Our garden flowers in February 2010
February had been an extremely hot season in our country, Malaysia! Eeek, too hot and humid most days, with very infrequent rainfall.
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 [...]
Colourful flowers in our garden, November 2009
How timely that our tropical garden in November 2009 was in top form to present me with enough photography opportunities to try out my relatively new point and shoot camera, Canon PowerShot SX200 IS! My dearly beloved, John, presented me an early Christmas-cum-40th wedding anniversary-cum-birthday gift during the last week of October. Hehe…too bad that [...]
September 2009 joy in our tropical garden
Gardening is truly food for the soul and its rewards are endless, a tonic for stress and a sight for sore eyes!
We’re absolutely delighted to be maintaining a garden blog here that gives us the opportunity to share online the many treasures seen in our tropical urban garden. They may look very ordinary to some [...]
Gouty stem of Jatropha podagrica (Buddha Belly Plant)
Jatropha podagrica (Gout Plant, Buddha Belly Plant, Bottleplant Shrub)
Here is another unique and fascinating herbaceous perennial plant like the Adenium obesum (Desert Rose), that will develop an attractively swollen and knobby caudex as it ages. A tropical beauty with bright orange-red inflorescence towering above its dark green foliage in lovely contrast.
Pretty and dependable, that’s Catharanthus roseus
Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle, Rose Periwinkle)
An old-fashioned and reliable bedding plant that never fails to shine year round in our tropical climate, abounding in pretty little flowers that are usually of the purplish-pink, rose-pink or white form.
But, of course, many marvelous cultivars/varieties of various vibrant colors and dwarfish forms have been developed over the many [...]
Garden surprises in June 2009
Bauhinia kockiana has always been a baffling vine for us. It is most elusive. Grows fast and vigorous with beautiful bright green and luxuriant foliage yet rarely flowers! We seldom get to enjoy their blooms in large stunning clusters, that are so often seen in most home gardens around our neighborhood or elsewhere. Just have [...]
Epidendrum orchids: so diverse, yet easiest to grow!
Epidendrum species (Epi, Epidendrum Orchid, Crucifix Orchid, Reed-stem Epidendrum, Star Orchid)
How enormous and diverse the genus Epidendrum L. is! It consists of about 1,100 species of orchids that are native to tropical and subtropical Americas and the Caribbean. Now though, it is widely distributed, naturalized and cultivated in many regions worldwide.
The more popular and [...]
Flowering continues into May 2009
Wow! Our baby is grown-up! Just two years old, short of one month.
There’s always excitement and pride when a young plant blooms for the first time ever upon maturity.
This time, it is an orange Crucifix Orchid that was added to our garden in May 2007. Voted as our star orchid for May 2009, this lovely [...]
Marvelous colors of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Tropical Hibiscus)
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Tropical Hibiscus, Chinese Hibiscus, China Rose, Shoe Flower)
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the single form with the 5-petaled blood-red blooms, is Malaysia’s national flower. It is locally known as ‘Bunga Raya’ in the Malay language. Hence, it is no surprise that this spectacular ornamental shrub is popularly and abundantly grown in our country, especially along roads [...]
Cheerful Marigolds (Tagetes erecta, Tagetes patula)
Tagetes erecta, Tagetes patula (Marigold, African/American Marigold, French Marigold)
Though we don’t quite fancy annuals, Marigold like Butter Daisy and Globe Amaranth are the few exceptions that we favor to adorn our tropical garden every once in a while with bright intense colors. Colorful, stunning and inexpensive too!
In the tropics, Marigold is a year-round [...]
