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 [...]
Vining Tristellateia australasiae with golden trusses
Tristellateia australasiae (Shower of Gold Climber, Vining Milkweed/Galphimia)
An attractive ornamental liana that is widely grown for its beautiful and showy trusses of bright yellow flowers.
Mostly cultivated in the tropics or sub-tropics to lend beauty to the landscape. Its rampant and vigorous growth make it ideal for trellises, arches and pillars at porches, or as a [...]
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 [...]
Hosta Flowers: Our Easter Garden Joy, April 2009
Update July 28, 2009:
Gosh, just found out that our ‘Hosta’ is actually Proiphys amboinensis, commonly known as Cardwell Lily. Read about its ID search here.
Without doubt, we’re truly excited in sharing this Easter joy. I had scheduled to write this post month-end as our monthly garden news, but just could not contain my joyous self [...]
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 [...]
Gomphrena globosa (Globe Amaranth), a colorful everlasting
Gomphrena globosa (Bachelor’s Buttons, Globe Amaranth)
These globe-shaped blooms in brilliant magenta-purple contrast beautifully with its cool and refreshing bluish-green foliage.
Wonderfully catchy and everlasting in color and shape, their showy flowerheads are popularly used as cut flowers or dried flower arrangements!
Sun-loving Tecoma capensis (Cape Honeysuckle)
Tecoma capensis (Cape Honeysuckle)
