Violets are Blue

 

Those who knows me would probably know that I love flowers in the shades of blue. I had one time kept one portion of my my garden specifically for blue flowers. I have always wanted to have blue water lilies and also hydrangeas in shades of blue.

For some unexplainable reasons I can’t seem that have my blue water lilies to bloom (despite having nurtured them for over a year). As for my hydrangeas… it is another disappointment!!! Over more that 5 years since I brought them home, they have yet to flower ;(.

Nonetheless, I had a very pleasant surprise last week. On my birthday, I noticed a dark shade of purple peeking out of a water lily bud from my little lily “pond” right next to the entrance of my home. Couple of hours later, this is what greeted me…………….

It’s not exactly the deep blue water lily that I have wanted….but .. this is close enough. What more… I had almost gave up hope on it…my very own violet water lily!!!

Nature’s birthday gift to this homemaker cum gardener ;)

  

Since the arrival of the first bloom, we have seen another 2 blooms. There are still more to come and each and everyone of them will be greeted by a smile (just like when the first one came along),

Next…awaiting hydrangeas

Rangoon Creeper (Quisqualis indica)- Simply Spectacular!

When I first saw this particular creeper/vine in one of my neighbours’ garden a few years ago, I told myself that I got to have this plant. However, at that time I was having another creeper in my garden and could not accommodate it. A while back, we decided to discard the said creeper as it was getting too old and unruly. After getting rid of it, I managed to get 2 saplings of Rangoon Creeper from my neighbour. I planted one each on either side of my Pergola. With lots of love and nurturing, it paid off… look what I have now!!! It’s so spectacular and fragrant. Just love sitting there enjoying the shade and smelling the sweet fragrant. It is heavenly!!!

My family's favourite space to hangout !

Originating from Malaysia, Burma, New Guinea and the Philippines it is commonly known as Rangoon Creeper or Quisqualis indica(it’s botanical name) . Locally it is also known as Akar Dani (in Malay). Its other names consist of Chinese Honeysuckle, Burma Creeper, Druken Sailor and Bunga Setanduk.

Rangoon Creeper is a climbing shrub and planted as ornamental plant because of its unique flowers. The flowers are very attractive and borne in clusters. The flower tube is about 5 cm long and the petals are white but turn pink and then red when matured. The flower blooms in abundance and is very fragrant. It is often planted as climber on fences, on specially prepared pergola or left to climb on big trees.

Apparently this plant has some medicinal properties too. I did not know until I research on it just now. Rangoon Creeper is largely grown in Malaysia as an ornamental plant. However, in the Philippines it is used as traditional medicine to kill parasitic worms and treat coughs, diarrhea and body pains. In India it is used to treat flatulence!

Featured in one of the stamp series in Malaysia

Bunga Kantan (Torch Ginger)

Torch Ginger or Bunga Kantan (as it is known locally in Malaysia) is known botanically as Etlingera elatior. It is a member the ginger family.

Torch ginger is believed to be a native to Indonesia. However, now this plant is grown in many tropical countries. It is grown for its extravagant flower and for food. In Malaysia, Bunga Kantan is considered as the "soul" of many Nyonya dishes such as Assam Laksa, perut ikan and assam tumis.

The bud of the Bunga Kantan is commonly sold in fresh market here. The pinkish color bud has a great aroma. They are normally halved lengthwise and used in curries and stews. When cooked, it imparts a floral fragrance and exotic aroma into the dishes. I would even use it when I cook fried rice. It adds a new dimension to the culinary palate.

I have a number of Torch Ginger plant in my garden. The plants grow from rhizomes. A mature torch ginger plant can reach a towering height of about 3 meters (10 feet) . It looks rather stately and it grows in clamps. The strap-like leaves that line alternately on the leafy shoots can

grow up to the length of 80cm.

They have given me a constant supply of bunga kantan to satisfy my taste buds. Whenever I am in the mood to cook Nyonya dishes, I just need to go to my garden to harvest a couple of torch ginger buds.(convenient and economical) So, those torch ginger in my garden never did have chance to blossom. Out of curiosity, I have left one of the buds behind when I last harvested them (as I would like to see how the flower looks like). After about a week, this is what I get ;

Very pretty. Unfortunately, as this is the rainy season in Malaysia, the flower has started to rot.

You Are My Sunshine

Some time back, Mommy Dearest gave me 5 seedling of sunflower. Planted them in the planter in front of my house. Initially they were striving well in their new home until one day a neighbour's cat came and stepped on 2 of my seedlings... killing them instantly.

Left with 3 seedlings, I was pretty skeptical if they could survive another invasion by the nasty cat. Luckily, they did and grow into 3 lovely sunflower plants with many blooms. Each one of them had a flower blooming since last week. They were so cheerful and bright that I have decided to take pictures of them daily to record their majestic display of vibrant yellow.

Day 2 - after bloom

Day 3

Day 4

Day 6

Now that they are a week old, they are starting to dry up. Soon it would be time to harvest these wonderful flower. Can't wait to feast on the home grown sunflower seeds!!!

Reckon I will be able to have plenty of sunflower seeds to feast on as there are still many blooms on those 3 plants that I have!!!

Hibiscus

When I moved into my current neighbourhood, I brought along my favourite hibiscus plant. It bears a pretty yellow flower with thick petals daily. Over the years, my hibiscus collection has increased to 4 now. (thanks to my very kind and friendly neighbour). My neighbour (a 70 year old man of Indian origin) who stays directly opposite my house is an avid gardener. He loves flowering plants especially hibiscus. He can be seen tending to his garden everyday in the morning and evening. At times, he would pop over to talk to me while I am tending to my garden.We would normally exchanging ideas on gardening and updating each other on the neighbourhood news. He has given me 3 different species of Hibiscus and they are thriving well in my garden, adding colours to my garden daily. See how beautiful my hibiscus are :

This bright red hibiscus has a flower within a flower. So pretty.

This is a dwarf sized hibiscus with sweet pink flowers.

My yellow hibiscus that blooms daily.

A unique peach, pink, yellow hibiscus.

I believe my hibiscus collection will continue to grow in time to come. So keep coming back to this blog... I will continue to update you on my striving garden.

They survived !! - Garden Snails

The weather in Malaysia has been pretty wet lately. We have been experiencing intermittent rainfall daily, especially in the evening. Despite the fact that the rain brought abundance of moisture to my garden (Minimized watering - save water/environment), it also brought along some visitors/resident to my garden.

One evening I noticed some strange looking things in my garden. Upon switching on my spot lights, I realised that there was an army of snails crawling in my garden. So, this is what is eating my plants lately.

The first thing that crossed my mind was, I MUST get rid of them. Remembered that in my childhood days my late grandmother would always ask us to put salt onto any garden snails to kill them. So... got my daughter to bring me the salt and start my crusade on sprinkling salt onto those garden snails. In less than 1o minutes, I "killed" 11 snails. Since it had started drizzling again, I declared victory and happily left the garden.

In the morning, I went to the garden to claim my casualties. But to my horror....I could not find any. They were all gone. Disappeared from the surface of the earth!!! Where have they gone to? Nobody would have picked them up and discarded them as it was still early in the morning. Then it hit me that I might not have killed them instantly last night. Since I just sprinkle a little bit of salt on them and it had started raining, maybe the rain managed to wash the salt away and saved their lives!!! Feeling frustrated, I embark into a journey of hunting them down. Managed to find 3 of them. This time around I made sure that I increase my dosage and rid them once and for all (sounds so cruel). See... the one below is dead.

I know some people believe garden snails are harmless. So why are we declaring war with these scavengers who are terrorising our garden? Well... they eat our plants and vegetables!!!

Garden snails are nocturnal animals, so they will attack our garden at night (when we are not there to fend for our helpless plants). They are hermaphrodites. (meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs). Since they can produce 100 eggs each time and they mate once a month, you can imagine how fast they can multiply if not controlled. These snail have a lifespan of more than 2 years!!!

Apart from putting salt on them there are a number of organic ways to rid them. Some common ones are :

1. Hand picking and disposing them (by stomping on, throwing in the street, dropping in a bucket of salt water).
2. Beer traps. Place a small container (2-5 cm deep) into ground with beer. The following morning you will find that most of the snails in your garden wound have come around, has a sip, got drunk, fallen in and drowned. Death by inebriation (think I should try this method)
3. Copper deterrent - Snails hates copper as it gives them a slight electrical shock. So place a band of copper on your beloved plants or pot to deter this pest.

SO.... HAPPY ELIMINATING GARDEN SNAILS!!!!

Lotus Plant

I love my garden.

Since I moved into my current resident 6 years ago, my garden has been a place for me to seek refuge for some peace and tranquility. I love gardening and over the years I have quite a collection of flora and fauna in this little patch of land.

Aquatic plants attract me as they are much easier to tend to (not much watering to do). In my garden has a variety of them, namely lotus, water lilies and water Hyacinth. Lately I am getting quite a bountiful blooms from my lotus plant. Look how beautiful they are.

The species I have in my garden is Nelumbo nucifera, or commonly known as Lotus or Indian Lotus or Sacred Lotus. It comes in a variety of colours like pink, white and yellow. The one I have is pink. It is from the Nelumbonaceae family. This plant is an aquatic perennial.

The lotus is one of the most celebrated flower in the world. It has always been in folklore, religion and the arts in one form or another.

The Lotus plant thrive well in calm freshwater and blooms all year round in tropical country like Malaysia. Its leaves are circular in shape. Some will float on the water surface while others will rise above the water surface on a long stalk looking very majestic. These leaves are a beautiful glaucous green. Many a times there will be beads of water droplets on the surface of the leaf making it an attractive and intriguing display.

The Lotus flower is delightfully scented and will open in the morning. By noon it will a full bloom, showing off its vibrant pink petals with the bright yellow stamen. However, this spectacular sight does not last long. The flower will shut by the afternoon and as the petals are rather light they will fall off when there is a gust of wind. What a pity.... such a majestic and celebrated flower with a very short life!!!!

Anyway a blooming lotus in my garden also brighten up my day. So with the continuous blooming of lotus in my garden now, my days are just PERFECT!