (kangkung)

okra, capsicums, tomatoes, chillies

eggplants, tomatoes, long beans, okra

My Vegetable Beds

pumpkin patch

herbs - Indian Borage, lime (limau kasturi), Thai basil, mint, daun selasih (local basil), rosemary, daun kesom (Vietnamese mint)
.....I transfered some of those from pots into my new raised bed

eggplants, sweetcorns

Its the first time I grew potatoes after reading a post on potatoes at Diana's garden (Kebun Malay-Kadazan Girls), I dont know if there will be lots of potatoes coming my way...keeping my fingers crossed!

I have sown some green leafy vegetables seeds like pak choys, kailan, red spinach (amaranthus tricolor)and lettuce. So far only pak choy and red spinach has germinated with 4th leaves now, the rest..I dont know...maybe all kaput! Must give another try soon...

Musical outdoor...

2011-02-18T22:01:00.001-08:00

Music fills our life even without us realising it. But different people interpret it differently. To some, they sound like music but most people will describe it as noise, unbearable and a nuisance! In my life music starts from dawn, the Azan from the nearby mosque, will call/summon the Muslims to remind them of their morning prayer. Then about 6.45 am, I can hear the burung kelicap, chip chirping near my bedroom window. I thought they have a nest on my mengkudu tree, but when I went to have a look...there was nothing. It seems that the birds, though I cant identify all of them, are making my tree their resting place during the day and sleeping time at night. They are congregating in my garden maybe because of my Selamat Datang (Welcome) sign I hang there!

Welcome sign in my garden, welcoming everybody, friends and foes, birds and the bees, caterpillars, butterflies and grasshoppers.....!

burung kelicap like this, chip chirping on my mengkudu tree every morning!

My neighbour's cockerel used to cock-a-doodle-do every morning, just like in a kampung when I was a kid. Then suddenly there were no morning calls from him. When I enquired, I was told that he was stolen by somebody....haha...luckily not eaten by the fox! Its such a novelty when you get morning calls from a cockerel when you live in a city.

Then I have this water running out from the urn in my pond, in front of my bedroom window, to soothe my nerves in the early morning and lull me to sleep at night. The trinkling of the water is a soft melodius music to my ears! And adding to that, the musical mating croaks of the frogs near my pond during the rainy season, sound like the air organ, so masculine and booming but still music to the ears (at least mine)!

bamboo wind chime from Langkawi, a tropical in nature and appearance and natural in sound....

What else are making music outdoor? Yes....the wind chimes! A visual and aural garden ornaments played by the wind. I love them, so I hang a few in my garden, to be entertained by their own musical chimes while pottering around in my garden. I can hear the klak, klak, klak low notes of the bamboo wind chimes when there's a strong breeze.

the seashells wind chime, not only charming looking but melodius in sound..

Japanese wind chime with the 'flag' fluttering in the wind making sweet music..

The memory of such sweet music from a wind chime, was when I heard it at my uncle's house when I was small. My uncle married a beautiful Chinese lady from Taiping. It was a simple jade wind chime like the Japanese wind chime above, hung near one of their windows, which left a deep imprint in my brain until now! Some culture like the Chinese, wind chimes are good to have around your house to chase away the evil and bad spirits and to welcome good fortune. But to some people, like my late Dad, though at times he was quite an open-minded person, believed having wind chimes was like making invitation or signal to those evil spirits to come and party at our house! So no wind chimes when he was around, very pantang (taboo)!

The shrill ting ting ting of the aluminium and glass wind chime, my son gave me a few months back, can be heard from inside the house if its windy in the garden. So I'm bringing the outside music in. With the klak klak of the bamboo and the softer tinkling sound of the seashells, my day is complete with the sounds of music from the garden. Not noise, but music to my ears!

Fanciful Portulacas

2011-02-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

Portulacas are so a common a plant, you can almost found them in most garden here. They are low-growing and spreading plants and very easy to grow by using stem propagation. You can just pinch and stick it in the soil and soon you have thriving plants. Portulacas Grandiflora are commonly known as Moss Rose or Sun Plant but here they are called Japanese Rose. They come in so many beautiful cultivars about 100 of them and bright colourful blooms, whether double or single layers. Here are some of the varieties grown in my garden, either in hanging pots or on the ground.

dark pink double layer

very small yellow blooms

single layer Yubi pink

Sunnyside Yellow

Sunnyside Flame (peach)

2 colours in a pot - Sunnyside yellow and peach (double layer)

Fairytale Cinderella Orange

Fairytale Cinderella Pink

Fairytale Cinderella with 2 colour combinations in one pot

Single layer Yubi Yellow flower

Yubi Yellow

the Yubi varieties are those with big single layer blooms

white double layer

Yubi white single layer

single and double layer white portulacas in one pot

These fanciful colourful portulacas are shown for Blooming Friday themed Fanciful hosted by Katarina of Roses and Stuff and Tootsie/Glenda's Flaunt Your Flowers/Fertiliser Friday. Lets take a peek at their gardens and see what's blooming this Friday.

Pink Bloomers - GBBD February 2011

2011-02-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

This pink flowers are blooming profusely since last weekend, in time for the Garden Bloggers' Blooming Day! I have no idea about the name of the plant with the silvery small green leaves. Very seldom I buy a big pot of plant, it's not only very heavy, the cost of course will include the big pot. Usually I will buy seedlings in poly bags because they are cheaper. What was I thinking when I bought it, to make a topiary? You know the one with round balls of leaves on it! But I dont know anything about making topiary, what if I ruin the whole tree! I guess I bought this plant because then it had a bit of pink flowers, here and there, very attractive and it tugged at the heartstrings, begging me to take it home. At one glance it looked like a big pot of bougainvillaea. After a week, the flowers became dry and dropped off and it had not shown any bloom since then. There went my topiary!

Texas Sage

(thank you to Islandgal246 for letting me know the name of this plant)

Since last week with bouts of heavy rain and scorching hot days, it started to show lots of flower buds. Then slowly they opened and the whole plant was blooming with their pretty pink flowers!

Texas Sage is a desert plant, very hardy and drought resistant

The tree before it bloomed with pink flowers

pink bloomers

a bit like bougainvillaea...without the thorns

blooming for Garden Bloggers' Blooming Day

Somebody did recognised this plant as Texas Sage. Thank you Helen (Islandgal246) for letting me know the name. I have googled it and it showed the plant in a bush form in dry conditions. It can be propagated by stem cuttings though I was told by the nursery owner, it can be propagated by stem grafting. I have not tried stem grafting yet though I would love to try it at least once to get the experience. So that's my blooms for today's Garden Bloggers' Blooming Day hosted by Carol of May Dreams Garden. Why not take a look whether there's anything blooming in her wintery cold garden. Soon spring is coming, so there must be something showing their heads there.

Say it with flowers!

2011-02-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

To those who celebrate:

Happy Valentine's Day

Wrong plant!

2011-02-11T10:39:00.001-08:00

I took home the wrong plant! Last 2 months I went to a new nursery near my house and saw the plant misai kucing literally translated as cat's whiskers (Orthosiphon aristatus). Why its called cat's whiskers? Just look at the flowers with its characteristic of a cat's whiskers. I didnt want to take the already blooming ones, so I took the one nearest to it which showed no flower buds yet.

cat's whiskers (white)

cat's whiskers (purple) that were grown in a farm I shared with a friend in Jeram, to create a rock garden landscape

Musical Note Plant (Clerodendrum insicum) thank you to Yaomato for letting me know this plant's name

2 weeks ago, the plant started showing tiny green buds, then into white curly buds looking like big commas! I dont remember seeing such buds on any misai kucing before!

Then those buds started to bloom...LOL..I got a big surprise when they looked like that! A totally different flowers from cat's whiskers I thought it was!

they looked quite lovely, so small but very fragile, however, the rain the next morning, completely dismantled the whole flowers to pieces!

Im not so sure if its another type of cat's whiskers, which I have never seen before. Because when the plant was placed next to the blooming ones, the leaves looked exactly the same. So that was why I presumed it was the same one and without confirming it with the nursery boy, I happily took the plant home! But I dont regret it because it is a new plant and the flowers are so lovely. Now I have to find the cat's whiskers for my garden because of the many medicinal uses of the leaves. The plant and the leaves are very popular in Malaysia to treat ailments like gout, liver problems, bladder stone, urinary tract infection, rheumatism, diabetes, reduces blood pressure and cholesterol. It is said to have diuretic, antiallergic, antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory and mild antiseptic properties. The leaves are dried, boiled and drink like the tea. I seem to have more white flowers in my garden, maybe thats why there are no bees or lovely butterflies in my garden!

Blooming Friday - Winter

2011-02-10T23:42:00.000-08:00

The theme for this week is to post a single picture to represent winter in my part of the world hosted by Katarina of Roses and Stuff. Since Im in the hot and humid tropic and not going to experience Winter any time soon...Im posting a winter scene I took while on the bus when I went for holidays in Turkey in 2008. Mind you, that was the first time I saw snow and a cold wintery scene, so it was very exciting for me!

It was all white, looking so ghostly and to me it was so pure and serene. Was told by the tour guide that were mostly cherry trees. We were on the highway on the way to Bolu
about 15,000 feet above sea level. This scene and some other winter scenes there will always be remembered for the rest of my life!

That was my own picture. Now another Winter photo that I couldn't get it out of my mind, it being so simple yet depicted a snowy wintery scene in such a beautiful way, is this
photo of a Japanese maple leaf (not oak..sorry Donna), piroutting on a thick snow as if looking at its shadow! This is from Donna's Garden Talk Garden Walk.

Lets have a peek at Katarina's Winter photo here. Enjoy!

A hybrid spider plant?

2011-02-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

Im very much smittened with this plant which looks like a spider plant I had. I fell in love head over heel when I first set eyes on it at a nursery near my house 6 months ago. When I bought it, there was no flower only baby spiders (plantlets). I was surprised and delighted when last week it started to bloom profusely with tiny white flowers! I have been taking snap shots of the pretty plant like crazy! My next door neighbours must be thinking, Im mad or have gone bonkers, always snapping photos in my garden from morning till evening...haha..

its so pretty with its white flowers at the tips dangling like sprays of fireworks

But when I asked the nursery owner, she said it was another type of spider plant. I was wondering, could it be a hybrid of the original one?

the regular spider plant hanging on my pergola, the leaves have white/light yellow centre with the edges green and they are papery to touch, have never seen it blooms before......Could this one be 'married' (sorry Im using the layman's language) to this plant down here...

I Variegated Mondo Grass ( Ophipogon Japonicus)

James Missier was so kind to let me know the name of this plant, thanks James.

I dont know the name of this plant, which has green, smooth, soft and very thin leaves with white margin, though no dangling babies........to produce that beautiful, more superior looking plant in my first photo?

Maybe its true, its a hybrid of the spider plant and the above plant, because it has the qualities of both parent plants. It has spikes that dangle with the baby spiders (plantlets) at the tips like the original spider plant. It also has white flowers at the tips of the spikes among the plantlets. Though the original spider plant doesn't have any flowers (not that I have seen one before) , I know the other plant (which I dont know its name) has very tiny white flowers. Except the hybrid (presumably) has fleshy, thicker and wider leaves and the colour is a darker green at the centre with light green or yellow or white at the margin.

see...the close-up of the lovely white fllowers...

the tiny flowers at the tip of the spike among the baby spiders

can't get enough photographing the lovely sprays of flowers!

....this was when I first bought the plant 6 months back

then it started blooming.....

and blooming...

After all the hype or presumptuously about it being a hybrid, can it be another type of spider plant after all, just like the nursery owner said, which I have never seen or knew before. If any botanist can enlighten me, I will be very grateful indeed.

Here are some facts about the spider plant. Botanically spider plant is called Chlorophytum cornosum. It is very easy to grow by using the large collection of 'babies' or plantlets and it looks great in a hanging basket or pot. I found out through the internet, spider plant however, is very sensitive to treated tap water. If your spider plant starts showing some brown tips (mine does), it doesn't mean its due to lack of water, its just a reaction to the chemicals in the tap water. So its better if you water it using distilled water, rain water, melted snow or reverse osmosis water (looks like I have to collect rain water to water it now). Once you have changed the water, I think the plant will have its normal healthy leaves again but first you need to trim off the brown tips. But still, dont over-water it, the roots will rot, so let it dry between waterings.

Soon I will propagate this hybrid spider plant after it finishes flowering, by cutting the plantlets and have many, many more of this lovely plants, enjoying the lovely white spray of its tiny flowers hanging in my garden! Happy gardening!

Stylish Award

2011-02-06T02:19:00.000-08:00

Joy of My Little Potted Garden and Milka of Milka's Jishiben had awarded me this award. What did I do? Well, don't know if Im that stylish or deserved to receive the award, but Im thanking both ladies for awarding this Stylish Blogger Award and Im flattered and honoured to receive it.

In accepting this award these are the things you have to do:-

Post linking back to the person that gave you the award.

Share 7 random things about yourself.

Award 15 recently discovered bloggers.

Drop them a note and tell them about it.

So here are some of the things about me though not necessarily all nice things, mind you! :)

I always have good appetite for food.

Though I love food, Im not a good cook especially at baking. But I love to 'read' recipes!

Thats why I love to go out with friends to eat sometimes, though not all the time! Love to cook for my family during weekends when most of them are around.

Love to travel just to relax, sight-seeing and taste the good food in my travels.

Cant resist going to nurseries in my travels too.

Love to go for movies with my friends or family.

Gardening and blogging are my favourites. Wishing that I can have beautiful garden like the ones Ive seen in those great garden blogs.

I see that my favourite bloggers have received this award too, so I have to award it to others who I think are also deserving it as follows:-

Lotusleaf of Gardentropics
Bernie of Bush Bernie's Garden Blog
Arati of Tree, Plants & More
Chris of Garden Sense
Helen of My Rustic Bajan Garden
Prashanth of Got Geosmin
Rosie of Mygardenhaven1
Ali of Mud Pie
Martha of Martha's Favourites
Karin of Southern Meadows
Soren of Flaneur Gardening
Alistair of Aberdeen Gardening- from Bonnie Scotland
Flowerlady of Flower Lady's Musings
Amy of Go Away, Im Gardening!
Celine JS of Fugue

Im extending these award to the above bloggers whose blogs I have enjoyed reading and of which some of them I have discovered recently. Happy Gardening to you all!

An ugly monster in my garden!

2011-02-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

While watering my garden yesterday, I noticed that my tri-color caladium, sitting on the edge of my pond had gone completely bald! On closer look, I nearly touched a HUGE little green monster which really made me jumped at least a foot away! Thats the first caterpillar Ive seen in my garden and it was as big as my thumb! Im very geli (squimish) when it comes to caterpillars especially as huge as this one! Quickly I pushed it away with a stick and it dropped straight into the pond...probably an early lunch for the koi fish waiting underneath...

a perfectly beautiful, healthy pot of tri-color caladium....

Or so I thought....This morning I saw another one munching away at the last piece of leaf in the pot! But this one a little bit kurus (thinner) than yesterday's one, probably so since all the leaves were gone into the fat one's stomach!

....all the leaves gone completely botak (bald)!

the culprit....an ugly little green monster munching happily on the last piece of leaf!

Im wondering which type of butterfly this little green monster belongs to? Maybe it will turn out to be a beautiful colourful butterfly after all, but what a ugly phase it has to go through before it can transform into something so delicate and beautiful!

Blooming Friday - Contrasts

2011-02-04T03:20:00.000-08:00

Since my garden blooms have been featured again and again in previous posts, Im without blooming flowers this Friday. Instead I'm showcasing some 'blooming' foliage in my garden which look as good as a blooming flower. One look at these lovely foliage with contrasting colours, your eyes will immediately be drawn to the attractive red ones!

Left to right - Begonia Looking Glass, Red Coleus, Espiscia

The three plants not only have contrasting colours but also contrasting textures on their surface. While the two foliage on the left and right, have smooth and shiny surface, the centre one has rough coarse surface. The contrasting colours and textures of these foliage makes an attractive and lovely combination when they are placed together.

Lets see what else are contrasting in your own garden. Why not take a look at Katarina's Roses and Stuff for more interesting contrasts.

Second chance of life

2011-01-29T16:38:00.000-08:00

My plants do die on me, due to my own neglect sometimes. Too busy, no time, no mood or just plain LAZY...thats no excuse! Then comes the guilt and remorse of loosing your once beautiful healthy plant to wilting, dried up, lifeless stumps, gone, kapuutt! Well, those were my lazy, I-have-too-many-things-to-do-days...still have the reminder...a dried up pot of fern! The rest of those pitiful plants, have died and gone to heaven...May they rest in peace!

Look at this pitiful completely dried up fern, at that time, there was not even a single green shoot or stem left. But I was not going to give up on this once lovely fern, so I cut all the top part
and left it under my mengkudu tree - my plant 'hospital'. Guilt and remorse kept me watering it everyday without fail hoping that it would grow back.

For months, there was no sign of the thing coming to life, still I kept pouring water over it. Then after a bout of rainy days, slowly I saw some curly little green things coming out....the fern finally unfurling its lovely green leaves! Iwas overjoyed!

That was almost a year ago, my pet fern slowly becoming healthy again, though I did not for once ever fertilised it, not even re-potted it...just plain water, water and water it!

See..how the once dried up fern was given a second chance in life and coming back with vigour to grace my pergola. Never again will I neglect you my little pet fern!

January 2011 Garden Bouquet - Outside the Box

2011-01-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

I love to be the receiving end of a bouquet of flowers anytime! And I dont mind giving a lovely one to anyone too for birthdays, anniversaries, or just to say...have a nice day! It doesn't have to be expensive, florist-bought bouquet. Just take a bunch of garden flowers and present it to someone who needs a cheering up, its so much more meaningful because it comes from your heart and your own home-grown flowers!

Today Im presenting you with a naturally created 'bouquet' of plants from my own garden...

In this urn, the lovely purple bloom of water hyacinth (Echhornia Crassipes) is grown together with the water orchids (Echinodorus Cordifolus Ovalis), and the strands of Chinese money plant (Epipremmum Aureum - variegated) stragically planted to make a cascading, trailing effect to soften the erect taller stems of the water orchids!

Thanks to Noelle of Ramblings From a Desert Garden where there's a bouquet for every month of the year to be displayed to make your day a lovely one!

A garden of fungi

2011-01-27T16:11:00.001-08:00

While laying out new bricks for my new vegetable beds, I have to lift all the old wooden beams that used to be the border. Lol! what a surprise...I have my own collections of fungi in my garden! Actually 5 types of different looking fungi growing out of the wooden beams.

these caught my eyes first as they are a bright orange colour

I love these as they are as white and fluffy as a cottonball and soft to the touch, very delicate...

these are more common as I used to collect them from old tree stumps in my kampung

when I was a kid and they are sometimes sold in our local morning market
to be eaten as part of a mixed vegetables dish cooked in coconut milk

these are different from the 2nd photo as they are hard, not soft and fluffy

these too are commonly seen on old tree trunk

Since stumbling on these lovely fungi, I keep a look out for more new ones though I could not identify their names or species. I think they are lovely and are part of the flora and fauna in my garden.

Wordless Wednesday - Stolen Bites

2011-01-25T15:54:00.000-08:00

"Seed Week" - Alternatives

2011-01-23T00:38:00.000-08:00

I happened to remember this : "Seed sowing is the first step towards gardening.".....though I just can't recall the blogger's name who wrote that phrase.

The irony is, most of my garden plants did not originate from me sowing seeds, or collecting, saving or even buying seeds. Well...at least not until last October, when I started my small vegetable patch. I bought them fresh from the local wet market or Tesco as part of my groceries, emptied out the seeds and threw them away in planter boxes. My first seeds were cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, chillies, eggplant, capsicum and lady's finger (okra). Then I had seeds buying spree at MAHA 2010 and of course some given by Bangchik (My Little Vegetable Garden), Diana (Malay-Kadazan Girl) and Malar (My Little Garden). Majority of my garden plants came from seedlings bought from nurseries, DIY stem propagation, root propagation, rhizomes, tubers and just about any part of the plant that can be grown. So these are alternatives to seed sowing in gardening! Lets have a look at some of these that I have done in my own garden.

growing tumeric using rhizomes, I use tumeric leaves in cooking rendang

so seed sowing is the start of my vegetable garden this year... corriander, pak choy, sweet corn, sweet peas, french bean, okra, Japanese cucumber, kale, lettuce...

Thai basil and celery using stem and root cuttings

Im very impatient with seeds. You sow the seeds then you wait, and wait, and wait...sometimes might be forever, or nothing at all....just to see the tiny green dots coming out.

I grow my onion like this, solely for the leaves in ganishing my soup, stew, omelette, fried rice, noodles...

growing pandan using their roots submerge in water first until they start rooting, of course you can plant them direct into the soil

my spider plant with lots of baby spiders dangling, so just cut one and put it in soil

stem propagation - rosemary

stem propagation - thyme

as explained in my previous post here, blackberry propagation by stem or nodes

see how the node has grown from the plastic bag and planted into the soil

this was the start of my stem propagation - grape seedlings

also mulberry seedlings

recently I learnt something new...grafting, taught by a friendly nursery boy who was not stingy in parting his knowledge to me

tapioca (ubi kayu) stems propagation

growing caladium tricolor by tuber

growing mint by rooting the stems first in water

propagated the frangipani stems recently - pink/white bloom

finally the balsam seeds given by Malar just thrown randomly among portulucas and coleus

I find that I get the same thrill and satisfaction in growing those plants whether by seeds or otherwise. The anticipation of seeing the seeds, stems, rhizomes, tubers, or roots continuing their life growing into healthy plants is so exciting and you feel very sad if they don't.

Take a peek at Diana's garden at Kebun Malay-Kadazan Girls and learnt something interesting about her own garden seeds during the "Seed Week".

Continue with the above phrase : " Gardening is a beautiful habit and hobby as it gives content to the heart and peace in the mind".

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-18T19:45:00.001-08:00

World Garden Carnival Jan 2011

2011-01-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

Its time again for the Blog Carnival hosted by Fer of My Little Garden in Japan! This time it is called World Garden Carnival and the theme is New Year Gardening Resolutions. I have so many plans for my small garden and what more auspicious time to implement it than this new year 2011! Maybe not all at one go...I will do them in stages, since it will involve a lot of physical work. Im a lone gardener at home, it will be quite a task to do them alone, a back-breaking job indeed!

This year Im making new raised beds for my new vegetables. I have started yesterday since it was a gloomy Sunday and quite cool to work. Im going to plant my greens here like Pak Choy, Amaranth, coriander, lettuce and many more. I have sown the seeds and waiting for them to germinate to transplant them in this new bed. Im soo excited to see my new beds with greens this year!

This is only the first bed...30 bags of soils went into making it!

More beds coming up soon..those recycled plastics bags were placed there to kill the weeds. Right at the end there, is my mengkudu tree where there will be another project in my plan.

4 pumpkin seedlings were planted right at the end of the bed, so that when they grow, their trailing plants will have plenty of space on the grass next to it and dont get entangled with other plants on the bed. Another 3 seedling were placed near the pergola. I want to train them to climb the pergola as shown in Laman Sayur @ MAHA 2010 in Segalanya Tentang Tumbuhan blog where gourds and luffa were trained to climb the pergola. It was really amazing to see them!

my plant 'hospital' will be spruced up a bit...

Under my mengkudu tree where its shady, I placed my plants that need to recuperate from either my neglect or some other ailments they suffer. Tough some plants do need a shady place since they are quite delicate like my begonia, blackberry, rosemary, thyme. stevia etc. After seeing Go Away Im Gardening, Amy's rock garden under a shady tree, I would like to do the same under the mengkudu tree. I have a lot of river rocks accumulated since I started my gardening which were placed outside the fence as a border, which will go nicely into making my new rock garden. As a third project, those rocks will be replaced by new bricks as a border and a new raised flower bed will emerge elsewhere, to replace an old one. Thats about all for now, probably I will be implementing some other things as the year goes by....if I dont break my back first by all those physical things I have to do!

Anyway, why not take a look at Fer's blog and see what he and other bloggers around the world are doing for their new year gardening resolutions, you might get some ideas for your own garden. Or why not join this Carnival and post us your new year plans to improve your garden! Happy Gardening!

GBBD January 2011

2011-01-14T19:13:00.000-08:00

Its been raining almost everyday here either that or the days are gloomy with dark clouds overhead. But luckily my garden has a fair share of its flowers still blooming for the Garden Bloggers' Blooming Day hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens every middle of the month.

these are white senduduk (tibouchina urvilleana), seldom see this colour...I was excited and luckily I took the photos when they were just about to open up, then they dropped off after a very heavy rain that evening!

my recently planted single layer portulucas have started to bloom, since then I have acquired other colours and double layered ones too

not sure of what flower bud this is...

then it blooms..looks like an orchid but the leaves look like something else..
thanks to Bernie this is called Yellow Walking Iris ( Neomarica Longifolia)

white plumeria blooming, the cuttings given by my sister

dark pink of mandevilla

the rain did not deter these flowers, Brunfelsia (thanks to Bernie), to bloom although they look so delicate, in fact they seem to love the rain and flower profusely!

pink/orangey blooms of Impatiens

Although the rainy season had reaked havoc in some places like our east coast areas and Queensland in Australia, and did some damage to our plants in the garden, the emergence of a small tiny bud will cheer us up a bit. Lets move DownUnder to look at Bush Bernie's Garden Blog for more varieties of tropical blooms.

Blooming Friday - Patterns in your garden

2011-01-14T01:46:00.001-08:00

In nature you can find work of arts in the veins, colours, shapes, patterns, grooves of leaves, flowers, bark of trees and branches, even the shadows and sunlight leave a pattern, to mention a few. Today's theme for Blooming Friday is Pattern hosted by Katarina of Roses and Stuff.

chrysanthemum in three different colours looks outstanding

shape and grooves of fern leaf - imagine the pattern on a porcelain dinner set or a silk skarf

pattern of the water hyacinth looks like peacock feather with a yellow orangy 'eye' against blue on top of light purple background

a palm tree with bunches of its fruits hanging down in arches

a dark magenta on white petunia

the caladium tricolor in blotches of white spots on green with red centre veins is like a stylised leaves you find in batek painting

The garden is really an inspiration where you can have the best and unique work of arts by nature. It strikes our senses visually, sometimes without us realising it and taking it for granted that it will be there forever. Come have a peek at other worldly patterns in Roses and Stuff. Have a good weekend gardening!

Cute tiny miniatures

2011-01-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

Nowadays, nurseries have come out with new versions and hybrids of a lot of flowers not only for orchids. Look at these two blooms, same type of flowers but different version. They are both morning glory, one is the normal size, while the other is a tiny miniature! Could not resist buying the plant last Hari Raya, although I have the normal one growing wild on my fence, as the tiny mini blooms look so cute and adorable.

compare the size..normal and miniature

so tiny and cute

Some features are a bit different though between the two. The normal size morning glory the flower form a long tube so that the stamens are concealed inside the tube. The bees, the main polinators, will have to go half way inside, in order to pollinate the flowers or collect the nectar. While the miniatures, the stamens are right outside the petals and I think the bees are definitely bigger than the flower!

see the tiny plant, all balled up in a small pot for hanging

However, both flowers will only last for 2 days the most, will change to pinkish/light purple around the edges, close off their petals and drop off. In order to have lasting blooms on the plant, they have to be 'deadhead' just like petunia, in order for new buds to form. To maintain the overall structure of the plant, you have to make sure the creeper entwine each other and form into a ball. What else the nurseries will come out with next!

Wordless Wednesday...

2011-01-11T16:44:00.001-08:00