John&Jacq~s Garden

Posted by Jacqueline on October 25th, 2011

Calathea lutea (Cigar Calathea, Cuban/Havana Cigar, Pampano) Weren’t you surprised that these majestically tall plants, up to 3 meters in height, with green and unpatterned foliage bears the name, Calathea lutea? We definitely were as most calatheas not only have beautifully patterned and variegated leaves but are rather dwarfish (about 60 cm) in stature, unlike [...]

Posted by Jacqueline on October 14th, 2011

Cheilocostus speciosus; syn: Costus speciosus (Spiral Ginger, Crepe Ginger, White costus, Cane Reed) Free-flowering Cheilocostus speciosus (its current accepted name) is one of the most attractive and well-known cultivated species of the genus Cheilocostus. A lovely clustering plant with tall reed-like stems that are topped with large snowy-white and crepe-textured flowers on terminal cones. These [...]

Posted by Jacqueline on October 5th, 2011

We’ve been growing Spider Plants (Chlorophytum comosum) for umpteen years, so long that we won’t give them a second look when we visit garden centers – or so we thought. Recently though, we were spellbound by their presence at a nearby garden center that we dropped by early last month. With outstretched limbs and crying [...]

Posted by Jacqueline on September 22nd, 2011

Pritchardia pacifica (Fiji Fan Palm, Pacific Fan Palm) Big, bold and beautiful, Pritchardia pacifica will surely make an imposing and striking specimen in any garden or landscape. A handsome solitary palm tree that features enormous fronds in almost perfect fan formation in shades of bright green to lime green. It is well sought after by [...]

Posted by Jacqueline on September 18th, 2011

Brugmansia suaveolens (Angel’s Trumpet, Angel-star, Angel’s Tears) The exotic Brugmansia suaveolens is a small tree or large evergreen shrub that is cultivated exclusively for its dramatic floral display. A prolific bloomer that may grandly display as many as 100-200 stunningly beautiful flowers at one time under good growing conditions. Simply spectacular… as if presenting rows [...]

Posted by Jacqueline on September 4th, 2011

Hmm… we thought that we’ll run out of garden news eventually since our garden plants were greatly reduced due to health problems (i.e. John’s suffering from lumbar spondylosis that impairs his gardening activities). But it appears there are still leftovers that aren’t willing to be categorized as run-of-the-mill as yet. Some plants just want to [...]

Posted by Jacqueline on August 30th, 2011

Hemigraphis alternata (Red Flame Ivy, Red Ivy, Cemetary Plant, Metal-leaf) An attractive and colourful low-creeping herb that’s sure to draw one’s attention, especially mine! I do admit to being a sucker for just about any plant with variegated leaves! We were somewhat mesmerized when we first sighted those lovely ground-cover plants, less than two years [...]

Posted by Jacqueline on August 3rd, 2011

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’ (Mophead/Bigleaf/French Hydrangea, Hortensia) – our garden star in July 2011 Feeling blue? Let the beauty of nature and the Mophead Hydrangea with its gorgeously large blooms mop away the sadness and unhappiness! The colour blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body, and strongly associated with peace, calmness and tranquility. [...]