Kuala Lumpur Orchid and Bonsai Show

I paid a quick visit to the recent Kuala Lumpur Orchid and Bonsai Show. The idea was to lug home some lovely orchids at prices I could afford. Nothing extraordinary happened and I bought some dendrobiums with a tight watch on my budget. Yes, me hubby  would really like to hear that! There wasn't much to attract in the way of orchids though their splashes of colour drew me  to have a closer look.

Though I do not cultivate bonsai trees , I did  2 rounds viewing the exhibits, a painstaking  form of horticulture . And that's where I lack patience, not to mention skill. Whoever says gardening is all about rushing into achieving beauty? Sculpting  and aiming for an aesthetic appeal  and the uniqueness takes skill. The gardener who was pruning ever so delicately  at a bonsai plant  proved a point or two.

The bonsai beauties standing apart from each other makes the admirer pause and wonder. I've seen them in nurseries all clumped together  and to the novice eyes like mine, their beauty is lost.

For now, the dendrobiums add happy colour to my plants . Just checking on them the snails have not made the pots their home!

Tight clusters and splashes of yellow.

Phalaenopsis  display

Pink welcome

I like the shape

Elegance

What a cascade! 

Beauty in starkness

Sail away

How long did it take to achieve the look?

Another bonsai beauty .  

Twisting to fame and fortune?

This huge canopy  was a big surprise to me. Looks like I haven't been around the Lake Garden for sometime.

Manicure time 

I bought  the common orchids 

Didn't have to drag myself to my car. This shuttle relieved me  of my load.

Plant Exchange

Greenies of the Selangor and FT Gardening Soc (SFTGS) inevitably look forward to the annual plant exchange  at our beloved patron, Tan Sri Chong Hon Nyan's house.

Outwardly the event might look like a 'lelong' of plants  but more things  surface  when one is enjoying oneself there.

This event usually takes place on a Sunday. It spells camaraderie - of people and plants. The simple request  goes: gather ye some plants, pot or bag them with tlc, bring them and do an exchange with someone else's plant/s. Or just donate your money to the SFTGS if your plant is sold.

There was quite a good selection of plants. This time round, I bought plants I had 'killed' off - cili , kesum and aloe vera. I added  a sweet basil and a peppermint plant. Someone brought  an armful of cinnamon leaves to give away.They were snapped up in a jiffy.

Another member who has a thriving  rearing goat business brought goat dung and fresh milk  to sell. The goat dung really does wonders to the plants.

Not to be outdone, Puan Sri Chong's fruit acar  always adds to the coffers of our Soc. In fact, our dear patron and his wife make us proud of them. Our Soc tagline, 'ALL Things Grow With Love', just suits them to the T. Take a walk into their garden and you'll  wish you had a piece of their treasures! There's also birds which chirp  beautifully in the background. That's also one of their passions.

We bought our brand new publication titled:  Gardening in Malaysia. Flowering Plants Vol.1. It  was launched at our annual gathering  and the response is encouraging. More issues are in the pipeline - 2)Ground Covers,Annuals, Herbs ,3) Climbers, Bulbs, Foliage Plants 4)Trees and Palms. All the issues are for the layman's usage - suits me fine:)

Our hospitable hosts made sure we had our fill of local favourites- curry mee, popiah, kuay teow, mee rebus and ice kacang. Say no to food? never!

Yummy food at your command!

Plants potted in a variety of containers for exchange or sale.

Our patron, Tan Sri Chong Hon Nyan and members enquiring about the goat fertiliser and milk on sale.

Puan Sri Chong 's signature acar always makes an appearance to get more funds for the Soc.

So many plants to choose from. I bought an aloe vera, cili padi, croton, peppermint plant and sweet basil. 

Our banner to greet the members at our patron's house.

Celebrate with hues of orange and yellow

Time has just zoomed past me. Already it's March. I guess the year end  festivities and family celebrations of birthdays, including one  biggie 70th birthday celebration that lasted for 4 days, reunions all wound us up so much that we just enjoyed like forever. And then, thud, back to the daily grind.

So before March passes by without my remembering this is my 3rd year blogging, I best celebrate again. Hope these hues of orange and yellow will perk your day. They are found in my garden. These and other colours are there for me to cherish. They paint bright moods and they bring smiles as long as the sun shines. Why, a flower in my garden has a timeless name like 'Yesterday -Today- Tomorrow' - seems like an eternal clockwork reigns even with plants!! Hail the evergreen shrub, Brunfelsia!

Thank you for popping by, dear regulars and all. You keep the blogging alive in me! Do keep blogging yourselves and we stay connected. Till my next post, enjoy . Am off to soak in the colours and scents of India.  

Happy 3rd  Blogesvary to me!

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!

Green Springcleaning. I am 2 today !!

Today I'm 2 years old. Yes, all of  730 days to date since I decided to create this pastime for myself. Guess what, writing is good for through it I've found so many friends the world over. Simply this blog is to share life's precious little pleasures with you in the manner I can. Also, these tales which I relate will allow me to remember them myself, not forgetting your shared thoughts when the grey matter fails me.

Thanks for staying with me friends. Fingers crossed, I'll be blogging much longer. How does one celebrate this day - March 12, 2011? It's springcleaning time. Not only my fuzzy mind needs it, My garden too!

I need a dusun ! Out of the confines of my garden proper -  hibiscus, mango, banana, mulberry, plumbago ,herbs -  curry leaf, daun kesum, pandan, aloe vera, cinnamon.  On the other end of the perimeter wall  - ixora, brazilian firecrackers, 2 jacaranda, Pride of India , flame of the forest and a couple of plants .
I bought a Pride of India (lagerstroemia speciosa) sapling in December, can't wait to enjoy the flourish of the pink/purple flowers. The Flame of the Forest has not shown its beauty yet - more fertiliser !

A couple of medium to tall trees flank one end of the garden. The  costus curvibracteatus adds some colour sandwiched between the phyllanthus and the misai kuching on the ground.  I started with  9 weak misai kuching plants and have been faithfully cutting and multiplying them. It does not look  a great plot yet but  it will in time.


Standing tall behind are  palm trees with their berries, few eugenia plants, the handkerchief ( maniltoa) tree and the rukam. I love the handkerchief  tree when there is a flush of new leaves.  It is like a story unfolding. As they dangle in a spear like form the colour and shape changes . Finally, they appear like the rest of the mature leaves on the the tree, quite undistinguishable. As for the rukam, the birds hop over for refuge. The berries are plentiful and they are raining on my garden! What do I do with them??  

The workers were heaving the spiky trunk of the hura  onto the truck. My cinnamon tree with a nice canopy was a gift from a friend in Penang. Though  scraggy, the mulberry plant beside it has fruits appearing. 

Safe in their yellow bucket, the workers loped off the spindly branches of the neem.  It has overshadowed  the erythrina glauca and bougainvillae in my garden proper . 

How the neem has grown from a small plant given to me in a milo tin by my sis in law's mil. Her name is Mrs Selvadurai, a dear old, sweet natured lady who came for our house blessing  20 years ago. The neem  popularly known as ' Heal All' in India  is a major component in Ayurvedic medicine.  

A day when the grass cutters and the DBKL guys came calling. Reluctantly I allowed the gardener to trim the grass of this patch as during the previous cutting months ago,the earth was exposed here and there. I resurrected it and got the cover back by regular watering.

Up with the birds and clouds. After the neem, it was the turn of the hura crepitans ( sandbox tree) trees. Hura in normal  circumstances has an erect trunk witk a lovely canopy. They were looking like crooked stairway to heaven  before the cutting. White sap (toxic)  flowed quite freely from the remaining trunk . I went with my friend, Uncle Foo to Sungai Buloh to get  a few plants upon his recommendation.  During storms, the branches have fallen. They are fast growing . It's time to get them down to size.

Finally, when the job was done, it more than filled the truck. Thanks DBKL, we await the regrowth.