Happy Mother's Day!

Hope it's not too late to wish each & every mom out there a 'Wonderful Mother's Day'

It has been quite a while since my last post to this blog, been really busy with everyday errands. The weather in this beautiful country is fast climbing up the scale, with the highest average recorded temperature for the whole of last week being 33deg celcius.

Every year, the month of May is the most memorable month for me..firstly being my birthday falls on this month, it also a month where a special 1st Sunday will be a tribute to all mothers.

As a tribute to all mothers out there who visited this blog, young or old & wherever you are...I've compiled part of my collection of pictures of my special blooms throughout my gardening passion for your viewing pleasure. Have a wonderful Mother's Day today with your loved ones. Sit back & do enjoy the slideshow.


A special tribute to all the special moms out there, young or old...this is for you coz you're special & unique as these blooms.....

Hooray!! Another successful kitchen blooms....

After the success of my kitchen blooms ie. the pink gloxinia late last December 2008/early January 2009,I was really overwhelmed with another successful experiment.

From this piece of leaf propagation last year....

To this elegant beauty just a few days ago....


Another successful plant placed at my kitchen window's sill is the 'Tiger Stripe' Episcia. From this initial plant given by a friend (Thanks Kak Mona)...

To really healthy plant that successfully produced a second bloom almost the same time as the purple gloxinia.


All plants & plantlets gracing my kitchen window's sill receive at least 2 to 3 hours of morning sunshine daily (provided it is not a cloudy or rainy mornings) and a few dose of diluted liquid fertiliser to enhance as well as to boost their growth & health.

For my successful gloxinias & episcia, I thank my forum friend who shared the same interests, who gratefully gave me the plantlets & leaf cuttings for the successful propagation. Thanks once again Kak Mona ;-))

The Sun, the Heat & the Blooms...

After a period of cool, heavy rainfall for almost a month which indirectly affected many residents' homes & geological structure of certain areas in this country..the humid hot weather are here again.

To welcome the bright sunshine almost every morning in my potted garden, is a basin of the sun-loving Water Hyacinth (locally known as Keladi Bunting in Malay) with its beautiful non-lasting light lavender blooms. Thou its blooms are non-lasting ie. it lasted only for a day but with rich medium (water & fertiliser) and direct sunlight, it is a fast grower & a regular bloomer.

Kitchen Blossoms...

First & foremost, a belated salam Maal Hijrah 1430 to all my muslim friends & readers and not forgetting to wish all my blog's visitors a very belated 'Happy New Year 2009'. December 2008 had been quite a hectic, tiring but an enjoying month for myself and family, welcoming some of the family members who came here for a visit. Residing in a country away from our family & loved ones tend to make us miss their presence especially during family gatherings. Thus, having family guests & friends visiting us to our humble home here is such a joy.

My first baby Gloxinia given by a forum friend (thanks to Kak Mona) has matured & finally presented me with a pair of beautiful pink blooms. The gloxinia plant as well as other plants have been gracing the kitchen's window sill to enjoy the daily morning sun since October last year.



Previously, the gloxinia together with my other plants was placed in the living room but due to lack of sunlight, they wasn't growing very well. Approximately about 2 weeks after placing the tiny pots by the kitchen's window sill, the plants seemed to enjoy their new environment by producing healthy leaves with favourable size. I noticed the gloxinia's first flower bud sometimes early December last year and precisely on the 29th December 2008, it bloomed..sort of welcoming the Hijrah New Year 1430. Around a week later, the other flower bud followed suit, fully bloom to a size of approximate 3.5cm in diameter in bright pink..thus welcoming the New Year 2009. It's really an achievement for myself to be able to nurture such a plant from a tiny baby till it matures and producing beautiful blooms..sort of an encouragement to increase my collection with different other species.




What a glorious, beautiful way to welcome the new year..

Poison or Cure???

It's been a while since my last post to this blog. With the Eid festivities luncheon & 'open houses' invitations by spouse's friends coupled with the girls' school's examinations, its been a really hectic month of October 2008. Furthermore, with all the activities, I have not been the best of health for the last few weeks...oooohhhh :(

By the way, have you heard of the Angel's Trumpet, Devil's Trumpet, Downy Thorn Apple, Metel? All of the mentioned names referred to the same plant, the Datura Metel var Fastuosa or locally known in Malay as the Pokok Kecubung.

I obtained the seeds of this plant while on holiday in Penang, Malaysia a few years ago while visiting the state's herb garden, mainly attracted by its beautiful white, with a tinge of lavender trumpet-like flowers and unique thorny fruit.

Native to China, India and South-east Asia countries, the Datura Metel is extremely poisonous but surprisingly, the plant is used traditionally in Chinese medicine.




The shrub-like perennial herb/plant consists of ebony black stems, each stem holds a large angular dark-green leaves similar in shape to that of the eggplant leaves. The large tubular flowers normally have a double or triple corolla, with each corolla having a deep purple exterior and white or off-white interior. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (having both male & female organs) and pollination is usually done by insects. What I noticed about this plant that I have in the container pot, there's lots of ants seems to be attracted not only to the flowers but to the plant as a whole.

The thorny like fruits which holds the seeds are almost rounded, approximately around 2.5cm (1 inch) diameter. Upon ripen, the matured fruits will automatically 'burst' open thus dispersing the seeds.



The dry flower, particularly the violet coloured, if rolled and used like a cigar is believed to relieve the asthma or wheezing-like symptoms but it should only be used under the guidance and supervision of a qualified medical practitioner.

The plant as a whole is extremely toxic if digested in any quantity, symptoms like hallucinations, headaches, flushed skin and possibly convulsions or even coma. Accidentally (or intentionally) indigestion even a single leaf could lead to severe side effects..so strict PRECAUTION should be taken to avoid planting the Datura Metel plants near or households with children, they might just get enchanted & attracted with the beautiful flowers. The best way, is to totally avoid planting this extremely poisonous plant in the garden.

Oh, My Bleeding Heart !!

One of my favourite all-time climbing vine is the Bleeding Heart Vine, also known as Bleeding Glorybower, Bag Flower and is a native of Tropical Africa. Botanically it is known as Clerodendrum Thomsoniae and there are over 400 species of Clerodendrums and mostly can be found in warm climatic regions.



The Bleeding Heart vine have very showy flowers and a non-invasive climber suitable for fences, pergolas or trellis. The plant can tolerate full sun but prefer partial shade and just love well-drained, rich organic medium. They are long flowering plant with attractive green foliage, The white calyx flowers are grouped in an axillary terminal with a scarlet-red corolla and prominent stamens.



Propagation is by form of seeds or by stem cuttings, which the latter are much preferred (faster time-frame) onto well-drained, organic rich medium. Frequent organic fertiliser is advisable (ie. once every 2 weeks)to maintain a healthy plant as well as to encourage frequent blooming. Other than fertilising, to encourage more flowers, pruning is advisable after the plant has stopped blooming.

My First Plumeria Blooms

This is my one and only Plumeria that I bought a few months ago, just a small stem-cutting planted in a black polybag which costs me $3 in local currency. Recently, it presents us with slightly small, frangrance yellow blooms. I have since transferred the 3-branched plant to a 12 inch diameter terracotta pot.



The Plumeria or locally known as Frangipani (also known as Pokok Kemboja in Malay) is actually often locally associated with cemeteries..why is it so? One logic explanation to it, these trees (commonly the white flowers type) can easily be found planted in cemeteries but globally, the Plumeria blooms are often associated with Hawaii & the other southern islands. I was in a way interested in planting a Plumeria after a visit to the Greencultures Singapore website forum and really felt the enchantment of the beautiful colourful blooms that the members posted. There are many types of Plumeria available with each type producing blooms of different shades of colours. Plumeria can easily be propagated by stem cuttings or seeds (which is much slower to germinate & grow) and loves full sunny location with well-drained medium with fertilising once in a while. It is an easy plant to grow and if given an unlimited space, it can fully grow into a huge tree.

What a bright, cheery day it is!!

What day is it today? If it is a bright sunny day, then it will be just the perfect day for the Portulaca grandiflora to greet us with its bright, cheery colourful blooms. Portulaca grandiflora or commonly known as Rose Moss, Mexican Roses, 11 o'clock flower, etc (locally known as Ros Jepun) is a shrub bearing a lively mixture of colourful flowers either in single or double petals. It is a sun-loving tough plant, suitable for tough places and the flowers will only bloom under sunlight and due to this nature, they are popularly selected to be planted as a ground cover.



The Portulaca grandiflora comes from the family Portulacaceae where comprises of more than 40 species with different flower colours, leaves shapes & sizes, etc. Some of the known species are edible, to be either use as a culinary herb or for its medicinal properties but NOT the ornamental flowering species as the shown in the above pictures.

Portulaca can either be germinated using seeds (usually sell in packets) or propagated by using stem cuttings. The seeds & the stem cuttings can be directly sown onto a well-drained, sandy medium. If they are grown in planters, it is advisable to place the planters in a sunny position for the portulaca to grow successfully & continuously producing flowers. The sprawling stems should be frequently neatly trimmed/cut to about 10 cm to encourage new buds. Water them frequently during dry spells and fertilize them once in a while so as to produce healthy plants & shoots.