Mother-In-Law Tongue ??

When someone mentioned that the common name of this plant is the 'Mother-In-Law Tongue' locally known in Malay as 'Lidah Mak Mentua'(what's else, the direct translation), it really made me lost for words. These questions 'Why such a name for a beautiful plant?', 'Why Tongue?', 'Why of all persons, mother-in-law was chosen?' was playing over & over thru my mind...Aarrghh, why torturing myself for such questions, the plant is really beautiful and unique and have a presence of its own. Eversince I came to this country, I have successfully nurtured 2 pots of this plant and even propagated some and given them to friends.



From the views of some locals and friends that I have encountered, all gave a unique belief of the plant...if one's to place a pot of the Sansevieria Trifasciata , either one of the type ie. green foliage or the variegated foliage at the side of the entrance of their house, it can actually wad-off evil spirits from entering the house. It's just a belief and it's up to each individual to decide. As for me, I just love the twisted, cross-banding leaves of the plant which makes a beautiful, unique houseplant either indoors or outdoors.



Sansevieria Trifasciata as it is known botanically is one of the favourite houseplant locally because it can tolerate from irregular watering and low light level. The plant is also often used as an air filter because of its tendency to absorb certain poisonous substances.

The leaves of the plant grows vertically, twisted and cross-banding and can reach up to the height of 3 feet (approx. 1 metre). The plant also produces small frangrance white blooms which is very rare, rested on a long stem. Propagation is by means of stem cutting or to be precise, leaf cutting and by dividing the creeping rhizome in a well-drained medium.

Zamioculcas Zamiifolia

The ZZ plant, Aroid Palm, Money Plant, Eternity Plant..that's a few of the many common names given to Zamioculcas Zamiifolia. This unusual aroid is known to be originated from Eastern Africa, the countries of Zanzibar & Tanzania to be precise.


Due to its toleration of low light, low water and a certain degree of neglect, this hardy plant will absolutely make a fine houseplant. Its beautiful foliage of glossy, shiny leaves is absolutely a plus..light green leaves when young turning to dark green when matured. There is a mythical belief among the locals especially those of Chinese origins that if the plant starts to produce flowers, it actually will bring good luck to the owner...well, I really admire it for its beautiful, shiny foliage.




In the wild, natural propagation can be done from the seeds of the plant but commercially, the plant can either be propagated by leaf cutting (which really take a long period of time to root) or from the separation of the bulblets that can be found at the roots. It loves shady location, with filtered sunlight to produce nice shiny dark green leaves. From my personal point of view, the ZZ plant will really make a fine indoor houseplant for those who are too busy with their daily lives and yet still need some 'greenery' in their homes.

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.

Finally, I got the seeds!!

Yesterday afternoon, while driving back home from the grocery store...we passed by the house with a row of lotuses again and....there it is, the owner of the house, himself pruning the plants. Without hesitation, my spouse took the initiative to stop the car and greet the elderly man. With a short conversation exchanged between them and myself looking through the car's window screen..the elderly man cut two dried seed pods and passed it to my hubby. Oh yes...at last, my wish came true. Finally, I managed to get hold of the lotus seeds that I have been aiming all this while. This morning, a few seeds was sown into the 'all-ready' earthen pot and the waiting time for the germination begins...


Above photo shows the two lotus seeds pods with some seeds already sown. Will sow the rest of the seeds to a few other pots. To the elderly neighbour, 'Terima Kasih Encik' and to my spouse..a really BIG thank you SAYANG!

First Bloomers!!!

Other than the recent blooms produced by the pitcher plants, recently there are a few plants that presented us with their first blooms too. Enjoy the beautiful flowers.

Aquatic plants collection

Among the pots of potted plants that we nurture, there's only two species of aquatic plants in our collection. Both plants were given by friends a few years back and both species survive till today. The common water hycinth locally known as keladi bunting (scientifically known as Eichhornia Crassipes) with its beautiful light lavender blooms have always been our favourite. It can be an invasive species if let grown unattended/uncontrolled especially in man-made ponds, water catchment areas like reservoirs. It is one of the most hardy aquatic plants it can form dense colonies that block sunlight to the water, clog water intake and crowd out other native species. The common water hycinth reproduces primarily by runners or stolons.




Another species of aquatic plant that we are nurturing is the Mexican Sword (scientifically known as Echinodorus Palaefolius). Its slightly heart-shaped leaves can grow larger than the size of an adult's palm with enough nutrients in the medium which is always kept moist or wet. It is an easy plant to nurture and within weeks, it will start to produce long stems with small flower buds, thus producing white 3-petal blooms which will only last for a day. Propagation is by tiny shoots that will emerge a few days after the flowers wither.




Another aquatic plant that have always been on my 'wish' list is the lotus...have been admiring the beautiful pink flowers of the plant everytime when we passes this house, just about a kilometre away from our home. If I ever see the owner or the gardener of this particular house, I will not hesitate to ask for the seeds...hopefully it will be soon enough, just can't wait for the day...please, oh please.

My current experiment!!

It has been a while since I posted any development to this blog...my last few weeks have been quite tiring and emotional. We are very sad on receiving news of my spouse's father being seriously taken ill to a hospital back home. Due to some personal matters to attend and with children attending school, only my spouse will be able to return to our homeland after hearing the news. My father-in-law passed away peacefully during the wee hours of Monday morning, 7th April 2008 in his hospital bed. To all muslims who read this, please pray for his soul to be rested peacefully among the pious and may ALLAH bless his soul...Al-Fathihah for Allahyarham Hashim Bin Mohamad.

Recently, involving some members of the GCS, we are experimenting on the seed growing project of Sinningias, a beautiful flowering plant which usually favours the cool temperature. With the kind generosity of one of the pioneer member of GCS, the seeds were distributed to other members who are interested to participate in this project. These seeds are really 'minute' and germinating them really needs one's patience. I've sowed my seeds this week and the waiting game begins for the first sprout to emerge..well, I'm really excited about it.




Thanks Kak Mona for the seeds as well as for the pots of other plants that you sent me. As you can see, the Episcia flower bud is already in full bloom and soon I will propagate the two stolons to other pots. I just love the cute African violets and the unique heart-shaped leaf of the Hoya Kerrii.



During those weeks, two of the pitcher plants are producing unique blooms. Up till now, the blooms are still intact with the colour changing from light to darker maroon. I guess, with all these unique plants producing blooms...they are just happy to be here together with the other plants in our potted garden.

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.

Amazing Whites

Recently, there have been a quite a number of plants in our potted garden that blooming white flowers. Some of the blooms produced sweet fragrance and some are just plain odourless with each individual type of bloom creating a presence of its own. The Jasmine Orange or scientifically known as Murraya Puniculata (locally known as the Kemunting Cina) as shown in the above picture produces sweet smelling fragrance with the scent getting stronger as the darkness of the night approaches. The Peace Lily or scientifically known as Spathiphyllum (below picture) produces blooms similar to that of the Flamingo Flower (Anthurium). Why is it called a Peace Lily?? From my opinion, the name could derived from the bloom that it produced, a piece of large white petal sitting at the end of a straight stem thus resembling a white flag for peace...just my 2 cents worth. The plant comes in a variety of hybrid species, easy to care, love rich medium (fertilize at least once every 2 weeks) and it is also one of the best indoor plants.


These are the other recent white blooms in our potted garden (below pictures). There have been quite a few of flower buds appearing nowadays, triggered by the recent hot spell during the day and wet nights..well we are absolutely not complaining, actually putting a really big smile on our faces..patience really pays off!

Sun-loving species of White Lilies with broad, dark green, saucer-shaped leaves

Sun-loving Mexican Sword plant, categorised as an aquatic plant

Sui-Mei, Easter tree or Wrightia Antidysenterica (locally known as Jasmin Cina, odourless shrub)

Wild orchid, found in between the pitcher plants....took estimated 2 years to mature & produce flowers

Tropical Bleeding Heart Vine, also known as Bag Flower or Glory Tree

One of our bright, cheerful collection of sun-loving Bougainvillea in white blooms

Is it Yesterday, Today or Tomorrow?

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow...yes, that's the common name given to the above sweet-smelling flowering plant or its scientific name Brunfelsia Pauciflora. Myself was quite surprised when told that the plant is popularly known as Yesterday,Today & Tomorrow. Make me wonder...isn't there any other suitable name for it?


After looking for the reason for the so-called name, the simplest explanation given is that the first stage of the flower when it blooms will be in violet (purple), then it will turn to lavender blue around 2 or 3 days later and eventually to white a few days later before it withers. Thats explains to the amazing 3 different colours of blooms on each stem. It's a good logical explanation on the various stages of the flower colouration but still make me wonder....who actually gave the idea of the so-called name...hhhmmmmmm


Although it is nice to look at, special care should be taken because every part of the plant is actually known to be poisonous if consume. This plant requires some shade with a few hours of sunshine each day to grow healthy so it's best to put between other sun-loving bigger and taller plants. Propagation is by stem-cutting onto easily drained moist medium.

Wow!! What a mist....

When we woke up this morning, we were greeted with a much cooler atmosphere surrounding us. As we investigate the source of the coolness this morning, our wondrous minds were answered with the sign of the first daylight for the day. The above photograph was taken approximately at 6.17 am this morning. We were so excited as it was such a beautiful phenomenal scene that bewitched us beyond our expectation...we are grateful for having this opportunity to live in the areas surrounded by hills and trees to experience it. Even the the birds are chirping happily greeting the beautiful sight of this misty morning.



Since the end of last week, the days had been rather warm but windy and the nights had been wet with heavy downpour almost lasted till the wee hours of the morning. Although, I'm always busy every weekday morning but the enchantment of this special morning will absolutely make me more grateful & thankful to ALLAH the Al-Mighty, for giving us this opportunity to experience the greatness that was shown. Hope to have more cooler mornings & days too in this part of the region. The above photographs were taken at approximately at 6.50am this morning. The mist swiftly dissipated into thin air as the day getting warmer.