Whites in the garden

Spider Lily - Hymenocallis littoralis
Back garden, 15 Aug'16

Spider Lily - Hymenocallis littoralis

White Cempaka - Michelia alba

White Cempaka - Michelia alba

White frangipani ( Plumeria obtusa)

Some garden close-ups

( All images taken using Nikon D5100, August'16)

Bright purple covers

Seribu Bahasa (Berawan) - Centratherum punctatum, grown as cover

 I have been experimenting with the Seribu Bahasa as a cover plant in Bintulu as well as in Kuching.  At both places the result were pleasing.  Here at Kambatik garden, I find today that the plant grown in a small mass looks  very healthy and flowering well.  The bright purple flowers attract the Eggfly butterfly.  The ethnic Berawan people of Sarawak call this plant 'Seribu Bahasa'.  I saw the plant growing wild initially  at the Kambatik Park in Bintulu from which I got the initial stock for propagation purposes and brought some to Kuching.  My planning for the Kuching garden is therefore to plant more of this species for covers and skirting since the plant seems to manage well in open sun and semi-shade locations.

Grow them in small masses and feed them well to obtain abundance of flowers

Reds in the garden

Ripe fruits of the Carpentaria palm at the front garden

Red Hibiscus at the back garden

Red Ti or Cordyline 'Firebrand'

CU of Red Cats' tails (Acalypha hispida)

Red hot Cats' tails

Red Ixora at side garden

The Foxtail palm in semi-mature form

Foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcata) to help provide the exotic tropical  look.

Red Sealing Wax palm
(Queen of Sarawak Palm) grow in clumps
at front garden. 

 It is of no mention that in any Kambatik garden (Malaysian garden) there must be some sight of a palm tree or many.  True to the concept of the Malaysian garden I have planted various species of palms in the garden to exude the exotic tropical look.  Of course the Queen of Sarawak palms is the Red Sealing Wax palm or Pinang Lakka according to some quarters.  Yes, we have a good number of them in the garden for the colourful red to orange crown shafts they brilliantly show.  A late introduction in the garden is the Foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcata) which is not a native palm but nevertheless attractive for its compound feather-like  and fish-tailed leaves. The three trees planted here are semi-mature and it would take a couple of years for them to produce flowers or inflorescences.  There are solitary palms grown in the garden from seeds, thus there is no  material cost involved.  The Red Sealing Wax palm on the other hand has a clumpy habit with side shoots that grow uninterrupted.

A Foxtail palm in semi-mature form amidst garden greenery.

Sets of compound feather-like leaves resembling fox tail with several fish-tail leaflets.

Flowering and fruiting trees

Flowers of the Starfruit tree (Averhhoa carambola)

Coconut tree in flower

Kedondong fruit

 There are two flowering fruiting trees in the garden right now while at the same time there are also two fruiting trees.  The flowering trees are the Coconut tree and the Starfruit tree.  What interests me the most is the Coconut tree which sets record for the first time flowering since  planted a few years ago,  The Starfruit tree has flowered and bore fruits before in large quantities and it seems that this time around it would not  be that productive judging from the quantities of flowering branches.  A short distance from the coconut tree is the "Kedondong"(Spondias dulcis) and "Ciku"(Manilkara zapota) tree, both are bearing fruits.

Kedondong fruits at Back garden

Ciku fruit at Back garden

Scent of a garden

 On this August visit, there is an abundance of White Cempaka flowers in the garden.  These highly scented creamish flowers is the source of one of the most expensive perfume in the world called  'Joy'.  Earlier in May I have thrown lots of fertiliser at the plant base and after a period of more than 2 months have resulted in an exuberance of flowers and fragrance in the garden.  The flowers have attracted butterflies too, especially the Eggfly Butterfly as shown in the pix below.

The Eggfly butterfly lands on the highly scented flowers of the Cempaka Putih - Michelia alba

The Cempaka Putih tree is planted somewhere in the middle of the garden, partly shown at the top left section of the picture above.

Loving the Kambatik Garden

( Note: Views of the Kambatik garden in Kuching on this Kuching escapade - August'16)

Enthralled by the colours of nature

One can be easily enthralled upon seeing a multi-coloured hibiscus

 I am extremely enthralled to see the flowers in the garden.  They come in a diverse range of colours and the tones,contrast, tint and combinations of all these makes me delighted to observe the workings of nature.  Even in a small garden space in town nature seems to offer unlimited wonders, albeit with a little effort from us.  The orange tinted hibiscus with an inner core of pink shades surrounded by a glorious variation of orange to yellow colours gives a soft but happy image. This is in contrast with the strong red colours of the ixora that dot the garden with brightness and vivid life.  The composite bluish purple colours of the 'Seribu Bahasa' gives a royal and mystic  touch to the place.  The long drooping curtain of Congea velutina purple bracts connects the ground with the top canopy of trees making the garden space look like a wall painting that never cease to stimulate our senses and intellect.

Ixoras dot the garden with vivid life

Pink to purple bracts of the Congea velutina

The long and drooping curtain of Congea velitina makes the garden space like a wall painting

Perching on the Poui tree

In late afternoon I encountered two birds that dropped by the 'Poui' (Tabebuia rosea)  tree at the back garden.  The tree has grown very tall over the years, taller than the yellow bamboo clump nearby.  I observed that the Pink-necked Pigeon has a nest at the bamboo clump and before it enters the nest would perch at the Poui branch.  The environment afforded by the dense bamboo clump and columns of leaves and branches have attracted many species of birds not only to build nest but also as source of food and playground.  The pigeon was joined later by the Olive-backed Sunbird which was intent to attract its mate by the continuous calls.  There is a fruiting Carpentaria palm next to the Poui tree and it has been observed that the Pink-necked Pigeon do have a liking to its ripe fruits.

Female of the Olive-backed Sunbird, looking for its mate

A fruiting Carpentaria palm located next to the Poui tree

Ripe fruits of the Carpentaria palm.