We just love surprises! Garden plants simply love throwing surprises and we simply enjoy receiving them! Such cheerful givers they are!

Oxalis triangularis :
Our potted plant was dead! We were pretty sure of that and thus just discarded the pot with its soil still intact at our backyard. But months later, maybe a little over two months, it suddenly sprang to life early last month! How wonderful and it wasn’t even cared for during the whole dormant period! Probably watered by the occasional rain and received sufficient heat/light from the filtered sun.

Name: Oxalis triangularis (Purple/Lucky Shamrock, Dark Leaf Shamrock, Purpleleaf False Shamrock).
A member of the Oxalidaceae family and native of Brazil, it is an ornamental herbaceous perennial (or annual in non-hardy region) grown popularly for its beautiful heart-shaped trifoliate leaves. Yay, we’ll get to enjoy them again!
Check here for more plant info.

Upon reflecting on how this beauty resurrected effortlessly, it’s inevitable that it reminded me of the lovely Bible text about trust in God, a gentle reminder not to worry needlessly :

Caladium bicolor (cultivar ID unknown) :
Another of our plant that was sort of written-off is the Caladium. We’ve observed for some time that Caladiums do undergo a rest period too in our tropical Malaysia, like those grown in the temperate region.
We’re most delighted to see them appearing again! Have a peep at its marvelous foliage variegation when fully matured here and you’ll understand its attraction.

Name: Unidentified cultivar of Caladium bicolor (Fancy-leafed Caladium).
Beside it, to the right, is Episcia cupreata ‘Frosty’ that is sprawling cheerfully with ample ground space for its restlessness, without any competition from its upright-growing neighbour! This cultivar has striking chili-red flowers that stand out beautifully against the fresh green and frosted foliage – simply fabulous!

Other surprises were a couple of lovely self-seeders that are much welcomed to our garden party, never intruding or imposing but blending well with the crowd! One such seedling is Christia verpertilionis and the other is Jatropha podagrica.

Name: Christia vespertilionis (Mariposa, Red Butterfly Wing, Island Pea, Aircraft/Bat Grass).
It just emerged unexpectedly last month, sharing pot space with the Calliandra emarginata (Powderpuff Plant). Like the Oxalis above, this herbaceous plant is noted for its impressive burgundy-coloured leaves that are uniquely shaped like the wings of a butterfly or aircraft, hence the common names. It belongs to the Fabaceae family and is indigenous to Brazil and Southeast Asia. Know more about this plant here.

Name: Jatropha podagrica (Gout Plant/Stick, Buddha Belly Plant, Bottleplant Shrub, Goutystalk).
Though unexpected, it was wonderful to find a seedling next to the parent plant. Usually, its highly dehiscent seedpod will explode when ripened and scatter its seeds several meters away. Find out more about Jatropha podagrica, an exotic member of the Euphorbiaceae family that is native to Central America.

Comparing the delightful scenes above, you’d noticed that most of the hanging pots of orchids and spider plants at the roof’s eave were removed. The Tricolor Dracaena on the left and the White Mussaenda tree on the right were shooting skywards unrestrained and have to be cut back too.

Some pots were reshuffled to other positions and a great number of potted plants, especially housed in large pots were disposed or given away.

All in all, the aim is to cut down the number of our plants which can be heartbreaking. This tedious task is gradual and on-going as it’s not only difficult to make choices on which goes and which stays but we have to be very careful in not injuring our aged backs in the process. The decision to reduce our plants is because my beloved John has been diagnosed with having lumbar spondylosis (multi-level degenerative discs) and have been advised to avoid carrying heavy loads and reduce garden activity of bending and lifting. I, on the other hand have osteopenia, though not threatening but best to be cautious too.

Meanwhile, these are some of our garden pictures taken during the last two months of June and July. Enjoy!

Our frontyard garden in July 2010
This section always gives us a sense of joy and satisfaction. At any one time, there are at least a couple of plants flowering. Even if not blossoming, the lush greenery itself is calming and therapeutic.

Tristellateia australasiae (Shower of Gold Climber, Galphimia Vine)
The Golden Vine became the belle of our garden last month when it finally flowered again after an absence of more than a year. Strangely, it must have understood my remarks to it in frustration as I gave it a crew-cut. I said, “Last chance – no flower, no stay! Rangoon Creeper will replace you!”

Lo and behold, two to three months later, it presented us with some strikingly beautiful golden clusters! Though the flower bunches weren’t many but enough to make us so happy! Thank you, my pretty lady!

Other flowering delights and a baby lizard:

Hydrangea macrophylla (Mophead/Bigleaf/French Hydrangea, Hortensia) – this blue beauty never fails to uplift our spirits. We enjoy watching it gradually changing the colour of its dress from blue to a darker shade of pink as it ages.

Torenia fournieri – these are such happy-go-lucky annuals that self-seed so readily to please us. We just love these plant fillers, so do the mealy bugs! So watch out for those tiny ‘moisture-sucking’ pests!

Heliconia stricta ‘Carli’s Sharonii’ – a very hardy and reliable beauty that doesn’t tire producing spectacular and long-lasting blooms, endlessly year round.

Calotes versicolor (Garden Fence Lizard, Changeable Lizard) – delightful little fellow that just posed willingly for 2 dozen shots taken within 15 minutes. How engaging! This species is a frequent visitor to our garden.

Euphorbia milii ‘Red Dwarf’ (Crown of Thorns), a dwarf cultivar with tiny red flowers, 1-1.5cm across. Its parent succumbed to mealy bug attack but we managed to salvage 2 young shoots – just 10cm-tall but flowered for the first time in May and has been blooming almost non-stop ever since. Amazing!

Euphorbia milii (Crown of Thorns) with deep orange-red bracts. This is the standard variety and bloom colour will gradually lighten to salmon as it ages.

is one of the most beautiful and striking clumping palm that’s admired by many. A must-have exotic palm specimen if you have the garden space!

Last October, while taking photos of the Lipstick Palm trees that were growing in our church’s compound to include in our C. renda article here, John and I noticed that there were numerous suckers just waiting to be adopted.

So we approached James, the gardener, to give us some with the hope to propagate them for sale at our SFA Church’s Sunday Bazaar in aid of an ongoing church-building fund project.

He gave us 4 young plants as seen in the first image below but sadly, only the one that had a couple of roots survived. And that successful one sure took its own sweet time to let us know that it’s kicking and about. Since it was pointless to follow through with our earlier plan with just a single plant, we decided reluctantly to keep the loner for our garden instead!

Not that we’re not captivated by this stunning and majestic Lipstick Palm with its vibrant red stems and its lush green foliage, but we’re fully aware that it grows best on the ground. That’s something our young plant will miss as our ground is mostly paved and in the pot it’s forced to stay, restricted and contained…poor darling!

Learn how to propagate Crytostachys renda (Red Sealing Wax Palm, Lipstick Palm, Rajah Palm) :

A. Easily by seeds:

1. Collect some seeds, best fresh seeds that will germinate between 1-4 months. Dried seeds can be used too but may take up to 9 months or later to germinate.
2. Soak the seeds for 1-2 days, preferably in warm water or scarify them to speed germination.
3. Then, scatter or plant them with their top partially exposed above the soil, into your garden bed or in a container filled with humus-enriched potting medium.
4. Site them at a sunny spot. With good heat and sunshine, plus regular watering, seeds should germinate successfully.
   
   More details on how to propagate palms in general by seed germination here.

B. By division of suckers

1. Suckers will emerge freely in abundance from a single parent plant, eventually forming a clump of them. Use appropriate gardening tools, such as a very sharp spade or shovel to cut through and divide the clump. Then, grow the divided clumps separately as newly grouped plants in garden soil that is enriched with humus and well-drained.
2. Best to divide the clumping plants when they are young, otherwise it’ll be one very tough job to tackle, as seen in this post on propagating the Rhapis excelsa (Lady Palm), another clumping palm.

C. By severing the suckers (i.e. separating the side shoots individually)

1. Use appropriate digging and cutting tools, like the hoe or ‘cangkul’ (Malaysia’s equivalent of a hoe) and a sharp knife/pruner, to sever the side suckers or shoots from the main plant. Make sure that each young plant has a healthy set of roots otherwise it’s doomed to fail as we’ve experienced in this project that was started on 10 November 2009.
   
2. Replant them singly or 2 shoots together, in a container or directly into the ground, using good-draining and humus-enriched potting medium. Plant each shoot with its crown at the previous soil level and firm the soil well around its stem. Then, wet through thoroughly.
   
3. Best to site them at a sunny spot and with good sunlight and generous watering regularly, they should flourish well as new plants that will eventually produce new shoots too.
   The left photo below shows its progress about 5½ months later. Height hardly increased but it had produced a new leaf and a teeny-weeny shoot had emerged! 2 months later, it had added another new leaf as seen in the right image.
   
4. It’s normal for these newly propagated young shoots to grow ever so slowly, remaining small and will begin to pick up growth-pace gradually.
   The photo below illustrates how slow the young plant had grown within 8½ months – just added 2 new leaves and 3 shoots, with hardly any change in height.
   
   If it’s planted in a small pot, it’ll probably take up to a year or more for them to be pot-bound. Repot it when the time is right, especially if roots are popping out from the drainage holes – choose a heavy and fairly deep container that can support the weight and expansion of the clump. One where the palm can reside for several years without needing to be repotted unnecessarily. Or simply transfer the palm directly into the ground.
   
   This propagation technique of severing or separating the side shoots can be used for other clustering palms too, such as the Macarthur Palm and Lady Palm.

These Umbrella Plants are so easily re-propagated! A single plant can provide material to last many many years. A lifetime, so to speak, as it suckers rather rapidly, forming dense clusters effortlessly.

Check on Umbrella Plant profile here, if you’re interested.

Some of the many ways to propagate Cyperus involucratus are:

• By dividing the clumps or root ball. Wherever possible, remove the dead crown within the divisions before replanting them. This is by far the quickest and easiest method. John and I normally choose this method as it’s an opportunity to spring-clean, repot and rejuvenate our pot-bound plants!
• By germinating seeds, if available. Umbrella Plant self-sows readily too.
• By tip cuttings. Either inverse them in a bottle/tray of water or plant directly on soil in a pot or ground.
• By bending down the tip end of a stem with its leaf bracts pinned down into the moistened soil. With regular watering, a new plant will eventually emerge within a few weeks from beneath.

Here, we’d like to share just 2 methods of vegetative reproduction which we’ve experimented:

A. How to propagate by tip cuttings, planted in potting soil:

1. Cut off a whole stem from the plant. Then, take only the tip cutting of about 10cm long and shorten the length of the leaf bracts as well.
2. Plant the tip cutting upside down in moistened potting medium. Push it down and cover with soil.
   
3. Place it at a sunny spot and with regular watering, a new plant should emerge within a month or so.
   

B. How to propagate by tip cuttings, inversed in water:

1. Cut off a whole stem from the plant. Then, take only the tip cutting of about 10-15cm long and shorten the length of the leaves as well.
   
2. Invert with its head plunge into a bottle or tray of water.
3. Site it at a sunny spot (to maintain warm temperature for best result) and roots will form at the center of the ‘upside-down umbrella’ and eventually a new plant will emerge and grow upward in about a month.
4. You can then plant it in potting medium – carefully snip off the old leaves of the tip cutting, being mindful not to damage the newly-formed roots and plant the new plant, either in a pot or in the ground. Best if plant can get morning sun or filtered sunlight for optimum growth.
5. This photo below illustrates how the plants are faring on July 12, more than 3 months later.
   

Enjoy…hope the tips have been useful!

Thanks for asking, James…that was about 10 months ago and I’m touched that you remembered it at all!

Well, due to space constraint and lack of proper support for the passiflora vines, we decided to maintain only one of the cuttings for our front yard. And, of course we chose the tallest amongst the three seedlings as seen in the left image!

Besides that, the first seedling that was presented to us by a wonderful friend last July as pictured on the left, remains potted at the backyard.

On the whole, both the vines are flourishing fairly well as they received sufficient sunlight and are watered regularly.

These purple passiflora vines are vigorous climbers, scrambling all over the backyard chain-link fencing and even the Lady Palm canes close-by for support. In the front, it’s vining onto a steel wire netting. Climbing far and wide, the vine with its tendrils will cling or twirl around whatever they can grab onto.

In less than a year, both the vines have reached between 4-5 m or more in length, with haphazard branching.

Too bad though, that the vines are top heavy with the lower part of the main stem, bald and leafless. We’ve decided not to prune them until after flowering…we’re still waiting eagerly for that first bloom! Wonder how soon will they flower and bear fruits?

Meanwhile, the foliage of this purple Passiflora Vine had us really confused for quite a while! The following leaf characteristics were observed on one single plant :

• Leaves come in all shapes and sizes. It can be 3-lobed or simple, ovate to heart-shaped or lance-shaped, broad to narrow, small to large. Some are flat, while others, recurved or curved inwardly.
• The young leaves will start off simple, serrated and without lobes. But, later as the stem or branch continues its growth length, newer leaves will become 3-lobed. Amazing, we didn’t know that this change will occur!
• Some of the leaves are even 2-lobed! That’s strange, and we thought they were deformed, probably due to some deficiency?
• Leaves may develop spots, blotches or have tiny bumps, and blades discoloured with yellow patches too. We assumed they were diseased and started removing them to nip the problem in the bud, but had ceased that since the ‘disease’ didn’t spread and seem to be concentrated on certain obviously exposed foliage only.

Of course, these strange observations led me to research online curiously for the reasons for such diverse leaf shapes and changes on the Passiflora foliage. And, we’re glad to be finally educated and enlightened further on the matter, hopefully able to better tend them now, without confusion and wrong assumptions.

It’s proven that Passion Flower Vine is a master of disguises and exhibit diverse characteristics on its foliage for various reasons such as these :

• Different leaf shapes are used as a means to camouflage and keep the insect pests such as passionvine-eating butterflies from finding them. Sometimes, the Passiflora will mimic the leaf shape of other nearby plants too to escape detection from butterflies.
• Most young leaves differ in shape from mature ones so that the vine can grow unhindered before caterpillars gnaw on the foliage.
• Some leaves will display tiny bumps (extrafloral nectaries) to mimic butterfly eggs as visual deterrent, hoping to confuse potential butterflies into thinking that they’re already taken by other females. Smart trick, huh?

Learn more interesting Passiflora facts from Virtual Herbarium of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, on shape shifters.

And, be mesmerized by the fantastic microscopic images of Passiflora x belotti by Brian Johnston! Thank you, Brian for that awesome sharing!

We’re absolutely thrilled to find out and learn about these marvelous self-defence mechanisms of the Passiflora! God The Almighty is so awesome!

Want an attractive and colourful floral display in your home?

Choose the Gerber Daisies that will surely lend beauty and brightness, inside the home or out in the garden. They’re such a cheerful and vibrant lot and you’ll be spoilt for choice of floral colours that come in an extensive array of dazzling colours.

Truly kaleidoscopic and explosive in nature!

Barberton Daisies are an on-and-off attraction in our garden. Since they’re reasonably priced, we buy them on impulse whenever their spectacular and brightly-coloured blooms shout for attention during our nursery visits or at the superstores. The potted plants are value for money, lasting longer than the cut flowers, and fabulous for a temporary display at home, lasting probably between 4-6 weeks. When plants are finished flowering, they can be transplanted into flowers beds outdoors and may even last for several months or a few years with proper care, being mindful that the indoor plants should first be introduced to direct sunlight gradually.

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Gerbera jamesonii
• Common Name: Gerbera Daisy, Gerber Daisy, Transvaal Daisy, Barberton Daisy, African Daisy
• Family name: Asteraceae
• Etymology: The genus Gerbera was named after Traugott Gerber, the 18th-century German naturalist. And, the species named after its founder, Robert Jameson, a Scotsman who rediscovered it in 1884 near Barberton in South Africa, thus attributing to the common names, Barberton Daisy and African Daisy.
• Origin: Native to the Transvaal and Cape Province of South Africa.
• Plant type: Perennial ornamental herb
• Features: Gerbera jamesonii belongs to the genus Gerbera that has approximately 30 species in the wild, ranging from South America, Africa, Madagascar and tropical Asia. A highly versatile species that has been extensively hybridized over the decades and presently has several hundred varieties and hybrids.
  An evergreen herbaceous perennial in the tropics and an annual in colder climes, it has a low-mounding and clump-forming habit with variable height. Depending on the hybrids and varieties, it varies between 20-60 cm tall and spread almost as wide, with a rather moderate-growing rate.
  Petioled leaves in deep green emerge from the crown in basal rosettes with coarse and oblong-shaped blades that are deeply lobed, measuring between 20-25 cm in length and half in width.
  A single brilliantly-coloured flower is produced and held terminally on each flowering scape, typically up to 45 cm tall, that sprouts from the ground and towers above the green foliage in lovely contrast. It is covered with extremely fine hairs and fuzzy to the touch. Green sepals that connect the stalk to the back of the flower are similarly matted with fine whitish hairs.
  The flower-head structure of the Gerber Daisy is easily distinguishable, comprising of hundreds of individual flowers, but collectively appearing as a single flower. It possess composite flowers with 3 flower types, that is, the central disk contains the disk florets, then surrounded by a ring of intermediate trans florets and the outermost petals constitute the final ring(s) of ray florets. The colourful rays and its central disk may be of almost similar or contrasting shade. Its reproductive system is located in the disk florets (female) and trans florets (male).
  The Gerbera Daisy flowers are impressively large, 10-12.7 cm diameter, roundish and come in an awesome array of diverse colours that have evolved over decades of hybridizing. Commonly seen are the red and crimson to pink, cream and yellow to deep orange in various hues and less frequently the whites and violet, but never blue (?). Blooms can be in single or double forms, and even with serrated or frilly petals, of differing width and length, and mottled or variegated too. Amazing! No wonder, Gerber/African Daisies are highly sought by florists and gardeners alike!

• Culture (Care): An easy-to-culture plant, Gerbera jamesonii needs minimal attention.
  Light: Full sun to light shade.
  Moisture: Average water needs. Do not overwater as overly wet or soggy conditions can cause crown rot. Avoid overhead watering as it’s susceptible to powdery mildew and best to water it early in the day. Indoor plants may need misting on leaves but not on the blooms.
  Soil: Prefers a sandy or loam medium that is humus or organic-enriched and must be well-drained.
  Others: Do not plant Gerber Daisy too deeply or kept too wet as susceptible to crown rot. Feed once monthly with a balanced fertilizer during active growth and flowering. Remove spent flowers and stems, as well as withered or scorched leaves. Watch out for pests like aphids and whitefly. Gerbera Daisy is susceptible to several diseases, such as powdery mildew, grey mildew and black root rot.
  For subtropical and temperate regions: Hardiness: USDA Zone 9-11, it is grown a perennial but elsewhere, an annual. It can tolerate some frost but not freezing temperatures that will kill plants to the roots. Best to grow in containers in non-hardy regions to overwinter plants indoors easily. Nevertheless, Zone 8 gardeners have succeeded in growing them as perennials if properly mulched and sheltered from freezing winds. Water sparingly in winter and reduce feeding to once every two months. To propagate, divide the clumps and repot them in spring. They’ll flower throughout the year if grown in the greenhouse.

• Propagation: By division of clumps, which is the quicker, easier and better alternative to propagating by seeds where plants generally do not come true in form and colour. If by seeds, they should germinate between two to three weeks, otherwise not viable if longer than that.

• Usage: Gerbera jamesonii make ideal ornamental groundcovers in garden beds and borders or as edging and in landscaping. Excellent flowering plant in containers to decorate and brighten homes or indoors, window sills, patios and decks. Can be grown in greenhouses for year-round flowering. Even as lovely in mixed planters with Gerbera Daisies of other shade or join a crowd of other plants with complementary colours. Plant them in your garden to attract bees, butterflies and birds.
  You can use Gerbera jamesonii to purify or cleanse the air. In the NASA Clean Air Study, this plant was proven effective in remove benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene. Check the list of air filtering plants at Wikipedia.
  With a vase-life of about 2 weeks, they’re widely and popularly used as cut flowers for floral arrangement, indoor decor, gifts for special occasions, wedding bouquets and the like. It is ranked as the fifth most popularly used cut flower worldwide and hence an important commodity.
  Also, it is widely used as a model organism when studying flower formation.

Other external links:

• Gerbera.org
• Microscopy of Gerbera Daisy by Brian Johnston, and another by Brittany Richardson, a must visit to enjoy its beauty!
• Hortchat on Gerbera Daisy, including Q&A
• Floridata on Gerbera jamesonii
• Bachman’s Floral Gift & Garden on Gerbera Plant Care
• Garden Guides on Gerbera Diseases
• About.com on landscaping with Gerbera Daisies

More Gerbera jamesonii (Barberton/Gerber/Transvaal Daisy) pictures to enjoy!

Gerber Daisy – white ray flowers, pink disk

Gerber Daisy – white ray flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – pink ray flowers, brown disk

Gerber Daisy – pink ray flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – pink flowers, yellow disk

Gerber Daisy – deep orange flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – rich yellow flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – orange flowers with yellow blotches, black disk

Gerber Daisy – light yellow flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – light orange flowers, yellowish-green disk

April 30: Nest-building by a pair of White-browed bulbuls (Pycnonotus luteolus) on our potted Lady Palm trees at our frontyard took just 3 days to complete. Probably, this was the same pair that tried breeding in our garden last March, their 3rd attempt within 2 months! As seen in the collage below, the female seemed so contented as she placed the final touches to her home and tested the nest. We’re once again excited to be able to watch nature unfold just outside our tinted-glass door and be able to capture photos too. Praise and thank God for this nature surprises!

May 3: Upon our return from an outstation weekend trip to Ipoh, I took a quick shot into the nest on Monday morning, and was happy to see 2 lovely eggs in the photo. We were extremely excited for the would-be parents. Nevertheless, during the course of the day and subsequent days, we didn’t see the female or its partner around. We thought that strange as it should be trying to hatch the eggs, because we recall a similar breeding event by the same bird species on the same Lady Palm trees, some 2 years ago at our garden porch.
More than a week passed, without a sight of the pair though we can hear them making some noises occasionally from a very large tree across the road. Seemed to have abandoned the eggs, don’t know why? Google-searched for some answers and read that it’s best to leave the eggs alone. Most likely, they were not viable, birds know best! So sad!

May 14: Then, 11 days later, our feathered friends (probably the same pair) came visiting again, seemingly very excited as we could hear from within our sitting hall, some happy noises outside. That got us as excited too!

May 15-16: The next two days, we observed that the female was nesting ever so frequently. Is this the same one that had laid the two eggs and abandoned them? We dare not get close outside to see whether there were any newly-laid eggs inside the nest or just the previously abandoned eggs. She’s so alert and can see our movements inside our sitting hall as well, through our sliding glass-doors and laced-curtains. Sometimes, she will take flight even when we’re about 3 metres away, inside going about our chores…gosh, what sharp eyes she has! We kept our curtains closed most of the time to give her as much privacy as possible.

May 17-21: Anyway, I just couldn’t contain my curiosity any longer as my gut feeling was that she had laid an egg or two. When the pair was out of sight, I took a ladder outside, climb it and took a capture of the nest. Wow! I was overjoyed to see that the nest now contained an additional egg! A treat too, to observe the female dutifully sitting on the nest, frequently throughout the day and subsequent days, assuring us that all was well. The male rarely visited the nest but was seen flying close-by with its mate and making ‘threatening’ noises whenever we garden too near. However, we greatly reduced activity outside to avoid agitating them. Hmm… our plants were obviously neglected for their sake.

May 22-23: We’d do anything for our flying friends to succeed in raising their family this time around, but nature decided otherwise.
The whole of Saturday May 22nd, the birds never came close to the nest even though we could see them perched once in awhile on the high-tension wires outside our home or nearby. Somehow, that didn’t seemed right.
Early Sunday morning, I drew our curtains very slightly to have a peep at the nest and noticed that its edges were ruffled. Something was definitely amiss. Since there wasn’t any sign of the pair, I brought out the ladder and took a shot and almost fell when I saw that my image showed an empty nest! Only then, did I look down onto the floor beneath and saw pieces of broken egg shells. Ran in to disclose the sad news tearfully to my hubby who suspected that it could be the squirrel that had been seen quite often in our garden foraging for food. Simply shocking and so depressing…another unsuccessful attempt at breeding! Poor disheartened birds! We decided to remove the misshapened and ill-fated nest as it was now useless.
Chapter closed…so we thought!

May 26: Surprise…surprise! In mid-afternoon, a young pair of White-browed Bulbul on a recce mission seemed attracted by the very same spot that housed a bird’s nest just 3 days ago. Without hesitation, they cheerfully started building their nest as I can see them landing on the Lady Palm trees every now and then from across the sitting hall where I’m working on my iMac. How lovely!

May 27 The young love-birds were at it again the second day, continuing the nest building in the early morning. Lo and behold, danger loomed without warning! Out of the blue, another stronger pair of White-browed bulbul suddenly zoomed in and noisily chased off the innocent young pair at work and the latter never returned to finish their job. How very unfortunate for them and for us too who have hoped to experience another breeding event.

Anyway, I was fortunate to have captured the ‘bullies’ with my camera and recognized them to be the earlier pair of bulbuls that had failed to fulfill their dreams. Poor confused dreamers. I truly sympathize with both pairs, nature can be cruel sometimes!

A whole month of fluctuating emotions…one moment high-spirited and hopeful, and the next, low-spirited and down-heartened. That’s life, right? Whatever, we’re thankful to have experienced such blessed events. Bird-watching can been fun and exciting with joyful anticipation, though can be distressing at times, nonetheless!

End of story? Hope not as we look forward to more visits from our feathered friends. Will the same strong pair try to breed again at our home garden, we wonder?

Our backyard garden became alive and vibrant too with the Hippeastrums or Barbados Lilies flowering in full swing for the Easter Season. Wow!


A bear-hug and a big thank you to Annette Pang for presenting us with 2 bulbs in August 2008. Flowering for the first time in nearly 2 years, these brilliant scarlet-coloured Hippeastrum are such warmers for our hearts and soul! So wonderfully uplifting too that both bulbs decided to wake up from deep slumber to bloom almost around the same time. Hence, we got to enjoy their flowers for almost a month, the last one will probably close shyly in a day or two! What a joyful extended sight! Praise and thank God!

Flowers are large, about 5 inches across and about the same in depth. The width between opposite ends of two flowers is almost a foot across…awesome! The first 24-inch tall flowering scape was crowned with 4 fabulous blooms while the second stalk, a wee bit shorter had 2. I was truly mesmerized by the whole blooming event and captured countless photos to enjoy further on our iMac!

Sharing more images here to delight you…enjoy!

Another delightful Hippeastrum that never fail to cheer us around Easter Season is the commonly grown salmon-colored Hippies. They’re so reliable and hardy.

It was no surprise at all when the salmon-coloured hippies started to spring buds from mid-March. That’s their usual stunt, appearing before or after Easter. But, what truly pleased us was the pot-bound bulbs continued to churn out the most flowering scape this season, last count was eight scape with four flowers each and the final flowering stalk just burst with blooms today!

How lovely, we got to enjoy them for nearly one and a half months. Observed that the flowers were a tad smaller this time around, probably bulbs are congested and crying for space. We intend to reduce its number and repot soon.

Check here for more plant info on Hippeastrum hybrids.

Kalanchoe uniflora (probable ID) :
Lovely unexpected addition to our garden! We walked into a nursery mid-March, hoping to get a pot of Christmas Kalanchoe blossfeldiana at a lesser price after the Chinese New Year festive season but there weren’t any to be seen. A blessing in disguise as there was another more catchy Kalanchoe variety which we’ve never seen before and it was an instant hit with us.

Kalanchoe ‘Wendy’ is its name, I think, after having google-searched its identity. A pot of this showy succulent with numerous clusters of hanging, bell-shaped rose-pink flowers costs only RM8.00, pretty cheap, huh! The best part is their beautiful flowers will last between 4-6 weeks and I read that Kalanchoe can be easily propagated. Yippee, value for money…I’ve just experimented with leaf cuttings this morning and hope to get more plants! Will try to propagate by tip cuttings when I deadhead our plant eventually.

Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Bantel’s Sensation’ (White Sansevieria) :
What a marvelous March surprise! After a long lapse in flowering for 2 whole years, our White Sansevieria finally decided to treat us again. It is known to flower very rarely, hence we’re thankful to be able to enjoy its beautiful pearly-white and sweetly fragrant blooms on a 27-inch upright stalk for about 2 weeks.

A pair of White-browed Bulbul’s desire to set home :
My darling John and I were really excited when we saw a pair of lovers attempted to build their nest on our potted Lady Palm trees (Rhapis excelsa) at our garden porch in early March. We had hope to experience once again the joy of following the breeding event by the same bird species, Pycnonotus luteolus on the same potted plants nearly 2 years ago.
First try in early March failed as the nest was wishy-washy, made from too much soft cotton wool and lacked binding twigs. It was abandoned after a few days.

Then the birds returned about 2 weeks later on March 21st and attempted to repair the nest, working on it with determination for 2-3 days. Delighted to have capture some shots to show one of them surveying and testing its home.

The couple was very noisy over their finished job, probably congratulating each other with lots of sweet birdie dialogue. Same noisy sounds continued over 1-2 days later, but subsequently, there was total silence and the birds weren’t sighted at all. Sad to see the nest abandoned the second time. Both, our joy and theirs, seemed so short-lived!

Upon checking, I observed that the nest was squashed. It was doomed to fail as the whole nest was held precariously at one side and attached to a single palm stem by just a few twigs, like holding a cup of tea with the little finger. Another failed attempt…poor dear young ones, so sad!

More grief followed 2 weeks later, when John discovered a piece of egg shell in a pot of Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) that was located below the palms. We deduced that the female bird did lay an egg after all but probably misfired, resulting in fallen and broken egg. It really broke our hearts as we can empathize with their loss, having suffered a miscarriage during my first pregnancy. Gosh, what sorrow!

Nevertheless, we’re positive for this young couple. As I’m drafting this post, I can see them through our lace curtains, occasionally visiting the same potted Lady Palm trees which had been shifted to the corner of our porch recently. They sure seem resourceful!
Wish you much success, sweet young ones!!

Of course, sun-loving plants in our tropical garden like the Bougainvilleas, Madagascar Periwinkles, White Mussaenda, Euphorbia milii, Ponytail Plant and Yucca, to name a few just love the heat while the Norfolk Pine, Macarthur Palm and Dracaena Lisa had some of their foliage ‘roasted’…poor thing!

Here’s sharing some of our garden photos, taken in February, mostly from our front yard and a couple from the backyard. Enjoy please!

A section of our garden in the front yard, to the right of the driveway and facing the public road.

A section of our frontyard garden

Heliconia psittacorum ‘Sassy’

Bougainvillea ‘Aiskrim’ (syn: B. ‘Surprise’, B. ‘Miss Universe’)

Bougainvillea ‘Millionaire’ and B. ‘Mrs Eva Mauve Variegata’

Calliandra emarginata ‘Red’ (Dwarf Powder Puff, Powderpuff Plant)

Dendrobium phalaenopsis ‘Sonia’

Dieffenbachia bowmannii ‘Carriere’ (Dumb Cane, Spotted Dumbcane, Leopard Lily)

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’ (Mophead Hydrangea, Bigleaf Hydrangea, French Hydrangea, Hortensia)

Catharanthus roseus, in purplish-pink (Madagascar Periwinkle, Cape Periwinkle, Rose/Rosy Periwinkle, Vinca)

Catharanthus roseus, in white (Madagascar Periwinkle, Cape Periwinkle, Rose/Rosy Periwinkle, Vinca)

Purple Vanda Orchid

Hymenocallis caribaea (Caribbean Spiderlily, Spider Lily, White Lily)

Ixora chinensis ‘Singapore Yellow’ (Jungle Flame/Geranium, Needle Flower) – just to show there’s yellow flowers too, though not in its best form…sorry!

Heliconia stricta ‘Carli’s Sharonii’