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 [...]
Quisqualis indica (Rangoon Creeper), simply spectacular!
Quisqualis indica (Rangoon Creeper Vine, Drunken Sailor, Scarlet Ragoon, Chinese Honeysuckle)
An extremely spectacular vine that just loves showing off throughout the year in our tropical heat! When in full bloom, this beauty will be dramatically covered with large trusses of tricolored flowers that are very showy and truly a traffic stopper.
Similar to another tricolor beauty, [...]
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 [...]
The bulbous Proiphys amboinensis (Cardwell Lily)
Proiphys amboinensis (Cardwell Lily, Northern Christmas Lily)
Mysterious no more! Our hosta look-alike plant has finally been correctly identified as a Cardwell Lily, no less beautiful than the Hostas!
Incidentally, just came across online that its common names in Chinese are Crystal Lily and False Hosta. Hmm…no wonder, our plant got us fooled!
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 [...]
Plant ID for Hosta look-alike? It’s Proiphys amboinensis!
For years, we had thought that our luxuriant-looking plant was a Hosta.
Its beautiful and large heart-shaped lime-green leaves are such a wonderful sight for sore-eyes and provide added greenery at our courtyard, delighting us so!
Grow Hostas for beauty, longevity and durability!
Hosta (Corfu Lily, Day Lily, Plantain Lily, Funkia)
Hostas are popularly grown as ornamental plants for their attractive and beautiful foliage. But, we hadn’t known before researching for this article how extensively varied are their shapes, sizes, textures and colors!
The right image, courtesy of Mark @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/markescapes/3554195218/ presents two fabulous variegated form, so beautifully colored and [...]
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 [...]
