Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Plant Exchange

When garden enthusiasts meet, plants do the talking! That's what our dear patron of the Selangor and FT Gardening Society, Tan Sri Chong Hon Nyan desired when he hosted yet another of our regular yearly plant exchange in his house.

You can be assured that the warmth of the lovely couple greets you, accentuated by the red glow of the red canopy above our heads. Luck was on our side  too as the incessant rain of the past weeks kept away and the sun smiled on us.

I brought two plants with a wish of finding them new homes. Specially wanted  a happy soul to take home  the vitex trifolia or the simpleleaf chaste tree. The shrub sits under  my jacaranda tree and complements  nicely with its lavender flowers. The clusters of berries rectify  hormonal imbalances in females. I extolled its virtues to our ex- president, Arthur and he  bought it. All for a ringggit 5 tag. All plants sold go towards the Society's coffers.

As usual, I was on the lookout for some new plants. Imagine for only ringgit 28.00 spent, I got myself  a custard apple sapling, lemon basil, jasmine (cestrum nocturnum), a stem cutting of a genus of the monstera, a packet of lady finger seeds and a tub of home-made pickled fruits which is our patron's wife's speciality.

The owner who parted with her Night blooming jasmine (Lady of the Night) as she was moving from her condominium told me  to expect the knockout fragrance of the plant. And for the lingering fragrance that wafts in the air even after it is plucked.

Following the do's and don'ts of  a good plant exchange, the event  went smoothly. Nothing  littered the compound of our gracious patron as unsold plants were taken home by the owners. As usual, our patron treated  the members to a delightful lunch  of kari and prawn mee, kuay teow, popiah and ice kacang which we ate heartily.

Within those brief hours, we immersed ourselves talking about our nature pursuits, the behaviour of our garden plants, composting etc. There is so much to share and learn from each other. With such wonderful garden tales, there is nothing left to do but just to fall in love over and over again with plants. They really do speak to us. Our duty is to care for them.


Food and plants go  together well !

Lovely pendulous sprays of yellow flowers in  our patron's garden which is a trove of plants everywhere you look!

The lovely delicate flowers of the vitex trifolia

Small plants to suit  a balcony garden

Tall plants that need space.

The price tag of ringgit 5  doesn't set one back in the pocket!

A nursery was invited to sell some plants.

Bonus time -  on behalf of Arthur, our president Dr Tan handed out a packet of vermicompost and a soil mix each to every member.

Arthur showing us this plant which is said to have anti - cancer properties

I bought a stem cutting

Like my plant?

Making  choices

A wealth of knowledge  lies here!

13 comments:

  1. How did you get to go to all these wonderful places Keats? I love it.

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  2. Wow, you are so lucky Keats! I am drooling over this. It must have been an extremely enjoyable and valuable experience.

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  3. I'm sure it was a fun event. The custard apple will bear fruits very soon.

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  4. How nice it is to be making these events for special projects. Your bought cutting will be so big it needs a big tree to climb on. I hope you have corner with a big tree, but it will be a very beautiful corner when that is already big.

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  5. Oh that is a good idea. I will have to host one of these someday at my church.

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  6. Nice plants & flowers. With the added attraction of great fun'n'good food.

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  7. 'With such wonderful garden tales, there is nothing left to do but just to fall in love over and over again with plants.'

    Well said, Keats!

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  8. lovely pictures yet again, especially the fourth one.

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  9. This is great idea!
    You're so lucky to have a zillion plants to choose from...
    Here in Finland winter is almost behind the corner, no snow yet but it's getting colder.
    Can't wait for spring! :)
    Keats, have a good week ahead!

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  10. Wow you got all the plants for a steal! Lucky you:D

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  11. You take the most fantastic photos. Love the images of the garden market - plus books! What fun.

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  12. What a lovely gathering of botany enthusiasts! I have to be careful about acquiring plants like lillies and "pudding" plants because they pose a danger to cats and dogs. Is that the leaf of the Monstera deliciosa I see there, which you mentioned was reputed to have anti-cancer properties?

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  13. A very fun event! Hope I get the chance to join in when I came back. So many interesting plant there!

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Great to have you popping in!