Plant Exchange

It is my experience that when gardeners meet, they touch each other's hearts. You only have to witness gardeners meeting for the first time. It's as if they 've known each other for a long time !

At our SFTGS (Selangor and Federal Territory Gardening Soc) bi-annual plant exchange at our dear patron, Tan Sri Chong Hon Nyan's house (just off Jalan Duta, KL) the members were only too glad to be his guests. With his wife, Puan Sri , both are superb hosts. As usual, the couple treated us to a wonderful buffet lunch which made it all the more special.

Our plant exchange works in a simple way. Grow your plants or bring your cuttings and exchange them with someone else's plants. If one has nothing to offer, he/she can buy the plants and the money goes to the SFTGS kitty. The whole idea is to be informal and support the GREEN message.

A circular is sent ahead of time for members/guests to bring some plants to share . That morning, happy faces hugged plants and plonked them with the rest. Needless to say, they got instant attention and were greeted eagerly with 'Hey! What have you got?' Believe me, there's always something , a 'gem' that makes its appearance. You should hear the whoops of delight when that one is there!

My pots of herbs

Red is always auspicious. The canopy overhead gave us a rosy glow!

I came prepared with 7 pots of herbs . And I went home with a pot of caladiums, a cutting of pink hoya, a passionfruit plant, a sample of wild orchid, some miniature cannas and a bunch of orchids.

The plant exchange was like a mini plant fair. Call it 'lelong', if you like 'coz a little bargaining didn't hurt at all! Just think how a simple get -together such as this can engender such liveliness between plants and humans for those brief hours.

The generosity of gardeners is legendary too. Talking to gardeners, most are willing to share on plants, cuttings, seeds, flowers and even produce. Our ex- president, Eric Simon, himself an author and true blue horticulturist, donated orchids, bananas and caladiums from his farm. All sales were donated to the SFTGS.

Plump produce from Eric Simon's farm

Unknown to many, the SFTGS is a great society to join and enjoy the countless green activities. Monthly talks by specialists in the different fields of horticulture are conducted. The SFTGS does a fine job of reaching out to gardening clubs in schools whenever the opportunity arises. I laugh my head off when I hear remarks that refer to gardening as a 'retiree's hobby'!! Personally I would like warped notions such as this erased forever .

Greening the earth concerns every child and adult. If love for gardening can be nurtured, Mother Earth can smile and breathe easy. Children that respect plants will naturally respect nature. As members, we are always delighted to see young faces.

Try to introduce the fun element when gardening with kids. Children love to see flowers bloom. Try some hardier versions of flowers like marigolds. They are quick to grow and hard to kill! Do not have many rules. After all, a little play with earth is alright as long as the hands are properly washed after it is all over.

I would like to suggest to our radio stations to have a radio programme on plants. The incredible wealth of horticulture we possess can be tapped into. Anyone can garden, even be a balcony gardener. For starters, how about gardening tips 'coz everybody loves tips, more so when they come free!

It was a fun and gregarious event. From the plant exchange, I got more than I gave. Certainly there's enough to stir the ground as soon as I got home. My garden awaits...

http://www.sftgs.org.my/

Say it with Flowers

To me, Elizabeth Helikar's recent floral demonstration with the SFTGS (Selangor and Federal Territory Gardening Society) activity was more than just showing the how and telling the do's and don'ts at the YWCA ,Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur.


How often do we pause to think of the nature that surrounds us, the beauty that encompasses our lives in this hurried paced world ? I'm talking about FLOWERS.

Liz, as she is popularly known, is passionate about flowers ( and nature, in general). After all, it's a love affair with flowers as she's always on the move in Yorkshire, Cheshire, the Midlands, Northumberland as an Area demonstrator for NAFA ( National Assoc of Flower Arrangers) in the UK. By accident, she 'stumbled upon the SFTGS website and was thrilled'to be sharing her expertise with us while holidaying here. Liz was born in Kajang and she has made Sheffield, UK her home.


It was evident that she makes the world beautiful with her gift as a floral arranger. Wouldn't any bride shed a quiet tear to be holding her signature bunch of white gerberas and lilies which she so expertly put together as a hand tied bouquet.

Christmas being almost here, she gladly shared ideas on how to make a Christmas wreath. She cleverly incorporated local plants optimising on the colours and shapes to make other Christmassy bouquets too. Colour is fashion and Liz told us black is the 'in' colour , so expect to see black decorations incorporated in the floral arrangements. I think we still love our reds and black does not get our nods of approval!!




How jealous she is of the luxuriant ferns we have in the tropics that are 'life- savers' for many a floral bouquet. In the UK, a small bunch of only 20 leaves costs 3.50 pounds!! I paid special attention to the different varieties of local plants that she used to make the bouquets. So many new ways to use the plants.


Liz's liberal sharing of ideas and tips went down well. The talk attracted over 5o members and non- members. The rain could not keep us away for a nearly 'full house'!

I can't help but share some quotes on flowers with you, thanks to Liz, who got me loving flowers even more.

'The world is a rose - smell it and pass it on to your friends.'
- Persian proverb

My dear blogger friends, near and far, you're always there, popping in to lend your kind spirit of giving , supporting me in my posts.Over the seas and mountains, we link our hands in friendship. Thank you, ROSIDAH, Anya, Rosey Pollen, Emily, M. kate, Veronica lee, ~Covert_Operations'78~, Lucy, Turquoise Diaries, Indrani, Laura in Paris, medam, adrienne, and many, many more. I'll try and pass it on too.

In my garden, there is a place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thought and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as my flowers and the dreams are as beautiful -
Abram L. Urban

Do you, like me, as you work in the garden , have that quiet time to yourself ? It matters not if the lateritic earth is making it a little harder to dig. Time flies and and dreams take shape, fly away and another flies in! Before you know it, it's tea time!

Where flowers bloom so does hope
- Lady Bird Johnson.

Life is ever changing, ever growing. Hold a flower in your hand, smell it- do not despair! Let there be HOPE in your heart. Everything will feel lighter .

What a beautiful afternoon with Liz and the SFTGS ! JUST SAY IT WITH FLOWERS!

SFTGS ( Selangor and Federal Territory Gardening Society)

http://www.sftgs.org.my/